Physics Research at Illinois
The Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—ranked among the top ten in the U.S. by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences—is a world leader in physics research and education. We are committed to training new generations of researchers and leaders, to forging new partnerships with government and industry, and to applying the tools of physics to new problems to benefit the State of Illinois, the nation, and the world.
The breadth and diversity of our research programs offer an outstanding range of research options for our students. We enjoy outstanding research facilities with state-of-the-art equipment for everything from the latest materials characterization and fabrication facilities to virtual reality visualization and massively parallel computing.
Major experimental and theoretical programs range from fundamental to applied research and are currently externally supported at a level of $19.3 million annually. In addition to our department’s pre-eminence in traditional physics disciplines, such as condensed matter physics (ranked #1 in the U.S.), nuclear and particle physics, and astrophysics, we are also increasingly recognized for our strong programs in biological physics, mesoscopic physics, computational physics, and the physics of quantum information. Physics research also encompasses many interdisciplinary collaborations with other Illinois science and engineering departments—many also ranked within the top ten U.S. programs.
Follow the links above to learn about contemporary research at the University of Illinois. Important recent breakthroughs are described in our research highlights. You can also search for theses, learn about lab safety and funding opportunities, or find out more about University management of intellectual property from these pages.
