A Word from the Department

Welcome to the Carthage Physics and Astronomy Department! Our six dynamic faculty members are dedicated to providing the best possible undergraduate physics education — all in a small liberal arts college environment featuring small classes, personal attention to each student, accessible faculty, and exciting opportunities for faculty-led student research.

Our core research interests include astrophysics (cosmology, astronomical instrumentation, spectroscopy); materials science (computational dynamics, carbon nanotubes, atomic physics); and biophysics (x-ray crystallography, macromolecular structure.)

Carthage physics students have joined faculty in collaborations with NASA scientists studying reduced-gravity environments at Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, cosmologists at the University of Chicago and Fermilab, astronomers at Yerkes Observatory and the University of Arizona, and biophysicists at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

Our students have garnered competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) summer internships and have pursued graduate degrees at research universities across the country. Some become engineers via our Dual-Degree Program with engineering schools at the Universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Minnesota; others become middle- and high-school physics teachers (with certification through the Early Adolescence and Adolescence Education Minor offered in the Education Department). Still others pursue a concentration in astrophysics, or a Meteorology and Climatology Minor (with Geography and Earth Science).

Our mission is to provide all our students with an education they will value and keep using long after graduation, as they face the challenges of the workplace and become productive citizens. Our "hidden physicist" graduates include teachers, doctors, engineers, software technicians, scientists, consultants, lawyers, businesspeople, start-up entrepreneurs, writers, and military servicemen and women. (Learn more about careers that have begun with a degree in physics.

Carthage physics students learn how to understand the physical world and describe it quantitatively, think critically and express themselves coherently, analyze problems and find versatile ways to solve them. This emphasis on problem solving and flexible thinking is essential for today's graduates, who may ultimately hold several quite different jobs during the course of their working years. Our faculty members advise students individually about choosing their coursework and seeking that first job or internship, and identify workplace opportunities for them after graduation.

The Department serves more than 45 physics majors (about equally divided between men and women), which is several times the national average for a school of our size. Our students enjoy a challenging, interactive and nurturing environment, with an active Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapter that has twice been recognized as one of the outstanding SPS chapters in the nation.

I invite you to learn more about our department and program of study by exploring the links found here and by contacting me or any other faculty member. I trust you will find your virtual visit exciting and hope you will come visit us on campus in person.

Sincerely,

John “Jean” M. Quashnock, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Chair
Physics and Astronomy Department
Carthage College
2001 Alford Park Drive
Kenosha, WI 53140-1994
(262) 551-5391
jmq@carthage.edu

Interested in Physics at Carthage?

Prospective physics students are encouraged to talk with faculty members and current students to find out more about the Carthage physics program. Call or write to any of the faculty members below, or contact Admissions.

• Douglas Arion
  Professor of Physics and Hedberg Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurial Sciences
  (262) 551-5864
  darion@carthage.edu
  
• Temple Burling
  Assistant Professor of Physics and Biology
  (262) 551-5963
  tburling@carthage.edu
  
• Kevin Crosby
  Associate Professor of Physics and Computer Science, Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences
  (262) 551-5855
  kcrosby@carthage.edu
  
• Jean Quashnock
  Associate Professor of Physics, Chair of Physics Department
  262) 551-5391
  jmq@carthage.edu
  
• Brian Schwartz
  Assistant Professor of Physics
  (262) 551-6042
  bschwartz@carthage.edu
  

Research Opportunities

Carthage students have access to some of the world's largest observatories. Read more.

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience lets students work one-on-one with a faculty mentor.