Current Students

Adam Heiniger

Junior, Oakville, Iowa

Majors: Physics

"Studying physics can take you way out of the realm of intuition and everyday experience, but the faculty here at Iowa have always been able to help me keep my feet on the ground. Physics classes, especially later in my college career, have been small, and my physics professors have been eager to pause their lectures to answer questions or rework hard to follow problems.

"Furthermore, in my experience, professors are happy to let undergraduates partake in their research, and are willing to work with students to find projects that fit their experience level and schedule. My work in the Optical Science and Technology Center for Dr. John Prineas focuses on modeling and optimizing an apparatus to controllably slow down a laser pulse. With much of the faculty active in research at the frontiers of physics, it's easy to get your feet wet in research through some exciting projects."

David Nelms

Junior, Urbandale, Iowa

Majors: Applied Physics and Pre-med

"I have been incredibly happy I chose physics at Iowa. As a pre-med student the applied physics in medicine major has been an absolute perfect fit for me by including all my pre-med courses along with physics into one coherent major. I have been really impressed how the physics department at Iowa is like its own small community within the larger university. Classes are small which gives you a lot of opportunity to ask questions, and get to know the other physics majors and professors. Everyone in the department is really helpful, and more than willing to take extra time to answer questions outside of class or help you get involved in assisting with some of the truly astounding research happening at Iowa. I feel incredibly lucky to be a student at such a great place."

Laura Ingleby

Senior, Marshalltown, IA

Majors: Physics and Astronomy

"The best thing about the physics and astronomy department, in my opinion, is that we have the advantages of a large university research department, yet the classes are small. The classes are difficult, but the professors have made themselves very available outside of class for help. Also, most of the undergraduate and graduate students are really friendly and don't mind answering questions. The classes I took were all useful and I can see that, especially during my senior year, I'm using all the things I learned previously, so I feel prepared for increasingly difficult classes. I liked that a lot of the classes are interactive, so it's not all sitting and taking notes. I've really liked the astronomy classes offered, especially radio astronomy and astronomical laboratory, where we got to work with real data. I enjoyed having the colloquiums because I could see what is going on in many areas of physics and astronomy and it gave me an idea of what kinds of jobs there are for people in this field."

"The astronomy department offered research opportunities that I didn't think I would have before coming to U of Iowa. For example, an opportunity to visit the Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico was not something I thought undergraduates would do. It is really exciting to have access to an national instrument like the Very Large Array. The professors seem enthusiastic about having students work with them. Doing research made me even more interested in this field."