Sonoma State University

The B.S. in Physics Returns to Sonoma State University!

Sonoma State University is proud to re-launch its Bachelor of Science in Physics, featuring a redesigned, student-centered curriculum available beginning Fall 2026. The revised program offers a rigorous physics foundation, small class sizes, close faculty mentorship, and flexible pathways that support timely graduation. Please see our degree programs page for more information.

What Physicists Do - Archive

Date Speaker Speaker Affiliation Lecture Title
Dr. Tom Slanger SRI International Studies of the Terrestrial Upper Atmosphere With Astronomical Instruments
Audrey Chang Natural Resources Defense Council the Role of Energy Efficiency in California’s Efforts to Curb Global Warming
Dr. Raymond Hall California State University, Fresno Demarcation: Is There a Sharp Line Between Science and Pseudoscience?
Dr. Jacqueline van Gorkom Columbia University the Evolution of Galaxies in Different Environments
Dr. Donald K. Yeomans Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory the Tunguska Event 100 Years Later: Finding Near Earth Objects Before They Find Us
Dr. David Wittman University of California, Davis Massive Sky Surveys of the Next Decade
Dr. Maryam Modjaz University of California at Berkeley Supernovae: Violent Deaths of Stars
Dr. Thomas Berger Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center the Hinode Solar Optical Telescope: A Solar Microscope in Space
Dr. Ali Shakouri University of California, Santa Cruz Thermionic Energy Conversion for Waste Heat Recovery
Dr. Mark Topinka Stanford University Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells
Dr. Donald S. Bethune IBM Almaden Research Center Carbon and Metals: The Discovery of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes
Dr. Holland Ford Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute the Search for Planets Around Low Mass Stars
Dr. Scott Severson Sonoma State University a Sharper View of the Universe
Douglas J. Mudgway William H. Pickering: America’s Deep Space Pioneer
Dr. Robin Erbacher University of California, Davis to the Top and Beyond: Particle Physics in the New Century
Michael Fulton Ion Beam Optics, Inc. From Deep Space to Earth: Photovoltaic Concentrators Impact the Future of Terrestrial Solar Energy Production
Dr. Fred Kuttner University of California, Santa Cruz Quantum Enigma: Reality, Entanglement, and Consciousness
Dr. Jeremy Qualls Sonoma State University the Attraction and Dangers of Extreme Magnetic Fields
Dr. Wim Leemans Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory From Zero to One Billion Electron Volts in 3.3 Centimeters
Ned Kahn Turbulent Fields