Physics and Astronomy

Dartmouth Alums With This Major

• Physician, Hines VA Hospital
  (Illinois, Dartmouth '65)
• Vice President, NW Geophysical Associates
  (Oregon, Dartmouth '69)
• Professor of Physics, Georgetown University
  (Washington DC, Dartmouth '85)
• Director Emeritus, W. M. Keck Observatory
  (Hawaii, Dartmouth '63)
• Energy Consultant, Brady & Berliner
  (California, Dartmouth '77)
• Senior Area Analyst, United States Navy
  (Maryland, Dartmouth '78)
• Attorney, Manuel & McKinney
  (New Jersey, Dartmouth '72)
• Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Caltech
  (Pasadena, Dartmouth '85)
• Oceanographer
  (Colorado, Dartmouth '85)
• Computer Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  (California, Dartmouth '85)
• Investment Banking Managing Director, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
  (New York, Dartmouth '88)
• Strategist, IBM Corporation
  (Massachusetts, Dartmouth '94)
• Micro Processor/ Design Engineer, Intel Corporation
  (Massachusetts, Dartmouth '94)
• Horse Trainer/ Stable Manager, Longmedow Farm
  (New Mexico, Dartmouth '96)
• Architect, Della Vale & Bernheimer Design
  (Pennsylvania, Dartmouth '97)

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Major Description

The department focuses on a few core areas - astronomy and cosmology, quantum and condensed matter physics, plasma and space physics - and designs both the physics and astronomy majors within it to provide students with a solid foundation in analytic thinking, problem solving, and the fundamentals of physics through a selection of independent research opportunities as well as an array of specialized courses at a number of levels and various research seminars.

Skills Acquired

What is this?

• Critical Thinking (Independence of thought and ability to generate important questions)
• Quantitative Skills
• Creativity and Creative Initiative
• Problem Solving
• Independence and Personal Initiative (Motivation, etc.)

Possible Career Paths

• Astronomy
• Acoustical Physics
• Astrophysics
• Biophysics
• Fluid and Plasma Physics
• Geophysics
• Health Physics
• Medical Physics
• Nuclear Physics
• Optical Physics
• Science Education
• Technical
• Solid State Physics
• Business
• Law
• Healthcare

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