Physics and Engineering at Houghton

Key Strengths of Physics Program at Houghton

  • Warm, personal program. Professors and students to spend time together outside class – working problems, talking about research, and getting to know each other.
  • High expectations. We offer a rigorous program of study that demands our students to perform at their highest levels.
  • Collaborative Research. Your education should include real-world problems. We designed our curriculum to include hands-on research.
  • Summer Programs. Each summer, students work with Houghton faculty at Los Alamos National Laboratory or Cornell University.
  • Christian Emphasis. We want to build your faith as you develop a Christian philosophy of science, and prepare to represent Christ in the modern professional arena.
Mark Yuly

Welcome to the Department of Physics at Houghton College.

Since the first student graduated with a degree in physics from Houghton College in 1927, almost 200 students have followed; many of these have distinguished themselves both professionally and in service to Christ's kingdom.

What makes the Houghton College physics department so special? Our program allows professors and students to develop close working relationships with each other as we strive together toward the goal of academic excellence and spiritual growth. Even the use of our physical space in the Paine science building is consistent with this goal – the student offices are right next to the professors' offices. After the formal classes end, we often spend our afternoons working together at the office chalkboards, discussing research problems, and getting to know one another.

We know that to be successful, you will need more than demanding course work – your education requires difficult real-world problems. With this in mind, we designed our curriculum to include hands-on research. As early as your sophomore year you may choose an advisor and a research project. By the time you graduate, you will have completed a significant multi-year project and will be an expert in a particular area – then you can present your work as part of the physics seminar course.

Each summer, students travel with me to Los Alamos, New Mexico to work on nuclear physics experiments at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Hoffman involves his students in nanotechnology research at Cornell University. As a student, you could be involved in every aspect of a modern physics experiment, from designing the electronics to assembling detectors or writing computer codes for data analysis.

If you have never been to Houghton, I would encourage you to visit – while you are here you can discuss student research projects with the students themselves, see the labs, visit classes, and ask the professors and students about life and academics at Houghton. If you like, you can even stay in a dorm and eat at the cafeteria! If you are interested in visiting just let me know – I would be happy to help you make arrangements.

Sincerely,

Mark Yuly
Dr. Mark Yuly
Professor of Physics
Chair, Department of Physics and Earth Science