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Research

The Physics Department at Creighton University has faculty members who lead research in a variety of areas. Undergraduate and Graduate students are paid or receive course credit for doing research, and they often author research papers in peer-reviewed journals and present their work at conferences.

Research Skills

Physics research is a great way to learn and gain expertise in high-tech, transferable skills.

Computer Programming: Computer programming plays a huge role in modern science. Students learn a variety of programming ecosystems through research and coursework, including Matlab, Mathematica, Python, and Multiphysics for scientific programming and simulation; and LabView and Arduino programming for controlling experiments and hardware.

Machine Shop: The physics department has a fully-equipped machine shop operated by Brad Walters. With his guidance, students build parts for their experiments, such as optical devices, vacuum chambers, and detectors.

Electronics: In many of the experimental research groups, students use digital and analog electronics for controlling experiments or designing measurement tools. A one-credit electronics laboratory course introduces students to these high-tech skills.

Creighton University Physics Research Areas

Read below to find out more about all the exciting research opportunities you can take part in at Creighton University
artistic depiction of emissions from a quasar

Astrophysics

Dr. Gabel’s research in observational astrophysics focuses on quasars, the most luminous objects in the universe that are powered by material accreting into supermassive blackholes at the centers of distant galaxies. His group uses spectra collected with the Hubble Space Telescope and large ground-based observatories to study the accretion, emission and outflow processes observed in these extreme objects.
Dr. Nichols working with a research student

Biophysical Optics

Dr. Nichols uses optical physics to see into the biological realm. This includes investigating the metabolism of cells and cellular mechanics in a variety of contexts, including cancer.
Dr. Soto and students discussing molecular models

Computational Biophysics

Dr. Soto’s computational molecular biophysics research studies amyloid diseases, such as prion diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and immunoglobin light chain (AL) amyloidosis.
Student in Dr. Sidebottom's research lab pouring molten glass

Condensed Matter

Dr. Sidebottom uses laser light scattering to measure the size and shape of small, but highly fluorescent, carbon nanoparticles produced in overcooked sugar water. These small particles offer a non-toxic alternative to bio-markers currently used in cellular imaging.
dark matter distribution

Dark Matter

Dr. Duda investigates astro-particle physics, an interdisciplinary and quickly expanding field which applies theoretical particle physics solutions to astrophysical problems. Examples of research in astro-particle physics includes dark matter, dark energy, cosmic ray fluxes, neutrino masses, and large scale structure of the universe (and many more).
Dr. Wrubel and student adjusting optics

Laser-Cooled Atoms

Dr. Wrubel uses lasers to cool gas atoms down to temperatures below a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. These ultracold atoms behave like spread-out waves. We probe fundamental questions about magnetism in these quantum mechanical atomic waves.
Particle tracks from gold-gold collisions in the STAR detector

Particle Colliders

Dr. Seger studies the tiniest building blocks of matter using nuclear collisions at the STAR Experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva.
color cards to solicit realtime feedback from students in the classroom

Physics Education

Dr. Duda and Dr. Soto investigate how students learn physics using aspects of cognitive science, psychology, and learning theory. Many best-practices from physics education research appear in our courses, such as using “clickers,” prelectures, tutorials, and projects.
Dr. Ekpenyong and research students

Translational Biomedical Physics

Dr. Ekpenyong’s biomedical physics research seeks to understand how biological cells function as mechanical units, with material properties. This leads to improved disease diagnosis, patient monitoring, and drug development and testing.
partial diagram of the Grover quantum computing algorithm

Quantum Computing

Dr. Wong’s research focuses on the software side of quantum computing. This includes developing fast quantum algorithms for searching networks using the quantum version of a random walk. This involves running simulations on classical computers, programming real quantum processors, and proving everything mathematically.

Contact Us

Department Office
Hixson-Lied Science Building, Room G79
Phone: 402.280.2835
Fax: 402.280.2140

Mailing Address
Department of Physics
2500 California Plaza
Omaha NE 68178

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