OKState Physics

Join ASTR 1013: The Solar System (Summer 2026 – Online) and take an unforgettable journey through our cosmic neighborhood! 🌌 From planets and moons to asteroids, comets, and the search for life beyond Earth, this course brings the wonders of space down to Earth in a way that’s engaging, accessible, and seriously cool.

No need to be a math expert—just bring your curiosity. You’ll learn about seasons, gravity, orbits, eclipses, and more, with guidance every step of the way.

🌍 Discover how the solar system works
🛰️ Explore real science behind space phenomena
🌙 Understand our place in the universe

Spots are filling fast—don’t miss your chance to be part of this stellar experience!

👉 Enroll now and launch your summer into orbit!

OSU Hosting 2026 International Physicists' Tournament May 2026

Help OSU to host 2026 International Physicists' Tournament (IPT) Oklahoma State to welcome university students around the world to compete in the 18th International Physicists' Tournament in May 2026.

Colloquium guest scheduled this week February 26th is Dr. Jaehoon Yu, Distinguished Professor of Physics, University Texas at Arlington. Welcome to OSU!!

Colloquium Thursday February 19th, Dr. Ben Rose Assistant Professor of Physics at Baylor University.

Supernova Cosmology in the Era of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

NASA’s next flagship mission, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, is set to launch in September 2026. Roman will have a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble and will survey the sky 1,000 times faster, producing an enormous amount of data. This opens the door to exciting new discoveries—but also brings major challenges in how we analyze such large datasets. One of Roman’s key science goals is to study Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia)—stellar explosions that have been used for over 30 years as “standard candles” to measure cosmic distances. These supernovae provided the first evidence for Dark Energy and the accelerated expansion of the Universe, and they remain central to measuring the current expansion rate, known as the Hubble constant (H0), with remarkable precision. However, big questions remain. Why do different cosmological measurements give different values of H0? What is Dark Energy, and is it changing with time? Even though SN Ia are powerful tools, improving their precision is limited by both astrophysical uncertainties and the instruments we use. In this talk, I’ll discuss how our team is preparing for Roman’s supernova program and the strategies we’re developing to tackle these challenges.

Dear Physics Friends,

We (Dr. Borunda and Dr. Haley) officially joined the CAS Team for the 2026 Cowboy Country Plunge on Feb 21st!
We will be freezing for a reason: to support the Stillwater Special Olympics. If you’d like to support our jump, please donate here:

[https://www.classy.org/team/801835].

If we each can raise $500, we will plunge and stay in the freezing water for a full 30 seconds. Please make sure to add a comment saying "Donating for [Borunda or Haley]" so it counts toward our goal! Thank you for your support!
If you have any trouble with the link or the file, just let me know.

Go Pokes!

Mario

Undergraduate Research Symposium Opportunity

Please join Dr. Benton and The College of Arts and Science for Research on Tap February 9th at Iron Monk Brewery.

Colloquium guest scheduled this week is Dr. Christopher Gutierrez, Assistant Professor of Physics University of California, Los Angeles. Welcome to OSU