Department of Physics (University of Texas at Austin)
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| Motto | Disciplina praesidium civitatis |
|---|---|
| Type | Public research university |
| Established | 1884 |
| Chair | Pablo Laguna |
| Location | Austin, Texas , United States of America |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | physics |
The Department of Physics is an academic department of the University of Texas at Austin. The department has 55 core faculty members and approximately 400 undergraduate and 175 graduate students.[1]
The students and faculty conduct research in the fields of AMO, biophysics, condensed matter physics, cosmology, fusion physics, gravitational physics, high energy physics, and nuclear physics. The department's faculty include a Nobel prize laureate and recipients of other major honors such as the Wolf Prize and Breakthrough Prize.[2] The department also houses institutes such as the Texas Quantum Institute, Institute for Fusion Studies, and Weinberg Institute for Theoretical Physics that foster innovation and cultivate collaborations in quantum physics, plasma/fusion physics, and astrophysics, respectively.
The Department of Physics was created in 1884 by Professor John W. Mallet, an Irish immigrant who served as Chairman of the Faculty and professor of chemistry and physics from 1883-1884. Supposedly, Mallet was enticed by the challenge of creating a new department from scratch and was paid an annual salary of $4,000, compared to the other seven faculty members' $3,500.[3] Later, in 1894, George W. Pierce earned the first master's degree from the department, followed by Eugene A. Paulin, who earned the department's first PhD in 1929.
The physical landscape of UT Austin's department of physics has also changed significantly since its inception. When the department was first founded, it was housed in a single building: The Old Main Building. However, in the 1930s, the decision was made to raze the building, despite objections from the students and faculties. In 1933, the new physics and astronomy building was completed and later named "Painter Hall." Subsequently, in 1970, the College of Natural Sciences was created, encompassing the Department of Physics as well as several other departments from the College of Arts and Sciences.[1] The next relevant building constructed was the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Building, previously known as Robert Lee Moore Hall, which was finished in 1972. Currently, it houses the physics, math, and astronomy departments (as implied by the building's name) alongside the Kuehne Physics Mathematics Astronomy Library.
Department Ranking
The UT Austin Department of Physics is generally ranked among the top 20 universities nationally. When ranked among graduate schools across the U.S. in 2023, the US News placed it at 13th place, tied with physics departments from U Penn, U Michigan, and Johns Hopkins.[4] UT Austin's department of physics is also ranked 36th and 37th globally in 2025 by QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education respectively, based on criteria of reputation and research opportunities.[5][6] On the other hand, Best Physics Universities Ranking by Research.com, using exclusively research publications and bibliometric data, placed UT Austin 18th nationally in 2024.[7]
