Research

The Northern Arizona University Applied Physics and Materials Science program will create the scientists of the future by shedding traditional boundaries and embracing the intrinsic diverse strengths of Arizona and the United States. The APMS program is built upon an opportunity to bring science and physics back to materials science, and vice versa, and for NAU to position itself with a program of 2050, not 1950, to serve the future needs of the current student!

Focal areas of research in the Applied Physics and Materials Science department:

• exploration and applications of inorganic or hard nanomaterials
• exploration and applications of soft matter nanomaterials
• modeling of molecular and quantum behavior for materials design
• design and synthesis of photonic materials
• development of characterization methods to understand the mechanical and optical properties of materials
• utilization of optical approaches to manipulate materials