Students in the Department of Physics study with faculty members whose research represents a wide range of interests, including condensed matter physics, solid state physics, and nuclear and high energy physics.
Physics at USD also goes underground deep in a former gold mine in Lead, South Dakota, where the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory’s layers of solid rock insulate research projects from radiation that can interfere with sensitive experiments. USD faculty and students are a part of a collaborative group of researchers who use the facility for projects that are searching for dark matter and seeking a better understanding of the neutrino, the tiny and abundant particles that fill our universe.
Our department trains and educates graduate and undergraduate students to develop a scientific workforce for the state of South Dakota.