Our newest professor, Kurt Andresen,  received his B.A. in physics from Boston University and his Ph.D. in applied physics from Cornell University.  He researches electrostatic interactions in biological systems, using spectroscopic and x-ray scattering techniques. In particular, he investigates the physical processes involved with the compaction of DNA. Students in his research lab learn aspects of many disciplines, including physics as well as biochemistry and molecular biology.

Bret Crawford received his B.S. in electrical engineering at the University of South Carolina, an M.S. in physics from the University of Vermont, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in physics from Duke University. His research area is experimental nuclear physics, and he is currently involved in a measurement of the neutron-neutron scattering length with colleagues at the Yaguar reactor in Snezhinsk, Russia and a measurement at NIST (the National Institute of Science and Technology) of the parity-violating spin rotation of transversely polarized neutrons in superfluid helium. He, along with fellow Gettysburg physics professors Sharon Stephenson and Peter Pella, and many of our physics majors, has worked over the past few years to bring a 250-keV proton accelerator online here at the College; the 1960's era accelerator was generously donated by TUNL (Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory). Dr. Crawford teaches courses throughout the major as well as a course on the physics of music for non-science majors and a course on energy and the environment for the Environmental Studies Department.

Department Chair Timothy N. Good, a native of Pennsylvania, earned his B.S. in physics at nearby Dickinson College, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics at the University of California, Irvine. As a staff research physicist in the Center for Research in Plasma Physics at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, he concentrated on fundamental aspects of plasma physics, applying laser spectroscopic diagnostics to the study of plasma wave-particle interactions, an important topic in the pursuit of thermonuclear fusion research and in the modeling of astrophysical plasmas. His current work includes experiments designed to simulate plasma processes that have been observed in space during auroral magnetic storms. Such work has allowed Dr. Good to achieve and maintain his dual goal of teaching physics and involving students in exciting, rewarding research experiences.

W. K. T. Sahm Professor of Physics Laurence A. Marschall received his B.S. in engineering physics from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Chicago. He has been a visiting scientist at Yale University and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and a visiting professor at Boston University. He presently teaches courses and labs in astronomy, physics, and science writing, encouraging student participation in his research at the College Observatory and the National Undergraduate Research Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research includes the study of young stars in clusters and binary systems, and the study of exploding stars called supernova. Director of Project CLEA (Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy), an innovative series of computer exercises in astronomy distributed from Gettysburg College to students in all 50 states and 50 foreign countries, he also writes a regular column on science books of note for Natural History magazine and is a contributing editor of Smithsonian Air and Space. He also contributes annual astronomy updates to World Book Encyclopedia, and serves as deputy press officer of the American Astronomical Society. In addition to more than 40 articles in professional journals, Dr. Marschall has written for other publications such as Sky and Telescope, Astronomy,  Discover, Harper's, Newsday and The New York Times Book Review. He is the author of The Supernova Story, and co-author of  Galileo's New Universe: The Revolution in Our Understanding of the Cosmos, and Pluto Confidential: An Insider Account of the Ongoing Battles Over the Status of Pluto.

Jacquelynne Milingo received her Bachelor of Science degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Kansas, and her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. Her research utilizes a fundamental  physical tool, spectroscopy, which is the study of the distribution of energy emitted by an object as a function of wavelength.  In the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, this translates to studying the energy emitted by an object as a function of color.  Using this standard tool, she studies optical spectra of astrophysical gas in the form of a planetary nebulae to determine chemical composition. Involving students in her work has allowed them to travel to a variety of places, including Chile and Arizona!

Peter J. Pella received his B.S. from West Point, his M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his Ph.D. from Kent State University. Between degrees, he served in the U.S. Army and as a physicist at West Point. Participating in research at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility, the Bates Linear Accelerator Facility, and the Thomas Jefferson Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility in medium-energy nuclear physics, his work includes the study of the spin response of the nuclear force and fundamental properties of the neutron. He is also involved in issues related to nuclear weapons; as a William Foster Fellow, he has worked at the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (now the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation or ISN), from which he received a meritorious honor award for his service in achieving the indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), an award which states in part "…Largely due to Dr. Pella's efforts, United States officials had the best and most current information available to them when they met with their foreign counterparts." 

Sharon L. Stephenson received her B.S. in physics from Millsaps College and her Ph.D. in nuclear physics from North Carolina State University. Her research is in the specific structure of nuclei and in the nuclear weak force, which takes her to the Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab on the campus of Duke University, as well as to the Los Alamos National Laboratory near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Besides teaching courses and labs in introductory physics, modern physics, and classical mechanics, as well as a first year seminar on gender in science and technology, Dr. Stephenson serves as coordinator for the Department's Dual-Degree Engineering Program. 

Michael Strickland is our theoretical physicist specializing in high-energy particle physics. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, his Ph.D. from Duke University, and has held multiple research positions and fellowships: Ohio State University, University of Washington (Seattle), Duke University, Vienna University of Technology (Austria), Helsinki Institute for Theoretical Physics (Finland), Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (Germany), and the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe University - Institute for Theoretical Physics (Frankfurt am Main, Germany). He continues to work with the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies as an adjunct fellow, assisting in guiding their theoretical program. His primary research interest is the physics of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), and he has published 54 research papers and received over 1460 citations of his work. In addition, he is the co-author of Neural Networks: An Introduction.  Dr. Strickland serves as advisor to the Gettysburg chapter of the Society of Physics Students.