Physics and Engineering Faculty and Student Research

Faculty Research Areas

Physics and Engineering Faculty have active research programs with many avenues for students to get involved. Doing research with faculty is one of the best ways to grow your skills and bolster your resume for later internships or graduate work. Our students often present their research alongside faculty at national conferences and in published scientific journals.

Dr Darren Craig with Wheaton College Physics Students

plasma-team-with-prof-2025Dr. Jim Schroeder

Wheaton Space Plasma Physics Laboratory - (L to R) Nathaniel Tarullo (’26), Josh Whelan (’27), Maia Peterson (’27), Julia Nordstrom (’25). The pink glow behind Maia's head is plasma. 
More about the WSPPL Research


roessler_attractor2Dr. Robert Bishop

Dr. Bishop's research involves the history and philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, philosophy of social science, philosophy of mind and psychology, and metaphysics. He is particularly interested in chaos and complex systems and their philosophical implications.


MST DrawingDr. Darren Craig

Dr. Craig is an experimental plasma physicist. His research is on problems important for the confinement of hot plasmas for magnetic fusion energy and related problems in naturally occurring plasmas in space and astrophysics.

Read more about Dr. Craig's Research


Aurora BorealisDr. Jim Schroeder

Dr. Schroeder has performed experiments using UCLA’s Large Plasma Device (LAPD) studying the interaction of Alfven waves with electrons. After returning to Wheaton as a faculty member, he stayed involved with LAPD experiments, and he started a new collaboration with the Naval Research Lab in Washington, DC. He is also building a plasma experiment at Wheaton College.

Read More: 
Dr. Jim Schroeder Receives the American Astronomical Society 2023 Early Career Award >
Dr. Jim Schroeder Discovers the Force Behind the Northern Lights>

 

Contact the Physics and Engineering Department

Need assistance? Have a question? Want more information about department activities and opportunities? We're here to help: 630.752.5007 | physics@wheaton.edu

<h3><media-item data-t4-type="media" data-t4-media-id="251478" data-t4-instance-id="153" data-t4-markup-for="251478" data-t4-media-language="en" data-t4-media-attributes="{&quot;attributes&quot;:{&quot;border&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;padding&quot;:&quot;0px 20px 20px 0px&quot;,&quot;margin&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;display&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;float&quot;:&quot;left&quot;}}" data-t4-media-formatter="image/normal" data-media-html="&lt;img src=&quot;https://cms.wheaton.edu/terminalfour/SiteManager?ctfn=download&amp;fnno=60&amp;ceid=1eea20f1ed6eb4f259b5950e0db4b37fc9e40ad5&quot; alt=&quot;Dr-hsu-graphic-image-for-research&quot; style=&quot; padding: 0px 20px 20px 0px;   float: left;&quot; &gt;" data-broken-media="false" style="float: left;"><img style="padding: 0px 20px 20px 0px; float: left;" src="https://cms.wheaton.edu/terminalfour/SiteManager?ctfn=download&amp;fnno=60&amp;ceid=1eea20f1ed6eb4f259b5950e0db4b37fc9e40ad5" alt="Dr-hsu-graphic-image-for-research" /></media-item>Dr. Darren Hsu</h3>
<p>Dr. Hsu&rsquo;s&nbsp;research aims to understand how biological and synthetic materials are able to demonstrate advanced properties from nanoscale features. This research involves predicting their thermodynamic and mechanical behavior at the molecular scale using computational methods.&nbsp;</p>
<hr />