Undergraduate Research
Research that’s advancing the field
Through unique undergraduate research experiences, our students have the chance to take their learning beyond the classroom – working on real-world challenges.
Working alongside professors, you’ll build your resume, develop practical skills that set you apart, and have the chance to publish your work for the world to see.
Our department conducts research in the following areas: computational and theoretical physics; low dimensional and complex materials; magnetic properties of materials; physics and science education; low-dimensional structures and surfaces and more.
Each summer, several research fellowships are awarded to students. Typically, fellows are awarded a stipend of $4000 for 10 weeks of research during the summer. Along with the stipend, a modest equipment and supplies budget of $500 is also available to those engaged in experimental work.
Ready to start making discoveries?
New research is revolutionizing electronics
Spintronics has the potential to revolutionize the electronic devices we use every day.
The UNI Department of Physics has been studying this emerging field for years. Now, with a new $236,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, that research will continue to advance the field.
Modeling COVID-19 Infections
UNI physics major Madelyn Johnson is using physics to track the spread of COVID-19.
Johnson and Ali Tabei, an associate professor of physics, are using a software program to create a model of how infections spread. It could then be applied to simulate the spread of COVID within a community.
Physics, big data and the quest for a cure
A group of three UNI physics students have partnered with the University of Iowa Department of Biochemistry in a unique, collaborative research effort to study cells, and their natural self-repairing mechanisms.
Their research, though still in progress, could have vast implications in the medical field and in cancer research.
Summer Undergraduate Research Projects
Student Research Summer 2025
Congratulations! Chemurgy 2.0 Symposium
Congratulations to UNI Physics majors Addison Cunningham, Clare Wright, and Sander Tompkins for securing the second-place Poster Award at the Chemurgy 2.0 Symposium among more than 40 posters, including graduate students and postdocs from the University of Iowa and Iowa State University! The title of their poster is: "Stochastic Modeling of Nucleoprotein Oligomerization and Parameter Estimation from Mass Photometry Data.” Chemurgy 2.0 is a large National Science Foundation grant involving five Iowa colleges and universities (ISU, Iowa, UNI, Central College and Dordt University), with an emphasis on the development of biologically-inspired technologies. The success of Addi, Clare and Sander is a tribute to the mentorship of their research supervisor, Dr. Ali Tabei. So, congrats to Ali as well!