Faculty Research

A banner composed of three images: (left) an image of scientists working in the W7-X control room, image 1.6 from the book

What we do

The faculty in the Physics Department are involved in a wide range of research projects spanning experimental projects with solar panels, to the design of laser imaging systems, to theoretical projects describing the spacetime of inside-out black holes in 5 dimensions!

Opportunities to participate in physics research

Students who are interested in research (which can count for credit toward graduation through Independent Studies) are encouraged to inquire about opportunities. Typically, starting research in the second or third year is ideal so that you have a strong background in the fundamentals of physics and calculus and sufficient time to make a substantial contribution.

Opportunities to present research

SUNY Cortland hosts two important events that highlight student research. The Undergraduate/Alumni Science Symposium is held in the fall and brings together students, faculty, and successful alumni from a broad range of STEM disciplines. Students have the opportunity to present their research in a poster session, with a few outstanding students selected for keynote talks. In the spring, SUNY Cortland hosts its Transformations event, which features research from all disciplines across the campus. Both of these events are totally voluntary and are great opportunities for students to acquire public speaking and presentation experience prior to grad school or entering the workforce.

Faculty Research Interests

Professor Moataz Emam is a theoretical physicist whose work examines the smallest and the largest scales of the universe. At the smallest scales, Professor Emam studies string theory, which is a description of fundamental particles in 10 or 11 dimensions. At the largest scales, Professor Emam studies generalizations of Einstein's theory of general relativity. He is the recipient of the State University of New York’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities 2023-2024.

Professor Douglas Armstead's work focuses on applications of solar panel technology as a renewable energy source for large scale deployment on the grid. He is also a partner in a local company that designs and installs residential solar power systems.

Professor Eric Edlund's research is eclectic. His most recent studies have focused on orbital dynamics. He also has an ongoing collaboration with MIT and the Wendelstein 7-X project at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany, where he designed and built an optical device called a phase contrast imaging system for studying turbulence in fusion plasmas. He has also published papers with colleagues from the Economics Department and the Art Department. You can find a full list of his works here.

Lecturer Sean Nolan’s research focuses on science education at the secondary and higher education levels. Mr. Nolan is currently engaged in a 5 year long case study exploring culturally responsive science teaching of former SUNY Cortland science education majors. Additionally, Mr. Nolan has given presentations regarding Wooclap, an online polling software that he utilizes to engage and assess students in large lecture classes. A link to a Woobinar that he did can found here.

Physics Research Highlights

	Eric Edlund published a paper titled "Lagrange Points and Regionally Conserved Quantities" in the American Journal of Physics (AJP) in June 2024. Figure 6 from this article, shown at the left, was chosen for the cover of the June edition of AJP. This article is freely available to the public here. He and current student, Ryan Hayes, are working on a follow-up article to this work that they plan to submit for review later this year.

	Moataz Emam is author of Covariant Physics, an undergraduate textbook on the subject of general relativity, published by Oxford University Press. Professor Emam uses this text in his General Relativity course (PHY 445) at SUNY Cortland.

	Douglas Armstead co-authored a paper titled "Local and regional PV power variability in the northeastern US: Implications for simplified utility flicker screening analyses" in the Journal of Energy. This work examined the robsutness of the electric grid with wide-scale adoption of photo-voltaic (solar panel) power systems. These systems are prone to variability due to changes in local weather, which must be compensated at the grid-level. Armstead argues that a threshold condition for PV power integration can largely solve the so-called "flicker" problem.