Department of Physics

Margaret Burke became the first woman to take a course at A&M College. She enrolled in a physics course.

The Department of Electrical Engineering and Department of Physics were established when the Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering separated into two programs.

The School of Engineering was established on May 28, 1923. The school included five departments: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, physics, and textile engineering.

The Bureau of Mines Building was originally a research station for studying mineral industries. It was later the home of the first nuclear reactor on campus, before becoming the home of the physics department.

Twenty-two women were listed on the faculty, most at the instructor or laboratory technician level. Departments with more than one woman employee included English (six), statistics (three), textiles (three), and modern languages (two). Women were also on the faculty in architecture, agricultural economics, mathematics, physics, social studies, chemistry, engineering, research, and agronomy.

The Department of Physics moved from the School of Engineering and became a founding department in the new School of Physical Science and Applied Mathematics.

The new head of the physics department, Dr. Dudley Williams, warned students that sleeping in class merited a piece of chalk being thrown directly at them.

The General Labs Building originally housed the administrative offices for the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, as well as the Departments of Physics and Statistics. In 1970, it was renamed Cox Hall in honor of Gertrude Mary Cox, professor emeritus of experimental statistics.

Formerly the General Labs Building, Cox Hall was dedicated in honor of Gertrude Mary Cox, professor emeritus of experimental statistics and the first woman named full professor at NC State. Cox Hall housed the physics and statistics departments.

Meena Ajmera became the first woman at NC State to receive a doctorate in physics.

The first L. H. Thomas lecture was held in the Department of Physics. This annual lecture became one of the most prestigious general audience presentations in the Research Triangle. Through 2009, more than 20 Nobel Prize winners were Thomas lecturers.

In an interview with the Technician, NC State physicist Worth Seagondollar recalled his work on the Manhattan Project. He was part of a team that calculated the first critical mass of plutonium. The interview is part of a special issue dedicated to atomic power.

The Department of Physics moved into its new home in Riddick Hall, which had been completely renovated to provide the department with about 10,000 square feet of space for its growing number of faculty, staff and students.

Jasper D. Memory and Raymond E. Fornes wrote the History of the NC State University Department of Physics: A Success Story. It was updated in 2013, and a version was hosted on the departmental website.

Alumnus and astronaut Christina Koch launched to the International Space Station. She was a part of the Expedition 59 and 60 crew. Koch later set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, and participated in the first all-woman spacewalk. At NC State, she earned a BS in electrical engineering (2001), a BS in physics (2001), and a MS in electrical engineering (2002).