NEWS RELEASE

Communications and Marketing Office
600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900

For more information, contact:
Phone: 386-226-6157
Fax: 386-226-6158
Contact: Bob Ross
Phone: 386-226-6198

New Ph.D. in Engineering Physics Lifts Off at Embry-Riddle

Daytona Beach, Fla., Aug. 30, 2010 -- A unique new Ph.D. program in Engineering Physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University lifts off from the launch pad this week, with a group of students taking courses in space physics, planetary orbits, solar wind, remote sensing, spacecraft dynamics, and more.

“This degree is a blend of physics and engineering and its focus on the space program is a rare combination,” said John Olivero, professor and chair of the physical sciences department at the university’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus, where it is offered.

The new program’s first students are as unique as the degree itself. They have previously engineered rocket payloads, directed operations on a submarine, and gained research experience at Harvard’s Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, and India’s space program.

One student has a head start on the research component that the program requires. Alexander Sjogren is studying data collected by NASA’s Themis satellites to identify what causes temperatures in the upper atmospheric plasma sheet to be asymmetrical. Most of the visible universe is made of plasma, a highly ionized gas containing a nearly equal number of electrons and positive ions. He is also looking into how varying solar wind conditions contribute to this condition.

Sjogren’s research is supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awarded to Katariina Nykyri, associate professor of physical sciences. He has already presented results from his study at a national conference sponsored by NSF.

According to Olivero, President Obama’s new focus for the U.S. space program means more money will be spent on space science research, resulting in more job opportunities for those with the Ph.D. in Engineering Physics.

“Commercialization of space has been going on for 20 years,” Olivero said. “Satellites are being sent up by companies, and microgravity is big business. The buzz about space tourism is not just about rich people traveling to the edge of space. Scientists can hitch rides on suborbital space flights for less money than they now have to pay on government launches.”

The new Ph.D. builds on the undergraduate and master’s degrees in Engineering Physics and on the university’s solid program of space research funded by NASA, NSF, U.S. Air Force, and other agencies. At Embry-Riddle, faculty researchers probe Earth’s upper atmosphere for clues about global warming, as well as space weather events like solar storms that can compromise satellite systems and disrupt power grids and pipelines. Others conduct studies of spacecraft dynamics and control, space robotics, cosmology and star formation, quantum optics, and the physiology of space travel.

The new Ph.D. blends theoretical physics with practical engineering applications and problem-solving. It is designed for those who wish to conduct cutting-edge research ranging from the remote sensing of the Earth’s upper atmosphere and space weather to the engineering of spacecraft control systems and scientific instruments.

Students in the Ph.D. program will complete a year or more of coursework at the Daytona Beach campus before selecting a thesis adviser and topic for research and then writing their doctoral dissertation.

Those who receive a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics from Embry-Riddle will go on to careers conducting research in industry and government labs and teaching in universities. Some will become leaders of space programs in other countries.

The new doctoral program is the second one offered at Embry-Riddle. Coursework for a Ph.D. degree in Aviation started in January 2010.

For more information about the Ph.D. in Engineering Physics, contact John Olivero, professor and department chair of physical sciences, at 386-226-6453 or john.olivero@erau.edu.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 150 campus centers in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.