Chair's Welcome

Welcome to our exciting, stimulating, friendly, diverse and very spread-out Department!

Members of our Department can be found in eight buildings on campus (Astronomy and Astrophysics Center - AAC, High Energy Physics - HEP, Laboratory of Astrophysics and Space Research - LASR, Accelerator Building, Searle, Res. Adm., LBQ and Research Institutes - RI), three observatories (Yerkes Observatory, Apache Point Observatory - APO, and Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica - CARA), two national laboratories (Argonne and Fermilab), and a planetarium (Adler Planetarium).


AAC	LASR	RI

We work on a wide range of topics at the frontiers of astrophysics: from the newest theories in early-Universe cosmology to the ancient ideas of the Babylonian theory of the planets; from distant thermonuclear flashes to the nearby interstellar medium; from large-scale structure to small-scale star formation. We study the cosmic background radiation, as well as design adaptive optics. We build detectors, use telescopes and interferometers, and wethink about the cosmic consequences of string theory. Our interests range from the theory of astrophysical jets to observations from a jumbo jet carrying an infrared telescope. We investigate the universe using wavelengths from radio astronomy to the highest-energy cosmic rays.

We travel the world to discover the cosmos. Our scientific activities take us south to Antarctica and Argentina, north to the polar regions.
We go anywhere we can learn about the Universe.

We convey the excitement of our cosmic discoveries to the best graduate and undergraduate students in the world, as well as Chicago public schools and the public through Adler Planetarium. Indeed, by public lectures we spread the wonders of the Universe around the city and around the country, and open the door to the cosmos for the next generation of astronomers, lawyers, and venture capitalists.

We are Chicago Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Rocky Kolb, Chair