Our faculty are engaged in advanced studies of atoms and molecules, nuclei, materials and the cosmos. Active since 1971, our versatile tandem Van de Graaff accelerator laboratory has been continually upgraded to remain state of the art. The department also has an x-ray diffractometer and a Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS) from Quantum Design with 14 Tesla cryogen-free superconducting magnet. The PPMS allows measurements from 0.05K to 400K of magnetization, electrical conductivity, and specific heat for condensed matter physics research.
WMU is an associated institution with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics - Center for the Evolution of the Elements (JINA-CEE), and our faculty have particularly strong collaborations with several national and international scientists and agencies.
Experimental studies are conducted at our own facilities and at larger national and international facilities. For example, our faculty regularly conduct research at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, the Environmental and Molecular Science Laboratory, the nearby Lurie Nanofabrication Facility and National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. We also anticipate active research at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University, when it comes online.
Our theory faculty and students utilize the department's computer cluster, and have access to national supercomputer centers.