Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy
Kenneth C. McGill, Chair and Professor
Professors:Donovan Domingue, Ralph France III, Ronald Fietkau, Catrena Lisse, and Michael J. Pangia
Associate Professors: Kimberly Cossey, and Chavonda Mills
Assistant Professors: Koushik Banerjee, Arash Bodaghee, Hauke Busch, and Sharon Careccia
Lecturer: Linda Rocha
Department Contact Information:
Georgia College
Campus Box 82
Milledgeville, GA 31061
478-445-5769
Chemistry, Physics, & Astronomy Department Website: http://www.gcsu.edu/chemphys/index.htm
Chair, Kenneth McGill, ken.mcgill@gcsu.edu
Administrative Assistant, Darlene Hubbard, darlene.hubbard@gcsu.edu
Mission
Chemistry: The mission of the chemistry program at Georgia College is to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions in students required to excel in a professional setting by providing a well-rounded, challenging and engaging curriculum in chemistry.
Physics: The mission of the physics program at Georgia College is to help students develop the knowledge and skills required to excel in a professional setting by providing a well-rounded, challenging and engaging curriculum in the physics.
Student Success
Earning a college degree is a significant milestone in one's life and requires dedication to one's studies and tremendous effort to succeed. In order to enable you to achieve this goal, we have dedicated ourselves to developing measures that help ensure student success in our department's programs. This process begins with the First-Year Academic Seminars (CHEM 0001 and PHYS 0001), in which you are introduced to the faculty and students who make up the departmental community. You will join with other first-year students to get an overview of the subject matter covered in the majors, explore career possibilities, and to develop techniques for getting the most out of your college courses and activities. You will also learn about departmental and University expectations, policies, and resources. Because the college experience at GCSU is more intense than at many other schools, we have designed each curriculum to help you each step of the way. In addition, we are committed to offering the courses necessary to ensure that students who follow the program of study will graduate in four years. Toward that end, a typical four-year program of study has been developed, which serves as a guide each term for scheduling courses. Required courses are specified, then sequencing of courses is recommended. Students are advised to enroll in an average of 30 semester hours each year. Because of the relatively small number of majors in Chemistry and Physics, most of the major courses provide ample opportunity for personal interaction with the faculty.
Career Information
A recent employment survey by the American Chemical Society shows a stable job market and improving salaries for new chemistry graduates, reflecting the continuing strength of the U.S. economy in general. Major employers of chemists at all degree levels are the chemical industry, academia, and government. In industry, chemists are employed in production, applied research, basic research, or technical marketing. Advancement to positions in research and development management, plant management, or corporate management is possible.
In addition, the American Institute of Physics indicates that Physics offers challenging, exciting, and productive careers. As a career, physics covers many specialized fields - from acoustics, astronomy, and astrophysics to medical physics, geophysics, and vacuum sciences. Physics offers a variety of work activities - lab supervisor, researcher, technician, teacher, and manager. Physics opens doors to employment opportunities throughout the world in government, industry, schools, and private organizations.
An academic career requires a graduate degree, usually at the doctoral level. Financial assistance in the form of fellowships and teaching assistantships is widely available to those wishing to pursue graduate study in chemistry or physics.