Faculty

Full-Time Faculty

Milka Nikolic

Department Chair

mnikolic@usfca.edu (415) 422-4947

Milka Nikolic's research focuses primarily on developing spectroscopy methods for plasma etching technology. She is interested in both theoretical and experimental approaches to solving mysteries of physics. In particular, she works in combining laser diagnostics with widely used optical emission spectroscopy technique to obtain fundamental plasma properties. Understanding these properties plays an important role in surface modification processes. In addition, she's exploring molecular...

Education:

PhD, Old Dominion University

Thomas Böttger

Professor

tbottger@usfca.edu (415) 422-5716

Tom Böttger is from Berlin, Germany and is first and foremost a teacher. He enjoys teaching the large introductory physics courses as well as hands-on courses like Electronics and Digital Electronics.In his research he studies optical, dynamical, and magnetic properties of solids, specifically optical materials doped with rare earth ions. This work is centered on understanding the fundamental material physics at the microscopic scale, but also geared towards the development of optical materials...

Education:

Montana State University, PhD in Physics, 2002, Montana State University, MS in Physics, 1999, Humboldt University, Germany, Diploma in Physics, 1996, University of Kent, England, University Diploma in Physics, 1993

Brandon Brown

Professor

brownb@usfca.edu

Brandon R Brown pursued doctoral training in superconductivity and low-temperature physics, with postdoctoral work in science communication. Once at the University of San Francisco, he shifted his research focus to sensory biophysics. He and his collaborators and students explored the electric and magnetic sensory abilities of a variety of creatures. Brandon served as associate dean for sciences, during which time the university completed planning stages for the Lo Schiavo Center for Science...

Education:

PhD, Oregon State University (Vortex Dynamics in High-temperature Superconductors)

Expertise:

High-temperature superconductivity, Sensory biophysics, History of science, Science communication, Fundraising

Horacio Camblong

Professor

camblongh@usfca.edu (415) 422-2364

Professor Camblong's research has been centered on miscellaneous topics in quantum field theory, gravitational physics, and many-body theory. His main focus has been on developing general frameworks, with applications to fields as diverse as condensed-matter physics, molecular physics, nuclear physics, elementary particle physics, and quantum gravity. Some of the highlights of his published research over the past decade include collaborative work on: a geometrical and gauge-invariant approach...

Education:

PhD, New York University, 1993

Expertise:

A geometrical and gauge-invariant approach to the quantum effective action, Many-body formulation of magnetotransport for inhomogeneous systems, Nonlinear redefinitions of quantum fields in path integrals, Path integral treatments of singular problems and bound states, Renormalization theory, Quantum anomalies in molecular physics

Seth Foreman

Associate Professor

sforeman@usfca.edu (415) 422-4510

I am excited about using high-precision control of light to create and control extremely brief pulses of electrons! My main tools are ultrafast lasers and field emission tips. Much of my earlier graduate work concentrated on improving the exquisite control of light fields achieved by the optical clock and ultrafast laser communities. With undergraduate research students at USF, we investigate the ultrafast field emission process. Students have designed, built, and characterized femtosecond...

Education:

PhD, JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2007

Xiaosheng Huang

Associate Professor

xhuang22@usfca.edu (415) 422-6281

My research interests are in observational cosmology. Fourteen years after the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe (Nobel Prize 2011), a standard model of the universe (and its variations) has been established but fundamental questions about the nature of dark energy remain unanswered. Along with collaborators in the Supernova Cosmology Project led by Saul Perlmutter at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, I am working on the following projects and would like to engage...

Education:

PhD, University of California, Berkeley, Physics (2004)

Aparna Venkatesan

Professor

avenkatesan@usfca.edu (415) 422-6152

I am currently a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of San Francisco. Please visit my website for more details on my research, undergraduate projects, CV, recent awards and press, etc. Recent awards and grants include a Cottrell College Science Award from Research Corporation (2010-2013), a USF Jesuit Foundation Grant (2012), and a Dean's Scholar Award at USF for 2012-2013. I am USF's Lead Faculty Member in a 3-year $437,883 collaborative grant (2012-2015)...

Education:

MS and PhD, University of Chicago, BA in Astronomy, Cornell University

Expertise:

Theoretical Astrophysics, Cosmology, First Stars and Primordial Supernovae, Cosmological Reionization, Cosmic Element Synthesis, Microwave Background, Dark Stars, Astrobiology

Part-Time Faculty

Marija Djordjevic

mdjordjevic2@usfca.edu

Marija Djordjevic is a geophysicist with a MS in geophysics from the University of Houston. She utilizes a non-judgmental approach to teaching and provides modifications for diverse learning styles. Her scholarly interests include: field work, data analysis, physical geology, earth science, and velocity model building, to name just a few.

Education:

University of Houston, MS Geophysics, 2005, University of Belgrade, BS in Geology/Geophysics, 2002

Expertise:

Project Management, Velocity Model Building

Andrew Fittingoff

Adjunct Professor

ahfittingoff@usfca.edu

Education:

SF State University, MS in Physics, 2011

William Golightly

Adjunct Professor

wjgolightly@usfca.edu

Education:

PhD, University of California San Diego, 1995

Kathryn Kooistra

Adjunct Professor

kkooistra@usfca.edu

Kathryn Kooistra is an adjunct professor in the physics department and her primary interest is in astronomy. She grew up in New Jersey and moved out to San Francisco to pursue her Masters in 2016. In addition to teaching, she also gives shows at the California Academy of Sciences, where she presents on everything from comets to black holes.

Education:

San Francisco State University, MS in Physics with a Concentration in Astronomy, 2019, Muhlenberg College, BS in Physics, 2015

Expertise:

Physics, Astronomy

Aaron White

Adjunct Professor

adwhite4@usfca.edu

Aaron White is an adjunct professor focusing on science education and outreach, with specialties in physics and astronomy. He’s worked as a science communicator at several museums, produced and hosted science videos for Youtube, been a panelist at Comicon, and done science advising for video games. His graduate thesis investigated new approaches for teaching undergraduates cosmology, and how to integrate multimedia tools into instruction. Previous projects involved refining our understanding...