The Dayton area, because of entities like the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), and various companies, boasts one of the highest densities of scientists and engineers in the country. This translates into opportunities for students at UD interested in physics. In addition, because of active research programs within the Department of Physics, opportunities exist for physics majors within the department as well.

• The faculty members in the Department of Physics have research efforts ongoing in experimental quantum optics, theoretical quantum optics, nonlinear optics, laser light scattering and laser spectroscopy, particle physics, and semiconductor physics. Physics majors have the opportunity to get involved in projects with physics faculty members working in these sub-fields of physics. To see examples of the types of projects available to undergraduate physics majors within the physics department, visit the Research page.
• Research laboratories within the physics department consist of:

The Laser Probes Lab
The Laser Raman Microprobe Lab
The Magneto-Optic Atom Trap Lab
The Magnetic Rotation Spectroscopy Lab
The Nonlinear Optics Lab
The Semiconductor Physics Lab

• The University of Dayton Research Institute does over $50 M of externally sponsored research each year. The presence of UDRI on-campus provides additional opportunities for physics majors.
• Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just a short drive from campus, is the location of a plethora of world class research laboratories, many of which provide internship opportunities for physics majors.
• The new Nanotechnology for Engineering, Science and Technology (NEST) initiative located in the Science Center will provide opportunities for physics majors as well as other students in science and engineering.
• The opportunity exists to become involved with the local chapter of the national Society of Physics Students (SPS).  The UD chapter has been recognized in the past as an outstanding chapter.
• The opportunity exits to partake in the physics department seminar series which consists of seminars by top flight researchers about their work.
• The department supports opportunities to participate in NSF sponsored summer REU programs at various sites around the United States. Several UD physics majors have participated in these programs in the past.
• Students with an interest in electro-optics have the opportunity to enter into the University of Dayton's Electro-Optics Graduate Program upon completion of their undergraduate degree. UD offers the only such program in Ohio and it is one of a very few such programs nationally.