OUR HISTORY

The Department of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, and General Science is one of nine academic departments within the College of Science, Engineering and Technology and is housed in the Ernest Just Science Hall, named for a world renowned African-American scientist. The Department offers a BS degree in Physics, BS in Meteorology, and Master of Science in Teaching Education. The Department also participates in the Ph.D. Environmental Science Program.

Physics has been a part of the curriculum at Jackson State University since the University's early days. Two years of physics were part of the five-year curriculum during the Natchez Seminary phase (1877-1899). During the period between 1955-1959 physics courses were offered as a part of the general Sciences curriculum. The Department of Physics was officially established in 1966-1967 as an independent unit within the Area of Science and Mathematics. During the same year, the Department began offering a curriculum for a general major in physics. The first two degrees with a major in physics were awarded in 1969.

During 1972 the physics program was merged with the Department of Science Education to form the Department of General Science. The program again reached the department level in 1978.

A Meteorology Program at Jackson State was proposed by President John A. Peoples in 1975 and authorized by the State Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning in 1976. With support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a faculty was established and the first degree with a major in Meteorology was awarded in 1980.

The Department of Physics and Meteorology was formed in July 1983 and represented a merger of the Department of Physics and the Program in Meteorology, which had been in the Department of General Science. The name was changed in 1985 to the name, Department of Physics and Atmospheric Sciences. The Department of General Science was merged to The Department of Physics and Atmospheric Sciences in July 1996 to form the present Department of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, and General Science.