Radio astronomy is the study of objects beyond the Earth's atmosphere using the light they emit in the radio band of the electromagnetic spectrum. The School of Mathematics and Physics is unique in Australia in possessing two world class radio telescopes, Mt Pleasant Observatory near Hobart and the other near Ceduna, South Australia.
The Theoretical Physics group carries out research work in High Energy Physics with a particular emphasis on symmetry properties of elementary particles and quantum field gauge theories.
The optical astronomy group searches for exoplanets and studies stellar populations and stellar astrophysics in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. The group operates a 1.3-metre telescope at the Greenhill Observatory approximately 65 km from Hobart.
Research in plant biophysics, which began before 1940, is about using physical measurements and techniques to study processes going on in living plants. Research continues in collaboration with Professor Sergey Shabala's lab in the School of Agricultural Science.
The major current project of the biophysics lab is to develop the MIFE™ system, which was invented here, for non-invasive measurement of nutrient movement into living cells and tissues.
The Cosmic Ray research group in the University of Tasmania Physics Department was founded immediately after World War 2 by Dr A G (Geoff) Fenton, under the guidance of Professor A L McAulay. The group, now led by Dr J E Humble, operates a network of surface and underground detectors as part of the world-wide effort to study cosmic-ray modulation over long time scales.