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 has a 1 metre telescope and extensive support facilities at the Canopus Hill Observatory approximately 12 km from Hobart. Current research in the group includes the study of gravitational microlensing events as part of the worldwide PLANET collaboration and the study of X-ray pulsars and black hole accretors.
Research in plant biophysics was begun after the second world war under the inspiration of the versatile Professor A L McAulay. The biophysics group continued under the leadership of Dr B I H Scott and now Dr I A Newman. Its graduates include several of Australia's leading plant biophysicists.
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.