Information about Luther College Physics Alumni

Ever wonder what one does with a physics major? Well look no further. If you are considering physics, take a look at some of the careers that others have pursued with this degree. You'll see many of our graduates go on to careers in engineering, but many other professions are possible too, such as physics research, education, mathematics, and music.

The American Physical Society (APS) website also has information about physics-related careers.

We like to stay in touch with our graduates. If you are a graduate of Luther's physics department and have comments or memories that you would like to share with us, please contact Erin Flater .

On this page, you will find the following information about our alumni.

• A summary of post graduation activity for physics graduates between 1995 and 2005
• Detailed information about physics graduates between 1993 and 2006

SUMMARY ON PHYSICS MAJORS GRADUATED BETWEEN 1995 and 2005

A good majority of the Luther physics students pursue careers in engineering.  Between 1996 and 2005, 88 students graduated from Luther with a physics major.  Fifty-one of those 88 students entered graduate programs and 7 entered our "Dual Degree" engineering program. (The Dual Degree program allows students to earn two bachelor's degrees, one from Luther and one in engineering from either the University of Minnesota or Washington University in St. Louis.)  The remaining 30 alumni have followed a wide range of career paths, including military officer training school, high school teaching, and actuarial jobs. 

Here are some statistics on the 51 students who attended graduate school:

Field of study:
Physics: 13
Engineering: 27
Other fields: 11 (typically math or computer science but at least one was in music).

School attended:
University of Minnesota (9)
Iowa State University (5)
University of Wisconsin (5)
Washington University (3)
University of Illinois (2)
University of Iowa (2)
University of Washington (2)
California Institute of Technology
Colorado School of Mines
Indiana University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
North Carolina State
Notre Dame
Oxford University
Portland State University
Purdue University
University of California Santa Barbara
University of Chicago
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Minnesota Duluth
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Virginia
University of Wyoming

DETAILS ON PHYSICS MAJORS GRADUATED SINCE 1993

Year - (# of graduates)	Post-graduate location	Position	Field of Study
2008 - (6)	1. Iowa State University 2. Fastenal 3. University of Iowa 4. University of Iowa 5. 6.	Graduate student Computer support Medical student Graduate student	Engineering Physics
2007 - (7)	1. Iowa State University 2. EPIC 3. UW Platteville 4. 5. University of Iowa 6. 7.	Graduate Student Hospital/Medical Software Graduate Student Computer service Graduate Student	Engineering Engineering Math
2006 - (12)	1. Purdue University 2. Purdue University 3. Purdue University 4. University of Minnesota 5. Cal State Fullerton 6. Johns Hopkins University 7. EPIC 8. Iowa State University 9. Iowa State University 10. 11. 12.	Graduate Student Graduate Student Graduate Student Graduate Student Graduate student Graduate student Hospital/Medical Software Graduate student Graduate student	Astronomy Aeoronaut. 7 Astronaut. Comp. 7 Elect. Eng. Mechanical Engineering Physics Computational Biophysics Math Engineering
2005 - (9)	1. 2. 3. 4. University of Minnesota 5. University of Wisconsin 6. University of Iowa 7. AmeriCorps 8. Iowa State University 9. Iowa State University	Dual Degree Program Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student	Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering
2004 - (8)	1. 2. Washington University 3. Minnesota School 4. Washington University 5. Epcot Center 6. University of Notre Dame 7. 8.	Graduate student Science teacher Dual Degree program Graduate Student Graduate Student	Physics Biomedical Engineering Physics Architecture
2003 - (8)	1. University of Illinois 2. U.S. Navy 3. Physics technician 4. Research assistant 5. Colorado School of Mines 6. Portland State University 7. Iowa State University 8.	Graduate student Naval officer training Luther College USGS Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student	Physics Nuclear Engineering Geology Engineering Physics Mechanical Engineering
2002 - (10)	1. University of Illinois 2. University of Wisconsin 3. Physics teacher 4. University of Minnesota 5. Physics teacher 6. 7. Construction firm 8. University of Minnesota 9. University of Minnesota 10. University of Minnesota	Graduate student Graduate student Dual Degree program Graduate student Dual Degree Program Graduate student	Physics Medical Physics Civil Engineering Mechanical Engineering Civil Engineering Computer Engineering
2001 - (10)	1. University of Virginia 2. Naval officer training 3. University of Massachusetts 4. AEGON 5. Nortel Networks 6. University of Wisconsin 7. University of Michigan 8. Navy research position 9. University of Minnesota 10. Oxford University	Graduate student Graduate student Actuarial Systems Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student	Engineering Physics Physics Engineering Nuclear Engineering Mechanical Engineering Physics
2000 - (11)	1. University of Minnesota 2. North Carolina State University 3. Physics teacher 4. Intermec 5. Unipac 6. Physics teacher 7. 8. University of Minnesota 9. MIT - Woods Hole 10. University of Minnesota 11.	Graduate student Graduate student Software Engineering Quality Assurance Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student	Civil Engineering Engineering Engineering Oceanography Physics
1999 - (9)	1. Western Digital 2. University of Wyoming 3. Iowa State University 4. University of Pennsylvania 5. Leningrad, Russia 6. IBM Corporation 7. University of California-Santa Barbara 8. University of Minnesota 9. University of Minnesota	Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Dual Degree Program Dual Degree Program	Geology/Biophysics Electrical Engineering Architectural Engineering Russian Materials Science Mechanical Engineering Physics
1998 - (7)	1. University of Minnesota 2. California Institute of Technology 3. Data Power Tech. Corp. 4. University of Illinois 5. University of Wisconsin 6. 7.	Dual Degree Program Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student	Electrical Engineering Chemistry Music Theory Physics
1997 - (6)	1. University of Iowa 2. University of Wisconsin 3. Washington University 4. 5. Iowa State University 6. University of Minnesota/Duluth 7. University of Minnesota 8. University of Chicago 9. 10.	Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student	Applied Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Applied Physics Civil Engineering Computer Engineering Physics Chemical Engineering Mathematics Computer Electrical Engineering
1996 - (6)	1. University of Washington 2. Purdue University 3. University of Minnesota 4. University of Washington 5. University of Washington 6. Washington University	Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Dual Degree Program	Mechanical Engineering Acoustical Engineering Computer Engineering Atmospheric Science Applied Mathematics Mechanical Engineering
1995 - (6)	1. University of Minnesota 2. Iowa State University 3. Microsoft Corporation 4. Lutheran Brotherhood 5. West Publishing 6. Computer work	Graduate student Graduate student	Environmental Engineering
1994 - (7)	1. University of Michigan 2. University of Illinois 3. Microsoft Corporation 4. Microsoft Corporation 5. Computer work 6. Agriculture 7. Alternative Resources	Physics Industrial Engineering	Graduate student Graduate student
1993 - (10)	1. University of Minnesota 2. University of Minnesota 3. Pennsylvania Institute of Textiles 4. North Dakota State University 5. University of North Dakota 6. UW-Milwaukee 7. University of Minnesota 8. (Iowa City) 9. Environmental work 10. Physics studies	Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Graduate student Computer work	Mechanical Engineering Industrial Engineering Textile Engineering Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Philosophy Civil Engineering