The Department of Physics at Florida International University is dedicated to excellence in research, teaching, and service to the scientific and university communities. Currently, there are twenty two faculty members and a number of adjunct instructors and staff working here. The department offers a minor, a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Science degree, and a Ph.D. in Physics via a wide variety of undergraduate/graduate courses and research opportunities in many areas of physics. One of the major programs of study in the department is ASTRONOMY and ASTROPHYSICS.

FIU's astronomy program is a member of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA). This organization is a consortium of six universities in the southeastern United States which have relatively small departments of astronomy and/or physics, and whose faculty, staff, and students are all actively engaged in astronomical research and the promotion and development thereof. FIU's astronomy program presently consists of 3 faculty members, a few graduate students, and an astronomy lab manager. One of the primary responsibilities of SARA is the operation of a 0.9-meter telescope located at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The telescope may be operated on-site at the observatory or remotely from any of the participating SARA member institutions. The SARA 0.9-meter is equipped with a state-of-the-art CCD camera (2048x2048) for imaging in the visible. Other instruments will also be added in the near future. FIU is granted approximately 1/6 of the annual observing time allotted for the telescope. Therefore, our astronomy program faculty members, graduate students, and students who participate in FIU's summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) astronomy or physics program all may make use of the telescope in their research endeavours.

There are several main areas of astronomical research being studied here at FIU:

•  Binary Star Systems - this work focuses on determining orbital parameters and physical characteristics of close binary stars and accounting for the interactions between the stars
•  Dwarf Galaxies - this work focuses on the structural and star formation properties in numerous radio observations of dwarf galaxies in order to understand their formation and evolution
•  Active Galactic Nuclei - this work focuses on the multifrequency variations of quasars, blazars, and other types of AGNs via both visual and high-energy (UV, x-ray, gamma ray) observations

In addition to the astronomical research being conducted, our program offers FIU students several undergraduate and graduate level courses such as Solar System Astronomy, Life In The Universe, Celestial Mechanics, and Extragalactic Astrophysics. Our program also offers undergraduates an astronomy laboratory course in which students utilize FIU's campus observatory. Atop the physics builiding, students may utilize several different types of astronomical instruments including our nine Celestron Classic 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. These are compact yet perfect for lunar and planetary observing, and therefore, are the primary telescopes used for the lab courses. We also have recently acquired a 12-inch Meade LX-200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. This computerized telescope is fairly powerful and will likely become the primary telescope used for undergraduate research and public events and star parties.

Dedicated to serving and educating the public, our astronomy program also concentrates much effort into hosting and/or participating in numerous public events such as astronomy presentations, star parties, and other fun activities. We work closely with the greater Miami area's local ameteur astronomers club known as the Southern Cross Astronomical Society (SCAS) to introduce scientific information and the beauty of the night sky to schools, organizations, and the general public throughout southern Florida.