Internships and Careers

At Lake Forest, both quality academic programs and internship experiences help students prepare for the working world. Our proximity to Chicago offers access not only to extensive internship options, but also to a network of powerful alumni and friends.

Physics careers

Physics focuses on research experiences here on campus and abroad. Our faculty show students how to use equipment usually reserved for graduate level students, preparing them to work above the curve after graduation. Students learn software skills, including Origin, LabVIEW and Mathematica, so they are ready for the workplace. Whether it’s a job in industry, electronics, optics, or education, our students are ready to enter a competitive marketplace.

Foresters have gone on to successful careers at:

• Honeywell, environmental engineer
• Oracle, software engineer
• Lincoln Laser Company
• Landauer, Inc., irradiation facility supervisor
• Lake Forest Academy, high school physics teacher
• Fairmount Minerals, lab technician
• Northrop Grumman, laser laboratory supervisor

Half of our graduates pursue further education.

Recent Doctoral Programs

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earth and planetary sciences
• Texas A&M University, applied physics
• Arizona State University, material physics and nanoscience
• University of Michigan, biomedical engineering
• Michigan State University, nuclear chemistry
• University of Notre Dame, nuclear physics
• University of Massachusetts, astrophysics
• University of Maryland - Baltimore County, atomic physics

Recent Masters Programs

• Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
• Michigan State University, nuclear chemistry
• Illinois Institute of Technology, physics
• Duke University, medical physics
• University of Tennessee Space Institute, applied atomic physics
• University of Florida, biomedical engineering
• University of Toledo, medical physics

• King Faisal University in Saudia Arabia, mechanical engineering

To explore more career opportunities in physics, talk to the Career Advancement Center.

Get experience!

Everyone who wants to do research in the physics department is given the opportunity. Students work one-on-one with faculty for an “in house” research experience, paid through work study or an endowed scholarship.

Areas of research include:

• Electron-molecule collisions
• Quantum optics
• Nuclear magnetic resonance
• Granular materials

Students have helped with projects such as:

• Ultra-cold carbon monoxide spectra
• Compaction under confinement
• Simulation of inelastic collapse
• Short pulse excitation
• Electromagnetically induced transparency and slow light
• Acoustic Levitation