History of excellence
We invite you to explore the history of our department and its contributions to physics research and education. The links above present a decade-by-decade "time capsule" of critical research breakthroughs, innovations in teaching and learning, and events that shaped the culture of physics at Illinois. You'll become acquainted with the physicists who defined the "Urbana spirit" while making seminal discoveries that changed the world.
This site, like Physics at Illinois, is a work in progress. It is gradually being converted to our new Web templates, and it is always being expanded and improved. Check back often. If you have stories to contribute or photographs to share, we would love to hear from you!
The theorist and the experimentalist, John Bardeen
Information presented in the time capsules is drawn from A History of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois, 1868–1945 (Ira O. Baker and Everett E. King, Urbana, Illinois), Vignettes from a Century of Service, 1890–1990 (Lisa Warne, Urbana, Illinois, 1991), A Century of Physics at the University of Illinois (Gerald Almy, Urbana, Illinois, 1967), Men and Ideas in Engineering: Twelve Histories from Illinois (R.A. Kingery, R.D. Berg, E.H. Schillinger, University of Illinois Press, 1967), Dedication of the Loomis Laboratory of Physics (Urbana, Illinois, 1980, with a foreword by Charles P. Slichter), The Loomis Legacy (David Lazarus, Urbana, Illinois, 1987), and a treasure trove of annual head's reports to the dean of the College of Engineering and departmental correspondence.
For questions about these pages, contact Celia Elliott (phone: 217.244.7725), the unofficial Physics archivist. A limited number of Professor Lazarus's excellent monograph, The Loomis Legacy, and Dedication of the Loomis Laboratory of Physics, which contains much of Professor Almy's Century of Physics, are available; write to Celia if you would like a copy.