About Us

The Graduate Physics and Astronomy Society (GPAS) represents the collective graduate student community in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Notre Dame. Our main purpose, expressed by our mission statement below, is to provide resources for graduate students to foster a community between students across all subfields of physics and to develop professional skills that prepare students for a variety of positions. This is achieved through various social and skill development events throughout the year, including an annual conference. We have eight functional groups to help us achieve these goals:

  • Social Committee
  • Professional Development Committee
  • Outreach Committee
  • International Committee
  • Public Relations Committee
  • Gender and Inclusivity Committee
  • Fundraising Committee
  • Mentoring Committee

GPAS is governed by an executive board consisting of four graduate student representatives from the department’s primary research divisions: nuclear, condensed matter, astro, and high energy physics. In addition to their leadership roles, the E-Board reps serve as points-of-contact for graduate students within their respective subfields.

Graduate students also have the opportunity to serve on various faculty committees within the department. These faculty committee representatives are liaisons between the graduate committee and the faculty, ensuring that our community’s voices are heard and our interests are kept in mind.

Head over to the Committee and E-Board pages to learn more about our chairs and representatives!

Our Mission Statement

“We, the Graduate Physics and Astronomy Students, seek to combine the intellectual rigor of scientific discourse with a sustainable student support network. Our meetings provide a platform for open scientific discussion of research and expression of opinion. We inspire collaboration and fellowship amongst Physics and Astronomy Faculty and Students. We encourage connections between the students and faculty from other departments and institutions. By fostering a community built on intellectual, professional, and social interactions, we provide graduate students the freedom to grow as scientists.”

GPAS Constitution

Read the GPAS Constitution HERE.