After a two-decade-long climb toward the top, Penn State's astronomy and astrophysics department has been ranked fourth in the nation.
A study released last week by A. L. Kinney, the former director of the astrophysics division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), ranked 36 universities with doctoral programs in the field of astrophysics.
"We were nowhere near the top 10 when I arrived 25 years ago. It was half the size of comparable universities," said Eric Feigelson, professor and director of the graduate and undergraduate astrophysics programs.
The study arrived at the rankings based on the impact of research done by the named universities, including articles published and articles cited.
The schools above Penn State on the list, the University of California Santa Cruz, Princeton University and Johns Hopkins University, have all been powerhouses in astrophysics for many years, Feigelson said.
"Just seeing Penn State among them might cause people to take a look at us," said Donald Schneider, professor of astronomy and astrophysics.
The last 25 years at Penn State have been used to develop tenured professors, advance projects like the Chandra X-ray observatory and expand the graduate program.
"This is a confirmation of the fact that we've hired great faculty to do great things ... both tenured faculty and research faculty," added Larry Ramsey, professor and head of the Penn State Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The ranking includes "both faculty members of the astronomy Ph.D. granting department and also affiliated departments, centers and laboratories," according to the study.
"We have many researchers here who are not tenured faculty," Ramsey said. "Only one-third are actually paid by the university."
When asked about how Penn State's astrophysics program has grown over the years, Feigelson said it is now about the right size.
"We were the fastest growing department of the '90s," said Feigelson.
Penn State has research areas including "X-rays and gamma rays ... cosmology and the gravity group," Schneider said.
Feigelson said where Penn State is now is "fantastic."
"Caltech, Princeton and Harvard have been dominating for almost a century," Feigelson said, adding Penn State's program has been helped by "two live NASA missions" among other achievements.
"We feel very good about the success of our teaching mission," Ramsey said. "Strong research needs not come at the expense of great teaching."
