Division of Natural Sciences

Rooted in 200 years of academic excellence, Columbia attracts the best scientific minds from across the country and around the world. Columbia’s Arts and Sciences science faculty include 240 faculty members across nine academic departments: Astronomy; Biology; Chemistry; Earth and Environmental Sciences; Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; Math; Physics; Psychology; and Statistics. Together with hundreds of undergraduate majors, graduate students, and post-docs, we are a community advancing fundamental knowledge and committed to solving the world's most daunting challenges in health, technology, and the environment.

From the discovery of deuterium to proving plate tectonic theory and the astronomical theory of ice age cycles, to the development of laser and radar and the detection of gravitational waves, to groundbreaking innovations in population genetics and cancer genomics, distinguished Columbia scientists have led innovation and creative interdisciplinary collaborations for decades.

Robert D. Mawhinney, Dean of Natural Science

Robert D. Mawhinney is Dean of Science and a Professor of Physics at Columbia University. He received his B.S. in Physics from the University of South Florida in 1980 and his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 1987. His research is in the area of theoretical particle physics, with a particular focus on the behavior of quarks and the theory which describes their interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD).