Growing up as the son of a teacher, physics professor Douglas Gobeille was introduced to high level math early on in life. Entering his junior year of high school and excelling in the subject, he recognized the variety of functions math served in physics beyond solving for equations. By combining his love for math with his interest in physics, Gobeille set out to become an astrophysicist.
“I can use my math in a very blunt way to say, ‘I can predict the future,’ basically,” Gobeille said. “We cannot obviously tell the future, but we can make very good predictions about it. I thought that was incredibly powerful.”
Gobeille earned his bachelor’s in physics at Connecticut College, then went to Brandeis to earn his master’s and Ph.D. in the same field, with a concentration in astrophysics. He stayed with Brandeis, working for their physics department, also holding positions at institutions such as Wheelock College, Bennington College, and the University of South Florida before starting at URI.
Joining the physics department in 2014, Gobeille stood as the only astrophysicist, with the university only offering introductory astrophysics, and little to no research. Shortly after his hire, Dr. Robert Coyne joined the department, teaming with Gobeille to develop the astrophysics program. In 11 years, the program has grown from solely Gobeille to 7 staff members. The program is now conducting research, working with graduate students, and developing new graduate and undergraduate courses.
While his Stars and Galaxies course covers what lies outside our solar system reaching back to The Big Bang and evolving the universe to its modern and putative future states. His Solar System course explores planets, exoplanets, moons, and smaller bodies of the solar system in greater detail with an eye to astrobiology and abiogenesis; the creation of life from non-life.
Both courses are available throughout the school year in lecture form as well as to students in the honors program. Gobeille recognizes that the smaller class size through the honors program allows for more interactivity and deeper exploration of celestial objects. This also allows students to visualize and connect with the material.
Recently, Gobeille has begun to shift his research with his graduate students into a focused concentration, which contributed to the development of an astrophotography program.
“There’s a method of madness,” Gobeille said. “We’re definitely trying to use this idea of astrophotography to bring in people, give them exposure. Maybe they do [an] astronomy minor, maybe we convince them to come to the dark side.”
For Gobeille, the growth of the program is only part of what he considers his greatest success at URI. What matters most is his students.
“My happiness is student success and student happiness,” Gobeille said.
As the physics and astrophysics department continues to grow, Gobeille believes the momentum will only increase in the coming years. I think we’re going to see just enormous, enormous changes in the next several decades. It’s exciting that I feel URI is going to be a not insignificant part of that.”
By Erin Malinn ’28, journalism, Intern for the College of Arts and Sciences