Major equipment includes facilities for electron scattering, cryogenics, high-Tc superconductivity, optical and scanned-probe microscopy, photolithography, ellipsometry, spectral reflectance, field emission scanning electron microscopy, electron beam lithography, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, nonlinear optics, and holography, as well as laser tweezers, an alloptical system for producing Bose-Einstein condensates, a thin-film evaporator, and a dedicated system for growing carbon nanotubes.

Facilities also include professionally staffed machine and electronics shops. Access to an x-ray diffractometer is available in cooperation with the Geology Department.

Telescopic facilities include a one-meter telescope in the San Gabriel Mountains equipped with optical and infrared-wavelength CCD cameras, as well as an on-campus observatory equipped with two computer-controlled 14-inch telescopes and a variety of portable and solar telescopes. All telescopes are equipped with modern instruments, including CCD cameras, a spectrograph and a polarimeter.