It is an exciting time at Duke University as the Quantum Center is growing. Originally envisioned by Prof. Jungsang Kim's quantum information lab, it has expanded to include Prof. Kenneth Brown since 2018 and over the next year we will welcome Marko Cetina, Crystal Noel, and Kim and Brown's long-time collaborator Christopher Monroe. Click here to read DukeStories' dynamic "More Possibilities Than There are Particles in the Universe… read more about An Update from the Duke Quantum Center »
Alum Katrina Miller ('16) is currently a PhD student at the University of Chicago and was featured as part of the #BlackInAstro series on Astrobites during Black In Physics Week. Read Miller's interview here.
From Miller's Duke Physics advisor Prof. Phil Barbeau: "I met Katrina in her Physics 152 class, and more than any of the other 300 students in that class, she was the one who most clearly thought about Physics the way I do. Katrina is right that it can be scary to think about what it… read more about Alum Miller Featured on #BlackInAstro »
ACTIVE FACULTY
ROBERT J. LEFKOWITZJames B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Robert Lefkowitz, M.D., has been a member of the Duke faculty since 1973 as a professor of medicine and a professor of biochemistry and chemistry. He won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, sharing the award with Brian Kobilka, who did postdoctoral work with Lefkowitz at Duke. The two were recognized for their work on a class of cell surface receptors that have become the target of prescription drugs, including… read more about A Look at Duke's Nobel Laureates »
The National Science Foundation has awarded Duke University a $3 million, five-year Research Traineeship grant to develop a program for graduate students to develop expertise in using artificial intelligence (AI) for materials science research. The aiM (AI…read more about Filling an AI and Materials Science Training Gap »
The Fall 2020 graduate student fellowships and awards have been named.
Mary Creason Memorial Award: Ryan Bouabid
The recipient earns a monetary reward. Read more about the Mary Creason Memorial Award here.
AAPT Outstanding Teacher Assistants of the Year, 2019-20: Son Nguyen and Erik Peterson
Recipients receive an AAPT gift membership which includes electronic access to premier journals: The American Journal of Physics, The Physics Teacher, and Physics Today… read more about Fall 2020 Graduate Student Fellowships and Awards »
We are thrilled to welcome Prof. Chris Monroe to the faculty of the Physics Department. Prof. Monroe, a world-leading expert in Quantum-Information-Science, will join Duke University on January 1st 2021 with a joint appointment in Physics and ECE. Click here to read Pratt's new faculty profile "Chris Monroe: Realizing Ion-Trap Quantum Computers to Solve Unsolvable Problems."
Photo credit: Pratt School of Engineeringread more about New Faculty Profile: Chris Monroe »
An international leader in quantum computing, architect of the U.S. National Quantum Initiative, and member of the National Academy of Sciences, Chris Monroe will join longtime long-distance collaborators at Duke to build practical quantum computers for use in fields from finance to pharmaceuticals… read more about Chris Monroe: Realizing Ion-Trap Quantum Computers to Solve Unsolvable Problems »
ATLAS Postdoctoral Associate Katherine Pachal was excited to get the chance to discuss searches for the LHC Run 3 with Symmetry Magazine. The next five years will be a very interesting time to search for new particles which travel a measurable distance in the detector before decaying. Although well-motivated, these signatures are historically under-explored due to the experimental challenges they pose. The Duke ATLAS group has invested significant effort in developing this research area and are… read more about Postdoc Pachal Discusses LHC Experiments with Symmetry Magazine »
Prof. Patrick Charbonneau was featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)'s article "Science and Culture: Universities move science labs to the kitchen". Click here to read more on his approach to helping students appreciate food and cooking through science. read more about Prof. Charbonneau Looks at the Science Behind Cooking »
Prof. Martin Fischer has worked with Duke physician Eric Westman to prove that masking is an effective safeguard against COVID-19 and determined which types of masks worked the best. Their Science Advances paper can be read online here, Duke Health's article "Inexpensive, Accessible Device Provides Visual Proof that Masks Block Droplets" is here, and Trinity College's "Here's Visible Proof Masks Work" here.
Photo Credit: Home Page photo, courtesy of Duke Health. read more about Prof. Fischer and Team Prove Masks Block COVID-19 Droplets »
Prof. Michael Troxel has been awarded the Department of Energy Early Career Award. Trinity College of Arts & Sciences featured this news in an article on their website. Read "Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe by Seeing the Invisible" here. Congratulations! read more about Prof. Troxel Awarded DOE Early Career Award »
On June 10, 2020, over 70 members of the Duke Physics Department set aside their research, instructional, and administrative activities to participate in a nationwide strike called #ShutDownSTEM, organized by a multi-identity, intersectional coalition of STEM professionals. Participants used the day to reflect on the ways in which American physics communities, from small research groups, to undergraduate classes, university departments, multi-university collaborations, and national societies can better serve black… read more about Duke Physics Community Anti-Racism Forum »
Prof. David Beratan has been featured on Trinity College of Arts & Sciences' webpage in a background piece to coincide with his 60th birthday tribute in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Click here to read "David Beratan Reflects on the Humans Behind the Science." read more about Prof. Beratan Looks Back on His Career in Two Tribute Articles »
While the Duke Community celebrates this unprecedented graduating class of 2020, we would like to highlight two Duke Physics graduate and undergraduate team members for their successful development, coordination and commitment to our faculty, staff and students and first ever virtual graduating class.
Katherine Siler and Timothy Fields, Jr. would have been planning their normal annual graduations with their respective graduate and undergraduate students, but instead during one of the most… read more about Department of Physics Staff Spotlight – June 2020 »
Prof. Ashutosh Kotwal has been awarded the Arts and Sciences Council's Faculty Research Grant for bringing together the Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics departments on "Applications of Artificial Intelligence". Prof. Kotwal has initiated this collaboration to advance the development and application of high-performance artificial-intelligence (AI) hardware in which the AI algorithms are directly embedded in silicon integrated circuits. The application that Prof. Kotwal has… read more about Prof. Kotwal Receives Research Grant for Artificial Intelligence Applications »
Fifteen Duke Ph.D. students have received prestigious awards from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) for 2020.
Launched in 1952, the GRFP is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind. It supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science… read more about 15 Ph.D. Students Receive Prestigious NSF Fellowships »
The Research Data Repository is a service of the Duke University Libraries that provides curation, access, and preservation of research data produced by the Duke community. In an interview with Duke's Office of Scientific Integrity, Prof. Patrick Charbonneau, associate professor of chemistry and physics, describes his motivations in helping develop and in heavily using this resource. Read it online here. read more about Prof. Charbonneau Interviewed on Research Data Repository »
Department of Physics
