Department of Physics
James T. Dobbins III, professor emeritus of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering and Physics, received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 from the Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Programs, Inc (SDAMPP). This award recognizes his substantial contributions nationally in medical physics education. Dobbins spent his entire 37-year career on the faculty and in senior administration at Duke, where he is Associate Vice Provost Emeritus. He is an internationally recognized scholar in imaging science whose… read more about James T Dobbins Receives Lifetime Achievement Award »
The Board of Directors of Optica (formerly OSA), Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide, has elected Martin Fischer, research professor of Chemistry and Physics, to the Society’s 2024 Fellow Class. He is being honored “For pioneering contributions to nonlinear optical microscopy and imaging in biomedicine, materials science and cultural heritage.” Fischer, who directs the Advanced Light Imaging and Spectroscopy (ALIS) facility, researches novel laser microscopy methods that provide non-invasive, high-resolution, 3-… read more about Martin Fischer Elected Fellow Member of Optica »
Roxanne Springer, professor of Physics, is the 2023 recipient of the American Physical Society’s (APS) Division of Nuclear Physics Distinguished Service Award. This award will be announced at the DNP 23 Business Meeting. Her nomination letter reads: “For rich and passionate efforts to advocate and improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for DNP members and beyond, especially those from marginalized groups, including steering the DNP Allies program, helping broaden the Allies Program to other APS Units, cofounding… read more about Roxanne Springer Receives APS's 2023 Distinguished Service Award »
DURHAM, N.C. -- If you’ve seen some of the images of space taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, or its predecessor the Hubble, you may have marveled at glimpsing distant galaxies for the first time, or planets outside the solar system, or beholding the births and deaths of stars. But two Duke scientists are already looking past that. They are part of the plans for NASA’s next big space telescope. While the Webb and the Hubble are good at zeroing in on small patches of sky, they say, this next… read more about Taking a Larger View of the Universe »
With her knees clasping a West African drum, Clare Meehan sat in a circle with 50 of her fellow first-year students. She listened intently as drum circle coordinator David Ntim asked the students to take the rings off their fingers before beginning a 30-minute session with a series of call and response rhythms that he called “drum talk.” The simple rhythms boomed throughout the Duke Student Wellness Center as the new students played in unison. Meehan’s approach to playing her drum for the first time reflects her quiet,… read more about New Devils 2027: Clare Meehan »
Assistant Research Professor of Physics Arun Kannawadi joins the Duke faculty this year. (John West/Trinity Communications)Arun Kannawadi, assistant research professor of Physics, is helping in a worldwide push to learn more about the Universe, with the ultimate goal of figuring out how it began and how it might end. “These are fundamental questions that many of us may have wondered when we were kids,” Kannawadi said. “I certainly did. I’m happy that I get to work on projects that will enable… read more about Cool Cosmology + Coding = Answers to Life’s Big Questions »
Warren Warren, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Physics, Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, and David Beratan, R.J. Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, and Physics, have been recognized with 2024 American Chemical Society National Awards for their outstanding contributions to their fields of research. Beratan’s contributions to the field of Chemical Physics were recognized with the Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics, sponsored by the Journal of Chemical Physics and the ACS Division… read more about Warren and Beratan Recognized by the American Chemical Society National Awards »
Associate Professor of Physics Divine Kumah joins the Duke faculty this year. (John West/Trinity Communications)Visit physicist Divine Kumah in his research lab and you’ll find him making what could be described as the world’s tiniest layer cakes. How tiny? Try just a few atoms thick. One hundred thousand of them would barely stack up against a sheet of paper. They’re not for eating, however. He takes his ingredients from the periodic table — oxygen and different metals such as titanium and… read more about Creating New Quantum Materials, Atom by Atom »
R.J. Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Chemistry David Beratan, Associate Research Professor of Chemistry Peng Zhang and a team including four other Duke researchers are the recipients of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2023 Faraday Horizon Prize. The Faraday Horizon Prize highlights the most exciting, contemporary chemical science at the cutting edge of research and innovation, awarded to collaborative teams whose research opens up new avenues of research in the field of physical chemistry. In addition to Beratan and… read more about Duke Team Wins International Chemistry Award »
The Physics department celebrated its 2022-2023 graduates with a diploma ceremony on Sunday, May 14 at the Love Auditorium & Hall of Science, following Duke's main commencement event. The program included a celebratory lunch and a welcome address by Professor Steffen Bass, Chair of the Physics department. Following the welcome address, Professors Ayana Arce, Director of Undergraduate Studies, John Mercer, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies and Mark Kruse, Director of Graduate Studies, presented diplomas to… read more about Commencement 2022 - 2023 »
In the subterranean recesses of a world-class neutron beam facility within Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), there is a neutrino haven. A narrow basement hallway deemed “Neutrino Alley” is lined with detectors of various shapes and sizes. These detectors are metaphorical welcome mats, beckoning the teensy neutrino particles to kick up their feet, for the briefest of moments, and interact under scientists’ watchful eyes. Trillions of neutrinos stream harmlessly through you every second of every day. Mostly, these invisible,… read more about COHERENT Experiment Invites Students to Listen for Whispers in ‘Neutrino Alley’ »
On a chilly Saturday morning in February, physics enthusiasts from across the Carolinas flocked to Duke University for the Society of Physics Students (SPS) Zone 5 Meeting. SPS zone meetings bring together SPS chapters from a given area of the country to meet SPS undergraduate students from other schools, brainstorm ideas for their chapters, and share student research. Eager to be meeting back in-person, students kickstarted the morning mingling as 70 participants from various SPS chapters arrived… read more about From Pictionary to Science Policy, Passing by Hubble's Constant: A Walkthrough of the 2023 SPS Zone 5 Meeting »
Amid questions about its methodology and impact, US News and World Report released its annual rankings of graduate and professional programs Tuesday, with many Duke schools and departments scoring high. The schools of law and medicine chose not to participate in the US News survey this year, expressing reservations about the value and validity of the rankings and their influence on education decisions. US News has indefinitely delayed publication of the rankings in those fields. Of the participating schools, the School… read more about Duke Graduate, Professional Programs Score High in US News Rankings »
Four faculty from Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and three alumni have been named to this year’s cohort of Guggenheim Fellows. The honorees for 2023 include German Studies Professor Stefani Engelstein, Professor Lillian B. Pierce of Mathematics, Religious Studies Professor Leela Prasad, and Professor of Physics Christopher Walter. Duke alumni Lucy Corin, Jon-Sesrie Goff and Jennifer Graber were also recognized. Now in its 98th year, the Guggenheim Fellowships recognize exceptional mid-career scholars and… read more about Four Trinity Faculty and Three Alums Named 2023 Guggenheim Fellows »
On April 7, 2022 the CDF Collaboration team led by Ashutosh Kotwal, Fritz London Distinguished Professor of Physics, published the world's most precise measurement of a fundamental particle called the W boson. As explained in quantum theory, this particle mediates the weak nuclear force which causes radioactivity and controls the rate of nuclear fusion in the sun's core. The measurement has generated widespread attention and scientific scrutiny, not only because of its extreme precision but also because it reveals a… read more about CERN Celebrates One Year of W-Boson's New Mass Measurement »
For most students, Spring Break is when they take a break from academic rigors by taking a quiet (or loud) week away from Duke and its classes. But some students spent their week learning about subjects possibly far outside their normal areas of study. Spring Breakthrough is an annual set of courses offered during Spring Break that aren't graded, instead meant to be learning experiences that students otherwise wouldn't have access to. The 2023 Spring Breakthrough courses included: Motorcycle Revival: Repairing and… read more about Learning New Subjects During Spring Breakthrough 2023 »
Few things carry the same aura of mystery as dark matter. The name itself radiates secrecy, suggesting something hidden in the shadows of the Universe. A collaborative team of scientists called COHERENT, including Kate Scholberg, Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor of Physics, Phillip Barbeau, associate professor of Physics, and postdoctoral scholar Daniel Pershey, attempted to bring dark matter out of the shadows of the Universe and into a slightly less glamorous destination: a brightly lit, narrow hallway in a… read more about Catching Dark Matter in a Basement »
