Graduate student and Sloan Scholar Aitor Bracho presented at the Second Annual Research Summit on Thursday, February 25, 2021. Bracho was one of twelve Sloan Scholars to present at the Summit which brought the Duke University Center of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) full circle with its first three-year grant. The scholars who presented had been preparing for the last six weeks with coaching from Assistant Dean Melissa Bostrom, and Sloan Grad Interns Dena Ho and Zane Swanson. During this program, the scholars… read more about Grad Student Bracho Presented at UCEM's Second Annual Research Summit »
Prof. Haiyan Gao was elected to the office of Vice-Chair of the Division of Nuclear Physics of the American Physical Society for 2021. The progression of office is Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, Chair, so she will become Chair of the DNP in 2023. We congratulate her on this great honor of being chosen to lead the Nuclear Physics Division and shape its future in the years to come. See the news in the APS February 2021 newsletter here. read more about Prof. Gao Elected Vice-Chair of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics »
The COHERENT particle physics experiment at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has firmly established the existence of a new kind of neutrino interaction. Because neutrinos are electrically neutral and interact only weakly with matter, the quest to observe this interaction drove advances in detector technology and has added new information to theories aiming to explain mysteries of the cosmos.
“The neutrino is thought to be at the heart of many open questions about the nature of the universe… read more about Compelling Evidence of Neutrino Process Opens Physics Possibilities »
Graduate student Tyler Johnson has been accepted as an Arms Control Fellow at the Stanford US-Russia Forum. The Stanford US-Russia Forum’s mission is to facilitate research and cooperation in areas of mutual interest to both the United States and Russia as well as link emerging scholars and leaders in the US-Russia space. This year’s fellows were chosen from a pool of more than 700 applications from 215 universities in Russia and the United States, a 5% acceptance rate. They hail from 11 countries,… read more about Graduate Student Johnson Accepted as Arms Control Fellow at SURF »
How old is the universe? Current measurements show its 13.8 billion years, but given recent tension in cosmological results, the jury’s still out. Prof. Dan Scolnic weighs in. Click here to read "The universe is 13.8 billion years old—here’s how we know" in Popular Science. read more about Prof. Scolnic Talks With Popular Science About the Age of the Universe »
A Bass Connections project lead by TUNL Research & Development Engineer Matthew Busch and Prof. Joshua Socolar has been featured in DukeToday. Busch and Socolar combined their teaching and research interests with a common love of jazz and the sounds produced by great saxophone players. Undergraduate researchers Gia Jadick (Physics '20) and Max Bartlett (Computer Science '20) made great progress in documenting the design and acoustic characteristics of vintage… read more about Department Members Recreate Vintage Saxophone Sound »
Duke Physics business manager Darlene McCain was quoted in a January 6th DukeToday article "Pursue Your Professional Development Online in 2021". Click here to read what McCain and others have to say about the resources provided by Learning and Organization Development. read more about Business Manager Darlene McCain Quoted in DukeToday »
In a year of compressed academic calendars and virtual conferences, the Duke Materials Initiative (DMI) pivoted from holding the first Triangle Hard Matter Workshop in person to hosting the event virtually. Over 300 faculty, postdoctoral associates and PhD students from not only Duke, North… read more about 2020 Triangle Hard Matter Workshop Was a Resounding Success »
We are very sad to share the news that John Kolena has passed away. Dr. Kolena was an instructor at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and at Duke University. For many years, he taught astronomy and astrophysics classes in the Physics Department. After his retirement, he kept his connection to Duke, attending talks and interacting with the department community. He will be greatly missed. His obituary may be found here.
Update: The North Carolina School of Science and Math will… read more about The Passing of John Kolena »
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 »
Department of Physics
