Duke Physics graduate student Abhijit Mehta spent a week this summer on the isle of Lindau in Germany, interacting with 60 Nobel Laureates and about 600 “young researchers” from all over the world. Mehta was among 75 United States graduate students selected to attend the famous meeting. His trip was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and supported administratively by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). Mehta relished being able to meet and talk with the students,… read more about Mehta Attends 60th Annual Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students »
Matthew Hastings joined the Duke Physics faculty this fall as an associate professor. Hastings, who earned his PhD in physics at MIT came to Duke from Microsoft. Before that he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. His research interests include quantum computing, condensed matter physics, quantum information theory, and mathematical physics. “My main interest is what quantum information theory can do for condensed matter physics and vice versa,” Hastings says. “I’m interested in the boundary between… read more about Matthew Hastings Joins Duke Physics Faculty »
Prof. Al Goshaw co-authored an obituary published in Physics Today of William Walker, James B. Duke Professor of Physics emeritus, who passed away in April. Read the obituary here. read more about William Walker’s Obituary in Physics Today »
NOTE: LINK HAS BECOME BROKEN DUE TO WEBSITE REDESIGN Math Prof. Hubert Bray and Physics postdoc Andriy Badin gave a talk on "Dark Matter in Galaxies" on Monday, December 6. It is now available on the web here. read more about Dark Matter in Galaxies talk online »
Two new albums have been added to the Physics Department's Flickr profile that depict two recent undergraduate student events by the Physics Outreach Group. Physics' and Chemistry's Outreach Groups' An Evening of Science on September 22, 2010 can be viewed here. Read the entry on that story here. The USA Science and Engineering Festival on October 23-24, 2010 on the National Mall in Washington, DC can be seen here. read more about New Photos of Undergrad Student Activities »
From Ashley Yeager of Duke's Office of News and Communications: "Using lasers to contain some ultra-chilled atoms, a team of scientists have measured the viscosity or stickiness of a gas often considered to be the sixth state of matter. The measurements verify that this gas can be used as a “scale model” of exotic matter, such as super-high temperature superconductors, the nuclear matter of neutron stars, and even the state of matter created microseconds after the Big Bang." "The results may also allow experimental tests… read more about John Thomas featured in Science »
In November, Professor Stefano Curtarolo and colleagues published a paper in the journal Advanced Materials about a new technology they developed for use in archaeology. The technology uses infrared spectroscopy to obtain spectral “fingerprints” of minerals, allowing scientists to quickly distinguish between manmade and natural minerals in the field. It can be used, for example, to tell the difference between calcite from manmade plaster and calcite in limestone. Curtarolo is associate professor of… read more about Prof. Curtarolo's Research Assists Archaeologists »
Professors Steffen Bass and Berndt Mueller rejoiced this month at the news that the Large Hadron Collider started its program of collisions of lead nuclei at unprecedented energies, almost 15 times higher than those previously explored at Brookhaven National Lab's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva, Switzerland. The lead nuclei are being collided as part of three large… read more about Duke Theorists Begin Analyzing Exciting New Data from LHC »
Prof. Haiyan Gao spent one month this summer at Tsinghua University as the Changjiang Lectureship Chair Professor. During this time, she co-chaired a very successful workshop in Beijing on "Second Workshop on Hadron Physics in China and Opportunities with 12 GeV JLab." She will return to Tsinghua this fall to continue her collaborations with Chinese physicists in hadronic physics. In September 2010, Prof. Haiyan Gao was informed by Dr. Kate Kirby, executive officer of APS, that she won the 2010 APS General… read more about Prof. Gao Visits Tsinghua University, wins APS General Councilor Position »
Prof. Robert Behringer will receive two grants this year to pursue his research in granular materials and thin liquid films. They are from NASA and NSF, and Behringer will serve as lead PI and co-PI, respectively, on these projects. Prof. Robert Behringer will receive an award of $310,000 from NASA for a joint European Space Agency-NASA project, "Compaction and Sound in Granular Matter – comp.gran". This is an international collaboration to understand the propagation of sound in granular materials… read more about Behringer wins awards from NASA and NSF »
In February 2010, Prof. Moo-Young Hanwas selected from among the top 5% of all Trinity College undergraduate instructors at for his contribution to teaching and fostering intellectual growth of undergraduate students at Duke during the spring semester 2009. read more about Han Wins Teaching Award »
A workshop "From Strong Fields to Colorful Matter" was held on October 24-27, 2010 in honor of Prof. Berndt Mueller's 60th birthday. The workshop consisted of talks by several distinguished nuclear physicists, a banquet, and hopefully a little time to enjoy the foliage around Asheville, NC. read more about Workshop in Asheville honors Berndt Mueller »
Prof. Warren Warren from the Department of Chemistry was recently recognized by the American Physical Society, which awarded him the 2011 Herbert P. Broida Prize "For the development of nonlinear coherent techniques which enhance molecular spectroscopy and molecular imaging." Congratulations! read more about Prof. Warren wins 2011 Herbert Broida Prize »
Graduate student James Esterline co-authored a paper with Prof. Werner Tornow and co-researchers. The paper is entitled "Determination of the proton and alpha-particle light-response functions for the KamLAND, BC-501A and BC-517H liquid scintillators" and appears in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. To read the abstract click this link. Senior William Corse co-authored a paper with Prof. Werner Tornow, physics alum… read more about Student Research Updates »
Prof. Al Goshaw was re-elected Chair of the US ATLAS Institutional Board in September 2010, where he will be helping to coordinate the US ATLAS university groups for the next few years. Congratulations! read more about Prof. Goshaw to Coordinate US ATLAS Univeristy Groups Once More »
On October 26, 2010, Jie Ren's photo of stress in a two-dimensional granular material was selected as the "Picture of the Day" by the National Science Foundation. The work leading to the picture was conducted by Jie in Prof. Robert Behringer's laboratory. As mentioned previously, the photo also won first prize in the Mahato Memorial Scientific Visualization Contest. read more about Duke Graduate Student Photo selected "Picture of the Day" by NSF »
The grant will allow more undergraduates to conduct research at LHC, as Ariana Minot did last summer. Profs. Ayana Arce, Steffen Bass, Al Goshaw, Ashutosh Kotwal, Mark Kruse, and Berndt Mueller have been awarded a grant of $20,000 from The Duke Endowment to support undergraduate research that will be undertaken both here on campus as well… read more about New Grant to Support Undergrad Research at Duke, LHC »
Prof. Daniel Gauthier has recently started a new program in quantum information science that has received funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), entitled "Information on the Photon (InPho): Free-Space Quantum Communication." The goal of the project is to encode more than 10 bits of information on a photon for secret key distribution at a rate exceeding one billion bits per second. It is an interdisciplinary project involving multiple investigators, where Gauthier is… read more about Gauthier Receives New DARPA Grant »
On Sep 22 four student volunteers from the Physics Dept's Outreach Group joined the Chemistry Dept's Outreach Group for "An Evening of Science" in front of the French Science Building. Using demonstrations, the students explained two topics they learned in mechanics, Newton's 3rd Law and Waves. The image here is of a Ruben's Tube. The pipe has a speaker inserted in one end and the other end plugged. There is a line of small holes drilled along the top and a gas valve on the front - basically a long… read more about Students Collaborate in Physics Outreach Group »
The explosive growth of self-archiving tools like cell phones and digital cameras means that physics videos have taken off in the past ten years. YouTube is a great destination for those who want to lose a couple hours one afternoon looking at fantastic physics-related videos from around the world. Duke Physics News is collaborating with Prof. Henry Greenside, the new Director of Undergraduate Studies, and others in the department to build a collection of physics videos. Some involve professors right here… read more about Building a Collection of Physics Videos on The Web »
A team that’s working to develop nuclear fusion as a power source is relying on the HIGS (High Intensity Gamma Ray Source) at Duke to test gamma ray detectors needed for the project. Nuclear fission is already used to generate electricity in power plants around the world, but physicists are still working to develop a way to harness the power of nuclear fusion—the process that provides energy in stars such as our sun. One group of scientists working on the issue is the Gamma Ray Reaction History (GRH) team, made up of 11… read more about HIGS Plays Role in Nuclear Fusion Research »
Roger Byrd, PhD 1978, has spent 25 years at national laboratories in New Mexico designing and refining satellite instruments that detect nuclear weapons testing. “You don’t go to graduate school in nuclear test instrumentation,” Byrd says. But his doctoral research at TUNL in neutron physics opened the door to a career where he uses his knowledge of the characteristics and behavior of neutrons, gamma rays, x-rays, and other signals to figure out ways to detect nuclear weapons tests. After a short stint at… read more about Alum Uses Physics to Detect Nuclear Weapons Testing »
On October 2, 2010, Professor Emeritus Russell Roberson was treated to a surprise 80th birthday party given by his former graduate students at the Millenium Hotel in Durham. Thirteen of the 23 doctoral students Roberson advised over his 35-year-career at Duke came to the party, from such far-flung places as Vermont, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and California. Those who weren’t able to come sent photographs and good wishes. Four of Roberson’s classmates from his days as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel… read more about Students Organize Surprise Birthday Party for Professor Emeritus Russell Roberson »
If you didn't catch it, read it here! This month The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 was awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene." Read the full press release at nobelprize.org. read more about Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 »
Yu-Po “Ken” Wong, a junior physics major from Taiwan, has spent the last two summers working in Prof. Dan Gauthier’s optics lab. He’s studying the spontaneous down conversion, which is when a photon going through a crystal is changed into two lower frequency photons. The research has implications for high-speed quantum communication. “This kind of optics experiment is very fun to me. I’m learning a lot of stuff from a lot of areas of physics,” Wong says. “At the end of my freshman year,… read more about Undergraduate Studies Quantum Optics in the Lab »
Bryon Neufeld, PhD '09, has enjoyed his first year at Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) in New Mexico. Neufeld was recently awarded the Director's Fellowship Award, a competitive award given across all fields of science at LANL. Below Neufeld writes about his research at LANL and the work the award will allow him to pursue. Submitted by Bryon Neufeld, PhD '09: I certainly miss the student life at Duke and all of the fun things that offered. As one might guess, being a… read more about Alum wins Fellowship at Los Alamos National Lab »
Jie Ren's first place photoPhysics graduate student Jie Ren and post doc Joshua Dijksman took first and second prize, respectively, in the Mahato Memorial Scientific Visualization Contest sponsored by Duke's engineering department. The contest honors the memory of engineering graduate student Abhijit Mahato, who was murdered in January 2008. For more information and to see the winning photos, go here. Click these links to view full-sized and… read more about Duke Grad Student, Postdoc win 1st and 2nd Prize in Photo Contest »
In the 1950s, my high school principal told me that I had an obligation to help the United States win the space race. His encouragement fueled my technical interests. I majored in physics, earning a BS degree from Duke University, an MS from the University of Illinois, and the Ph.D. from Georgia Tech. I joined Sigma Pi Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa at Duke. As my physics studies progressed, I began using emerging technology, the computer, as a primary investigative tool. At Illinois, I held a… read more about Duke Alum Enjoys Twists and Turns in Career Path »
Prof. Bob Behringer is lead-PI on a recent award from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) which is focused on understanding the basic physics of high speed impacts of objects on granular materials. The project is entitled, "Microstructure, fluidization, and control of penetrator trajectories in granular media", and involves investigators from three other universities besides Duke. The PIs are R.P. Behringer, Lou Kondic (NJIT), Wolfgang Losert (University of MD) and Corey O'Hern (Yale University).… read more about Behringer Wins DTRA Grant »
Click here to view the Virtual Journal of QCD Matter. This site, moderated by 3 professors including our own Profs. Steffen Bass and Berndt Mueller, focuses on the Physics of the QGP and Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions. In addition to Bass and Mueller, William A. Zajc from Columbia University, the current Chair of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics, moderates the online journal. read more about Website of the Month - Virtual Journal of QCD Matter »