Department of Physics
The Department of Physics and the Department of Math held their annual diploma ceremony and luncheon on Sunday, May 12, 2019. In attendance were graduates, faculty, family, and friends. Read a copy of the Event Program Photos of the event can be viewed on our Flickr site. A video of the celebration is available. Congratulations to the Class of 2019! read more about 2019 Graduation »
Prof. Christoph Schmidt was recognized as Hertha Sponer Chair at the annual University Distinguished Chair’s dinner. See DukeToday's announcement here. read more about Prof. Schmidt Recognized at University Distinguished Chair’s Dinner »
Prof. Michael Troxel and scientists on the Dark Energy Survey have been published in Physical Review Letters. Click here to read the accompanying article "Viewpoint: Dark Energy Faces Multiple Probes" and learn how they were able to verify and measure dark energy. Duke Research has a nice summary on their 1,100 Words gallery. Photo credit: F. B. Abdalla et al., Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 460, 1270 (2016) read more about Prof. Troxel and Team Published in PRL »
The Office of the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies has awarded Duke Support for Interdisciplinary Graduate Networks (D-SIGN) grants to two graduate student groups for 2019-2020. Our own graduate student Jonathan Yuly is a part of the Triangle Molecular Simulation Societ, mentored by Prof. David Beratan. From the Interdisciplinary Studies' website: Molecular simulation is a staple of research for a number of disciplines in the natural sciences.… read more about Grad Student Yuly and Group Award D-SIGN Grant »
Jay Zussman (majoring in Biophysics and in Gender, Sexualities, and Feminist Studies) has been selected as Faculty Scholar for academic year 2019-2020. Faculty Scholar is the highest award given to undergraduates by Duke faculty. Approximately three are awarded in the junior year to students with impressive grade point averages, evidence of independent work, potential for innovative scholarship, and promise for future scholarship. Jay is coauthor on a paper currently being considered by Cell, a… read more about Biophysics Major Zussman Selected as Faculty Scholar »
John Franklin Crenshaw is the recipient of this year's Daphne Chang Memorial Award. John Franklin received the award during Monday's Undergraduate Poster Session. He is pictured at right with Director of Undergraduate Studies Prof. Kate Scholberg. Congratulations, John Franklin! Read more about Daphne Chang and the award in her memory here. read more about 2019 Daphne Chang Memorial Award »
The Physics Department's annual Undergraduate Poster session was held on Monday, April 22. Will Smith won first 1st place, Eric Seewald and Isabel Ruffin tied for 2nd, and John Franklin Crenshaw and Nikita Zemlevskiy tied for 3rd place. Prizes were supported by the McCormick Foundation. Congratulations to all and well done on your hard work! The poster session's program can viewed here. More photos are on Facebook here. Photo: … read more about Undergraduate Poster Session 2019 »
Profs. David Beratan and Olivier Delaire are part of teams awarded Energy Research Seed Fund grants for 2019-2020. Click here to read more. read more about Profs. Beratan and Delaire Awarded Energy Research Seed Fund »
Graduate student Alexey Bondarev, from the quantum transport theory group of Prof. Harold Baranger, has been selected to receive the 2019 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Award. Program Awardees receive full tuition and all mandatory fees coverage for up to three years at any accredited U.S. college or university that provides advanced degrees in science and engineering and a monthly stipend, health insurance coverage, and a travel budget. This… read more about Grad Student Bondarev Selected for NDSEG Fellowship Award »
Today's Google Doodle features Hedwig Kohn on the occasion of her 132nd birthday. Kohn was one of the first women to receive her PhD in Physics in Germany and later studied experimental spectroscopy in the Duke Physics lab of Hertha Sponer. What an honor for this pioneering woman in physics! If you can, stop by the department's chair's conference room and see Hedwig Kohn's photograph too. read more about Hedwig Kohn the Subject of Today's Google Doodle »
Prof. Chris Walter will deliver the Astronomy on Tap talk "Dark Energy and a New Eye on the Sky" at Fullsteam Brewery on Tuesday, April 2. The talk begins at 7:30pm. read more about Prof. Walter to Speak at Astronomy on Tap »
Congratulations to our colleague Prof. Martin Fischer, for receiving an award by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative related to the Advanced Light Imaging and Spectroscopy (ALIS) facility. You can read more about the award in Duke Today here. Photo credit: Mike Truell read more about Prof. Fischer Award from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative »
The 2018 newsletter is available online. Click here to see last year's recap. read more about Duke Physics 2018 Newsletter »
There is an exciting opportunity to learn more about the work of our colleague Prof. Sara Haravifard at the Science & Society Dinner Dialogue event on Wednesday, February 27. Dinner will be served as well and the event is free to attend for all. Click here for more information. read more about Science & Society Dinner Dialogue will Feature Prof. Haravifard »
From the chair, Prof. Steffen Bass: "Please join me in congratulating Prof. Phil Barbeau, whose promotion to Associate Professor with tenure has been approved by the Provost. We are very proud of his many accomplishments and are looking forward to having him in our Department as a colleague, mentor and teacher for many years to come!" read more about Prof. Barbeau Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure »
Prof. Michael Troxel is featured on the front page of Gizmodo answering the question "What is at the edge of the Universe?" Read Troxel's response here. read more about Prof. Troxel Explains What is at the Edge of the Universe »
Assistant Research Professor in Experimental Nuclear Physics Department of Physics Duke University The Department of Physics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina invites applications and nominations for a Research Assistant Professor position in the area of experimental nuclear physics. The person filling this position will be a member of a multi-university collaboration that studies nucleon structure using gamma-ray beams. The data produced by the measurements are interpreted with effective-… read more about Seeking: Assistant Research Professor in Experimental Nuclear Physics »
Members of the Physics Department have received a 2019 Intellectual Community Planning Grant. Congratulations to David Beratan, Patrick Charbonneau, Jianfeng Lu, Michael Rubinstein, Warren Warren, and Weitao Yang who are organizing a summer undergraduate research program in theoretical chemistry. For more on this news feature, click here. For details on applying to the undergraduate research program,… read more about Physics Department Members Receive Intellectual Community Planning Grant »
Prof. Daniel Scolnic will present at the Astronomy on Tap Triangle event on February 5 at Fullsteam Brewery. Come out and enjoy a beer and discussion on astronomy. Read more about this event here. read more about Prof. Scolnic to Present at Astronomy on Tap »
Former HEP postdoc Alex Himmel, now at FermiLab, was interviewed on the podcast This Week In Science (TWIS) explaining neutrinos. Listen here. read more about Former Postdoc Himmel on TWIS Podcast »
“My business is understanding how the universe evolves, what it’s made of, and what its fate is going to be,” says Michael Troxel, assistant professor of physics at Duke beginning January 1, 2019. At the heart of these questions lie dark matter and dark energy. Although together they make up most of the universe, they are little understood. Current estimates of the composition of the universe put dark energy at about 70%, dark matter at 25%, and baryonic (or ordinary) matter at 5%. … read more about Michael Troxel: Using Weak Gravitational Lensing to Map the Invisible Universe »
At age 10, Dan Scolnic had his life all planned out: go to Duke, play basketball as a walk-on, then head to the NBA. These dreams were quashed when a pediatrician plotted Scolnic’s height on a growth chart and informed him he’d probably max out at 5’2”. “It was one of the worst days of my childhood,” Scolnic says. The growth chart turned out to be wrong--Scolnic is 5’11”--and he ended up going to MIT for his undergraduate education. But he is coming to Duke after all, as an assistant… read more about Dan Scolnic: Using Supernovae to Construct Expansion History of the Universe »
Duke University is pleased to announce the Du Châtelet Prize in Philosophy of Physics, an award that celebrates excellence in philosophy of physics and promotes breadth across the field both historically and philosophically. The prize — supported by Duke in collaboration with the Studies in History and Philosophy of Science — will be awarded next Spring to a U.S. or international graduate student or recent Ph.D. to recognize their previously unpublished work in philosophy of physics. The winner will receive $1,000… read more about Duke Announces New Prize for Philosophy of Physics »
Former graduate student Leah Broussard now works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she studies neutron decay. She was featured on ORNL's news site discussing her background and current work. Read "Leah Broussard: Breaking the Standard Model to Fix Understanding of the Universe" here. Photo Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory read more about Former Grad Student Broussard Studies Neutron Decay »
Incoming Cosmology Prof. Daniel Scolnic was interviewed about work on the Hubble constant tension. Read "Cosmology is in Crisis Over How to Measure the Universe" on WIRED here. read more about Incoming Prof. Scolnic Featured on WIRED »
Prof. Michael Rubinstein and collaborators have published research regarding adhesion and binding of mucus to develop therapies that could provide relief in patients with cystic fibrosis. Read more in ScienceDaily's article "Can scientists change mucus to make it easier to clear, limiting harm to lungs?" here. The paper "Roles of mucus adhesion and cohesion in cough clearance" can be found here. read more about Prof. Rubinstein and Collaborators Study Mucus to Help Patients with CF »
Prof. Ronen Plesser was interviewed by The Chronicle. Watch "Professor explains string theory and its history" here. read more about Prof. Plesser Explains String Theory »
Graduate student Adryanna Smith has been featured as one of the Faces of DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Group). Read how she discovered her love of physics on Fermilab's Twitter here and Facebook here. Smith is a second-year graduate student and a member of Prof. Kate Scholberg's group. read more about Grad Student Smith Featured on Faces of DUNE »
Prof. Michael Rubinstein is part of a team that just received a research grant from NSF to study changes in DNA that can cause cancer. Read more on The Chroncile's website here. read more about Prof. Rubinstein and Team Receive NSF Grant to Research Cancer »
On Sunday, October 7, 2018, the late Prof. Bob Behringer's picture was floated on the International Space Station. This dedication was announced in August. Professor for Physics of Granular Matter at the University of Cologne and member of the Institute of Materials Physics in Space Prof. Dr. Matthias Sperl said: "The picture was taken by ISS Comander Alexander Gerest in the module Cupola from where one can look down upon Earth. The picture makes sure we can embrace the… read more about Prof. Behringer's Image Floated on the International Space Station »