Professor Thad Walker has been elected to be vice-chair of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (DAMOP). He will serve as the chair starting in 2021.
News Archives
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Leadership: Susan Nossal
The university’s large introductory physics classes can be daunting to students, especially those who had limited exposure to the discipline in high school. In collaboration with others, Susan Nossal founded the Physics Learning Center 14 years ago to create a welcoming space for these students. The concept began as the Physics Peer Mentor Tutor Program, now the center’s core. Each semester, carefully trained undergraduates and staff members assist more than 150 students, many experiencing challenging circumstances inside and outside the classroom. The students develop confidence not only in physics, but in university life in general. Some go on to become tutors in the program themselves. Nossal sets a warm tone. Her caring demeanor and devotion to social justice foster powerful connections with students who may feel isolated or frustrated. Tenacious and resourceful, she’s grown the center into a forceful vehicle for student success.
Photo: Susan Nossal works on optical calculations with undergraduate students Matthew McAllister and Hanna Khan in a classroom at Chamberlin Hall.
Photo Credit: Jeff Miller
UW Cool Science Image Winner – ProtoDUNE Cryostat, Brian Rebel
The corrugated areas in this stainless steel wall will keep welds from breaking as the vessel is cooled to minus 265 degrees Fahrenheit and filled with 135,000 gallons of liquid argon. The container is a prototype for a neutrino detector that would hold more than 3 million gallons of argon in which neutrino collisions with argon atoms could be carefully studied for clues suggesting why our universe is made of matter.
The photo was captured by Professor Brian Rebel while on a trip to CERN.
Lit 203, Fall 2019
Jack Schneider passes away, April 11th
Former UW-Madison Physics department administrator (1970-1990) passed away on April 11th. A celebration of Jack’s life will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2019, in Bloomington, Minn.
2019 NDSEG Fellowship Award winners
Graduate students Megan Tabbutt and Aedan Gardill are 2019 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Award winners. Both work with Assistant Prof. Shimon Kolkowitz.
Congratulations to Megan and Aedan!
Ellen Zweibel receives 2019 Hilldale Award
Zweibel’s research has advanced our understanding of cosmic magnetic fields and the formation of stars and interstellar clouds. Her work on the solar cycle and solar flares has helped scientists understand the influence these events have on Earth’s weather, technology and spaceflight programs.
UW Making Big Investments in Quantum Science
“UW–Madison awarded its first Ph.D. in physics in 1899 and has a strong tradition of research in physics and its subfields,” says Steve Ackerman, UW–Madison associate vice chancellor for research in the physical sciences. “And today, by the investments we are making in quantum science and technology, we are building on that tradition and leading the way in concepts and technology that may revolutionize computing, communication, security and more.”
UW-Madison joins Chicago Quantum Exchange research hub
UW-Madison is joining forces with the University of Chicago, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in developing a national leading collaboration in the rapidly emerging field of quantum information.
Pictured: UW-Madison graduate student Abigail Shearrow
Photo Credit: John Zich
Summer 2019 Physics Courses
