News

Dan McCammon awarded Distinguished Career Prize

Congrats to Prof. Dan McCammon for earning the Distinguished Career Award from The American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) for his pioneering work on the development of microcalorimeters that has led to …

UW physicists use Purdue supercomputer to challenge traditional turbulence theory for space and climate modeling

Qolab, the first UW–Madison-incubated quantum startup, joins the Chicago Quantum Exchange

Physics major Caleb Youngwerth wins poster prize at APS Eastern Great Lakes meeting

Congrats to physics, astronomy-physics, mathematics and french major Caleb Youngwerth on winning the Meeting Award for Undergraduate Student Poster at the Fall 2024 meeting of the Eastern Great Lakes Section of APS! Youngwerth’s poster, entitled, …

Physics awarded need-based graduate fellowships by U.S. Department of Education

This fall, the U.S. Department of Education awarded the UW–Madison department of physics with Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) fellowships. These fellowships will assist graduate students with strong academic records who demonstrate …

Physics participates in U.S. Cyber Command visit to campus

Welcome, Prof. Melinda Soares-Furtado!

Melinda Soares-Furtado, an observational astronomer, joined the UW–Madison faculty this fall on a joint appointment in the astronomy and physics departments. She earned her undergrad degree at UC-Santa Cruz, then her doctorate in astrophysical sciences …

Welcome, Prof. Britton Plourde!

Condensed matter experimentalist Britton Plourde received his bachelor’s in physics and music performance from the University of Michigan. He then went to grad school at UIUC, earning a PhD in physics and a master’s in music …

UW–Madison joins new NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky

This post is modified from the original news story from Northwestern University A large multi-institutional collaboration— led by Northwestern University and including UW–Madison physics professors Keith Bechtol, Kyle Cranmer, and Moritz Münchmeyer — has received a …

HAWC detection of an ultra-high-energy gamma-ray bubble around a microquasar

Welcome, Professor Ben Woods!

Condensed matter theorist Ben Woods joined the department as an assistant professor this fall. Originally from a small town in North Dakota, Woods studied physics at the University of North Dakota and earned a PhD in …

Baha Balantekin wins 2025 APS Bethe Prize

Congrats to Prof. Baha Balantekin on winning the American Physical Society’s 2025 Hans A. Bethe prize! The Bethe prize is awarded to recognize outstanding work in theory, experiment or observation in the areas of astrophysics, …

Britton Plourde elected Fellow of the American Physical Society

Congratulations to Prof. Britton Plourde for being elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society! Plourde was elected “For important contributions to the physics and operation of superconducting qubits, including the development of techniques for …

UW-Madison, Japan’s National Institute for Fusion Science strengthen research partnership

Welcome, Prof. Elio König!

This fall, condensed matter theorist Elio König returned to Madison as an assistant professor of physics. König began his education in Germany and Italy, earning a PhD from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2014. …

Rogerio Jorge receives first grant as a professor

Congrats to Prof. Rogerio Jorge who was awarded his first grant as a professor! The three-year, $500,000 National Science Foundation grant, titled “Moment Approach to Multiscale Plasmas,” will be used to fund a graduate student …

New Chair to continue department’s strengths, commit to diversity and inclusion

The department of physics is pleased to announce that Prof. Kevin Black has been named new department chair. His three-year term began July 1, 2024, succeeding Prof. Mark Eriksson. Black says he is looking to …

Daniel Den Hartog earns Progress Award from Laser Society of Japan

Congrats to plasma scientist Daniel Den Hartog who is part of a team that was recently awarded a Progress Award from the Laser Society of Japan. This award is given to research that has shown …

Pupa Gilbert earns WARF Named Professorship

Physics professor Pupa Gilbert is one of eight UW–Madison faculty awarded WARF Named Professorships, which come with $100,000 and honor faculty who have made major contributions to the advancement of knowledge, primarily through their research …

Mark Eriksson named Steenbock Professor

This story was originally published by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research Mark Eriksson, professor of physics, and Mikhail Feldman, professor of mathematics, have been named recipients of UW–Madison Steenbock Professorships. “This professorship is …