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First-year physics grad student uses her disrupted summer – and her science training – to research N95 safety
Shortly after incoming physics graduate student Winnie Wang attended a UW–Madison campus visit weekend in February, her plans took an abrupt change due to COVID-19. The University of Massachusetts, where she was studying, closed right …
August 14, 2020
Dark Energy Survey census of the smallest galaxies hones the search for dark matter
This story is adapted from one originally published by Fermilab Today, scientists in the Dark Energy Survey — including UW–Madison assistant professor of physics Keith Bechtol and his research group — released results that have …
August 4, 2020
Kevin Black named co-coordinator of LHC Physics Center at Fermilab
Professor Kevin Black has been named one of the next co-coordinators of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) Physics Center at Fermilab (LPC at FNAL), LPC announced recently. His initial appointment starts on September 1st, 2020 …
August 3, 2020
UW–Madison named member of new $25 million Midwest quantum science institute
As joint members of a Midwest quantum science collaboration, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and the University of Chicago have been named partners in a National Science Foundation Quantum Leap …
July 21, 2020
Chicago Quantum Exchange, including UW–Madison, welcomes seven new partners in tech, computing and finance, to advance research and training
The Chicago Quantum Exchange, a growing intellectual hub for the research and development of quantum technology, has added to its community seven new corporate partners in computing, technology and finance that are working to bring about …
July 7, 2020
Particle collider experiment CMS — and UW physicists who contribute — celebrate 1000th publication
In June 2020, The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) collaboration announced the submission of its 1000th scientific publication since the experiment began a decade ago. With multiple University of Wisconsin–Madison physics faculty involved in CMS over …
June 30, 2020Three undergraduate students awarded Hilldale Fellowships
Congratulations to the three physics undergraduate research students who earned Hilldale fellowships for 2020-21! They are: Owen Rafferty, in Robert McDermott’s group Yanlin Wu, in Peter Timbie’s group Yan Qian, in Sau Lan Wu’s group …
June 15, 2020
Vandenbroucke group plays instrumental role in proving viability of innovative gamma-ray telescope
Scientists in the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) consortium have detected gamma rays from the Crab Nebula using the prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (pSCT), proving the viability of the novel telescope design for use in gamma-ray astrophysics. The announcement …
June 1, 2020
Keith Bechtol, Rob Morgan win UW’s Cool Science Image contest
Congrats to Prof. Keith Bechtol and graduate student Rob Morgan for their winning entry in the UW–Madison Cool Science Images contest! Their winning entry — one of 12 selected out of 101 entries — earns …
May 26, 2020
Mark Eriksson earns WARF named professorship
Mark Eriksson has been named the John Bardeen Professor of Physics, through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) named professorship program. The WARF named professorship program provides recognition for distinguished research contributions of the UW–Madison …
May 12, 2020
Profs Eriksson, McDermott, Vandenbroucke awarded UW2020s
Twelve projects have been chosen for Round 6 of the UW2020: WARF Discovery Initiative, including three from faculty in the Department of Physics (Mark Eriksson, Robert McDermott, and Justin Vandenbroucke). These projects were among 92 …
May 7, 2020
2020 Scholarships and Awards
Congrats to the 2019-20 Department of Physics Scholarship & Award Winners! Please join us in recognizing their achievements at a virual ceremony to be held via Blackboard Collaborate on Thursday, May 7, at 5pm CDT. …
April 30, 2020
2020 Commencement
Please join us for a live virtual Commencement ceremony for undergraduate Physics and AMEP majors and Physics PhDs. For more info and a list of graduates, please visit https://www.physics.wisc.edu/commencement-2020/
April 29, 2020
Physics Department featured in UW article on virtual lab course instruction
It’s one thing to have to move a lecture course online, but lab courses — where students learn by doing — is an entirely different story. University Communications spoke to instructors in Physics, including Prof. …
April 27, 2020
Manipulating the magnetic response to light in natural materials
When light moves from one material into another, it bends — like how a partially submerged object appears distorted under water when viewed from above. What if, instead of bending, a material could change the …
April 23, 2020
Saffman group part of team awarded $7.4M grant to apply quantum computers to real-world problems
Wisconsin Quantum Institute director and professor of physics Mark Saffman and his research group are part of a team that will attempt to make quantum computing hardware more applicable to real-world problems. The up to $7.4 …
April 20, 2020
New research helps explain why the solar wind is hotter than expected
When a fire extinguisher is opened, the compressed carbon dioxide forms ice crystals around the nozzle, providing a visual example of the physics principle that gases and plasmas cool as they expand. When our sun …
April 15, 2020
Physicists to improve plasma fusion mirror devices with $5 million grant
University of Wisconsin–Madison plasma physicists will harness the power of high-temperature superconducting magnets to design and build a more efficient plasma fusion device, thanks to a two-year, $5 million U.S. Department of Energy grant awarded April 7. …
April 13, 2020
The Milky Way’s satellites help reveal link between dark matter halos and galaxy formation
This story was adapted from one originally published by Nathan Collins at SLAC. Read the original version here. Just as the sun has planets and the planets have moons, our galaxy has satellite galaxies, and …
April 10, 2020
Sarah McCarthy earns fellowship through National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Congrats to first-year grad student Sarah McCarthy on being named a 2020 NSF GRFP recipient!
April 2, 2020- Physics News Archives