Department of Physics News

Serving as chair of this vibrant department for 10 years has been an honor and a delight. As my term ends in June, I extend my gratitude to students, postdocs, faculty, staff, alumni and friends for the immense and continuous support and encouragement. During my term, many distinguished faculty members retired and a vibrant contingent of young, energetic assistant professors joined us to keep the Physics Department at the height of productivity. Even in the face of multiple challenges—the COVID catastrophe, multiple budget cuts and the current assault on the very foundations of the scientific enterprise—we are still standing!

Our newsletter, launched in 2020, has been telling the stories of our community members’ brilliance, breakthroughs, endeavors and innovation. Enjoy this issue’s tales of our collective accomplishments as we continue to probe the mysteries of the universe and share our curiosity and love of physics.

~Steve

Professor Maissam Barkeshli Selected for Prestigious Simons Collaboration to Study Inner Workings of Artificial Intelligence

His background in studying emergent collective phenomena will guide his approach to investigating mechanisms underlying AI and machine learning. READ MORE »

Frank Zhao Cooks Up New Materials to Create Unique Quantum Behaviors

He is establishing a lab at UMD to create very pure materials with unique properties that might be incorporated into new technologies. READ MORE »

Shrinking Down Massive Particle Accelerators with Laser-Driven Plasma

Postdoc Jaron Shrock’s (Ph.D. ’23, physics) research transforms gigantic particle accelerators into compact devices, opening doors for medical imaging, manufacturing and more. READ MORE »

Sudden Breakups of Monogamous Quantum Couples Surprise Researchers

Professor and JQI Fellow Mohammad Hafezi and his colleagues set out to investigate how adjusting the ratio of fermionic to bosonic particles in a material can alter its interactions. READ MORE »

Air Force Veteran Rekindles His Passion for Science at UMD

Morgan Smith (B.S. ’25, physics) merged his interests in public service and science at Maryland and secured a job at NASA after graduating in December. READ MORE »

How Pokémon and Anime Inspired a Career in Physics

Samuel Márquez González (B.S. ’25, physics) has seen the world through numbers since he was a little kid. Now he's unraveling the mysteries of quantum information. READ MORE »

Conducting Quantum Experiments in the ‘Coolest’ Lab on Campus

Physics Ph.D. candidate Yanda Geng cooled atoms to near absolute zero and discovered strange swirling patterns in superfluids, revealing that some laws of physics are more universal than previously thought. READ MORE »

How Physics Powers EA’s Next-Gen Video Games

William Donnelly (Ph.D. ’12, physics) uses his physics expertise to render cutting-edge virtual worlds at Electronic Arts (EA). READ MORE »

From Physics to Finance

How an undergraduate degree in physics put Nathan Frohna (B.S. ’22, physics, MQF ’25, quantitative finance) on a path to an unexpected career in the world of finance. READ MORE »

Remembering and Giving Back

A generous gift from Jeff Saul (M.S. ’91, Ph.D. ’98, physics) and his wife Joy Watnik-Saul honors the memory of an internationally recognized professor and supports physics education research at UMD. READ MORE »

It is with much sadness that the department announces the passing of several members of our community. READ MORE »

We proudly recognize members of our community who recently garnered major honors, began new positions and more. READ MORE »