News
Prof. Randall Kamien Selected for Provost's Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring
Randall Kamien, Vicki and William Abrams Professor in the Natural Sciences, was selected as one of two recipients from across the University for the Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring. The award is given based on a variety of rigorous criteria and reflects Prof. Kamien's many contributions to the Department of Physics and Astronomy. In particular, it recognizes not only all the work Prof.
Two Penn Physics Majors selected for prestigious Churchill Scholarship
December graduate Abigail Timmel and Penn senior Adam Konkol have both been selected for prestigious Churchill Scholarships to support a year of graduate study at the University of Cambridge in England. Both Timmel and Konkol have had impressive careers at Penn. After completing a co-op at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Timmel worked with Eugene Mele, Christopher H.
Bo Zhen announced as a winner of a 2021 Sloan Research Fellowship
Bo Zhen, Assistant Professor, has been selected for a 2021 Sloan Research Fellowship as one of "128 early-career scholars [who] represent the most promising scientific researchers working today."
Arjun Yodh named 2021 Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award Recipient by The Optical Society
Arjun Yodh, James M. Skinner Professor of Science and former Director of The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM), was announced as the 2021 recipient of The Optical Society Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award. He was selected for his "pioneering research on optical sensing in scattering media, especially diffuse optical and correlation spectroscopy and tomography, and for advancing the field of biophotonics through mentorship."
Charlie Johnson leads effort to develop an "electronic nose" to track COVID-19
Charlie Johnson, Rebecca W. Bushnell Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is leading a team of researchers "to develop rapid and scalable handheld devices that could spot people wit COVID-19 based on the disease's unique odor profile."
Liang Wu leads studies using pioneering theories by Charlie Kane and Eugene Mele
Liang Wu, Assistant Professor, leads two studies that "demonstrate how two related metal alloys, cobalt monosilicide and rhodium monosilicide, can convert light into electric current efficiently thanks to their topology. These findings utilize the pioneering theories of Charlie Kane, Christopher H.
Liang Wu selected for 2020 OCPA Outstanding Young Researcher Award (Macronix Prize)
Liang Wu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was selected for the prestigious Outstanding Young Researcher Award (Macronix Prize) by the International Organization of Chinese Physicists and Astronomers (OCPA). The award "is given annually to one to two physicist(s) and/or astronomer(s) of Chinese ethnicity working in North America, Europe, or other regions outside Asia, to encourage and recognize the young researcher’s contributions in physics or astronomy." Prof.
Dark Energy Survey makes public catalog of nearly 700 million astronomical objects
With the goal of understanding dark energy and the accelerating expansion of the universe, DES released six years of data, representing one of the largest galaxy surveys published to date.
Penn Physics and Astronomy Researchers Lead Effort to Publish Data About Hundreds of Millions of Astronomical Objects
In collaboration with The Dark Energy Survey, faculty and researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy contributed to the publication of catalog of nearly 700 million astronomical objects. Profs. Bhuvnesh Jain, Gary Bernstein, Masao Sako and researcher Mike Jarvis worked in collaboration with more than 400 scientists from 26 institutions "to understand dark energy and its role in the accelerating expansion of the universe."
Exciting study on atomic-scale apertures from graduate student Jothi Priyanka Thiruraman, postdoc Paul Masih Das, and Prof. Marija Drndić published
Researchers from the Drndić Lab have published an exciting new study that "shows the ionic transport properties of these pores, with promise for applications in water purification and desalination as well as for creating artificial pores that mimic ion channels in biology."