News Archive
University of Minnesota-led team helps explain what powers Jupiter’s brightest auroras
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NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveals how locally generated Alfvén waves accelerate particles and heat the planet’s upper atmosphere
Skillman and Olive Measure the Early-Universe Helium
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Evan Skillman, of the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, and Keith Olive of the Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, are part of The Large Binocular Telescope Primordial Helium Project which used precise helium measurements of the first five minutes after the Big Bang to provide useful constraints for cosmologists on possible physics beyond the standard model. John H. Miller, a graduate student in the School was also a co-author.
Lectures Series a Hit with Public
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The Quirky Quantum Lecture series drew hundreds of newcomers to the University this summer, earning enthusiastic feedback from attendees who said it made quantum physics approachable and rekindled their excitement for science.
Building on that success, the School of Physics and Astronomy is hosting three free public lectures this fall: Chris Lintott's Kaufmanis Lecture on interstellar objects (Sept. 16), Hitoshi Murayama's Van Vleck Lecture on the physics of our origins (Sept. 30), and Steven Griven's Misel Family Lecture on quantum computing (late October).
Remembering William “Bill” Zimmermann Jr.
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Professor Emeritus William “Bill” Zimmermann Jr. passed away in Minneapolis on July 12, 2026, at the age of 95.
Physicists go to extremes in the hunt for dark matter
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In the hunt for one of nature’s most elusive substances – dark matter, which makes up 85% of all matter in the universe – scientists are going to extremes. Deep underground and chilled to near absolute zero, the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) SNOLAB – one of the world’s most sensitive dark matter searches – has begun collecting its very first scientific data, following a six month commissioning period for the newly installed experiment.
Sasli Proposal Approved for part of first cycle of observations at Roman Space Telescope
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Argyro Sasli, Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Physics and Astronomy, has received word that her proposal has been accepted for the first ever cycle of observations at the Nancy Grace Roman Space telescope.
Graduate Fellowships and Awards, 2026
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There are 20 graduate fellowship and award recipients in the School for 2026.
Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards, 2026
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There are 39 recipients of 15 undergraduate scholarships and awards in the School for 2026.
Zooniverse Approaching 1 Billion Classification Milestone
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Professor Lucy Fortson of the School of Physics and Astronomy is one of the founding members of the Zooniverse citizen science collaboration platform. Zooniverse connects over 3 million volunteers with research projects and provides an online platform for citizen scientists to accelerate research across the sciences by contributing classifications. The platform, which is the largest and most popular of its kind, is expected to reach the one billion classification mark by June 30, 2026.
Remembering Marvin Marshak
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Professor Marvin Marshak passed away on April 2, 2026 at the age of 80. Marshak was a member of the physics faculty at the University of Minnesota for over fifty years and he made, according to colleague Professor Greg Pawloski, "a profound impact on the field of experimental particle physics."