Spa Newsletter Fall 2024
Letter from the Head
Dear Friends of the School of Physics and Astronomy,
Greetings, physics lovers! I’m James Kakalios, the new Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy. Paul Crowell has stepped down as Head, after five eventful and challenging years leading the School. Paul succeeded Ron Poling in 2019 and by March 2020 he had to quickly pivot to a unique situation as we transitioned to teaching and working from home during the COVID pandemic. Paul's tenure as Head was marked by his hard work, integrity and dedication to the School. He set a very high bar for me as the new Head. The entire School is grateful for his stewardship for the past five years.
Like Paul, I am a condensed matter experimentalist, where my research spans the "nano" to the "neuro." I received my Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago and then did a postdoc at the Xerox-Palo Alto Research Center. After three years in Palo Alto, I’d had enough of those California winters and joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1988, where I have been ever since.
It is always great news when our faculty are recognized for their accomplishments, and so far 2024 has been a thrilling year! Professor Fiona Burnell, a condensed matter theorist, received the inaugural Tang Family Professorship, and Professor Lindsay Glesener, a leading researcher in solar physics, was the first Allen M. Goldman Faculty Fellow. Professor Michael Coughlin was the School’s most recent McKnight-Land Grant assistant professor, the 12th in the School since the program began in 1987. Professor Zhen Liu, a high energy theorist, received a prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship, and Professor Emerita Roberta Humphreys was awarded the 2024 Herschel Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society for her stellar research accomplishments.
The capstone of the summer came when we learned that Fine Theoretical Physics Institute professor and member of the National Academy of Sciences Mikhail (“Misha”) Shifman was elected to become a University of Minnesota Regents Professor, the highest honor the University awards its faculty. You can read more about these awards, along with the awards by our undergraduate and graduate students, and profiles of the exciting research being conducted by Professors Glesener, Coughlin and McCleod in the stories below.
On behalf of the faculty, students, and staff of the School, we wish you a healthy and productive summer and fall, and we look forward to hosting you when you next visit the campus.
Best regards,
James Kakalios
Taylor Distinguished Professor and Head, School of Physics and Astronomy
School News
Strobbe Labs Gears up for CMS upgrade
Professor Nadja Strobbe and her group are preparing the lab for a major influx of new people and equipment to complete a portion of the electronics upgrade to the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) project at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland.
Read more about the Compact Muon Solenoid project.
Inside McLeod’s nano-imaging laboratory
Professor Alexander McLeod’s nano-imaging lab creates novel ways to study materials as well as looking for new physics in those materials.
Shifman named Regent's Professor
Professor Mikhail “Misha” Shifman of the School of Physics and Astronomy and the Willliam I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute has been named a University of Minnesota Regents Professor.
Read about Mikhail Shifman.
Pribiag’s research in quantum materials could have implications for next-generation computing
School of Physics and Astronomy Associate Professor Vlad Pribiag is one of only 19 researchers nationwide to receive a prestigious five-year, $1.25 million Experimental Physics Investigators award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Read more about Pribiag's research.
Burnell appointed to Tang Family Professorship
Professor Fiona Burnell has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the Tang Family Professorship.
Read more about Burnell and the Tang Family Professorship.
Glesener awarded Allen M. Goldman Faculty Fellowship
Associate Professor Lindsay Glesener has been awarded the Allen M. Goldman Faculty Fellowship for the 2024-25 academic year.
Read more about Glesener.
Liu receives prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship for early-career researchers
School of Physics and Astronomy Assistant Professor Zhen Liu is one of only 126 early-career researchers who will receive a prestigious 2024 Sloan Research Fellowship.
Read more about Liu and the Sloan fellowship.
Humphreys awarded medal from Royal Astronomical Society
Professor Emerita Roberta Humphreys of the School of Physics and Astronomy will receive the 2024 Herschel Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society for her discovery of the empirical upper luminosity boundary for the most massive stars.
Coughlin receives McKnight Professorship
School of Physics and Astronomy Assistant Professor Michael Coughlin has been awarded a 2024 McKnight Land-Grant Professorship.
Read more about Coughlin
Coughlin and Criswell part of comprehensive UV light survey
Assistant Professor Michael Coughlin and graduate student Alexander Criswell of the School of Physics and Astronomy are part of a new mission that has just been selected to conduct a comprehensive survey of ultraviolet light spanning the entire sky.
Read about the UV light survey.
Glesener part of NASA’s first Solar Flare Observation Campaign
Professor Lindsay Glesener of the School of Physics and Astronomy is part of a research team launching a sounding rocket to study solar flares. The rocket, named Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI-4), is equipped with an X-ray telescope that will gather precise measurements of this solar phenomenon.
Read about the solar flare observation campaign.