Prof. Josh Berger Paper Accepted to PRL

February 1, 2024

The universe contains more matter than antimatter, but the mechanism for generating this difference is currently unconfirmed. Could dark matter be involved? Prof. Berger with his collaborator Gilly Elor explores how dark matter connected to generating the matter-antimatter asymmetry might also cause observable proton decays at the flagship US neutrino experiment, DUNE, and other experiments [Read More...]



Colloquium: Longji Cui

December 4, 2023

“‘Hot’ Optics: Harnessing thermal optical power from near-field hot carrier nanoscopy to a novel far-field thermophotovoltaics” Longji Cui Monday,  December 4th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) In this talk, I will explore the dynamic intersection of heat transfer and optics, a century-old but surprisingly underexplored domain until recent times. Historically, this field has [Read More...]



Colloquium: Joseph Zennamo

November 27, 2023

“Big Detectors and Small Particles, The Search for New Physics” Joseph Zennamo Monday,  November 27th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Particle physics studies the building blocks of our universe and the forces that hold them together. After decades of study, we have a very well-defined theory known as the “Standard Model,” which has [Read More...]



Colloquium: Wren Suess

November 13, 2023

“Transforming our understanding of galaxy formation with the power of JWST and ALMA” Dr. Katherine Suess Monday,  November 13th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Galaxies are one of the fundamental building blocks of our universe, yet despite a century of study we still don’t understand how these vast cosmic ecosystems formed. The key [Read More...]



Colloquium: Norm Buchanan

November 6, 2023

“The Physics of Music” Norm Buchanan Monday,  November 6th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) There are few things that permeate our lives in the way that music does. Whether it is a familiar song that conjures up memories from our youth, or the enhanced emotional impact that a well-crafted film score has on [Read More...]



Colloquium: Michael J. Martin

October 30, 2023

“Quantum Information Science with Laser-dressed Atoms: From Qubit to Qudecimal” Michael J. Martin Monday,  October 30th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Neutral atoms coupled to highly-excited Rydberg levels are an emerging platform for quantum science, with promising applications in quantum computing, quantum simulation, and quantum sensing. In this presentation, I will highlight some [Read More...]



Colloquium: Bill Fairbank

October 23, 2023

“Counting atoms one by one for a decade: discovering the possible identity of neutrino and antineutrino” Bill Fairbank Monday,  October 23rd at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) In the standard model of elementary particles, the fundamental particles in nature from which matter is made consist of three quarks, three electron-like particles, and three neutrinos. [Read More...]



Department seeking to hire 2 Tenure Track Faculty

October 17, 2023

We have postings for two positions at the rank of Assistant Professor, and exceptional candidates will be considered for positions with a more senior rank. Candidates with research interested in the following areas are encouraged to apply: EXPERIMENTAL CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS: Interested candidates should apply at https://jobs.colostate.edu/postings/134899 by December 4, 2023 by 11:59 pm (MT) for full [Read More...]



Colloquium: Dr. Marlou Slot

October 16, 2023

“Designing Electronic Quantum Matter Atom by Atom and Layer by Layer” Dr. Marlou Slot 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Monday,  October 16th at 4:00 PM “Ultimately – in the great future – we can arrange the atoms the way we want; the very atoms, all the way down.” This vision by Feynman has become reality: we [Read More...]



Colloquium: Rick Aster

October 2, 2023

 
“Seismological Exploration of the Solid Earth, Oceans, Cryosphere, and Atmosphere ” Rick Aster 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Monday,  October 2nd at 4:00 PM The science of seismology has both advanced and broadened in recent years, driven by vast new data sources, innovative methods, and growing science directions.   Areas of exciting growth range from imaging Earth’s [Read More...]



Colloquium: Bob Wilson

September 18, 2023

“Short-Baseline Neutrino Program at Fermilab: Physics Beyond the Standard Model ” Bob Wilson 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Monday, September 18th at 4:00 PM As an undergraduate contemplating graduate school in high energy physics, I declined a research assistantship to work on a neutrino experiment because neutrinos weren’t interesting … they were massless and weakly interacting [Read More...]



Colloquium: Amos Breskin

September 11, 2023

“Novel noble-liquid radiation-detector concepts” Amos Breskin 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Monday, September 11th at 4:00 PM Advances in Nuclear- Particle- and Astro-particle Physics have always been linked to the advent of novel radiation-detection concepts. Over the years, we have seen constant progress with gas-avalanche and solid-state imaging detectors that, in addition to the ever-growing particle [Read More...]



Colloquium: Igor Pikovski

May 1, 2023

“Quantum Interference of Clocks: From Eddington’s Enigma to the Quantum Twin Paradox” Igor Pikovski 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Monday, May 1st at 4:00 PM Gravity and quantum physics are usually relevant at vastly different scales. Nevertheless, quantum phenomena can be affected by gravity, with experimentally accessible signatures. Here I will discuss how general relativistic time [Read More...]



Colloquium: Durga Paudyal

April 24, 2023

“Rare Earth Magnetism and Quantum Phenomena ” Durga Paudyal Monday, April 24th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) The increasing technological importance of rare earth based magnetic and quantum materials is attracting the attention of scientists from all over the world. We have great challenges ahead in terms of experimental synthesis and characterization as [Read More...]



Colloquium: Alan Tennant

April 17, 2023

“Surprises in Quantum Magnetism: Tetris, Entanglement, and Spin Liquids” Alan Tennant Monday, April 17th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Advances in understanding quantum states in spin networks are closely tied to quantum information. Entanglement and its consequences provide ways to not only generate new physical phenomena but also to realize topological quantum information [Read More...]



Colloquium: Phillip Phillips

April 10, 2023

“Beyond BCS: An Exact Model for Superconductivity and Mottness” Phillip Phillips Monday, April 10th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity described all superconductors until the 1986 discovery of the high-temperature counterpart in the cuprate ceramic materials. This discovery has challenged conventional wisdom as these materials are well known [Read More...]



Colloquium: Mark Siemens

April 3, 2023

“Vortices in a propagating laser beam simulate quantum fluid vortex dynamics ” Mark Siemens Monday,  April 3rd at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Vortices are fundamental in a variety of fields, from turbulent superfluid helium and atomic Bose-Einstein Condensates (BEC), and even in the sun’s swirling atmosphere and dark matter filaments connecting galaxies. We [Read More...]



Colloquium: Duncan Ryan

March 27, 2023

“Quantum Ghost Imaging” Duncan Ryan Monday,  March 27th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Ghost imaging is a new approach to observing samples with extremely low light levels. For biological samples, such as plants, low light conditions are necessary so as not to interrupt or interfere with the native metabolic processes. However, when light [Read More...]



Colloquium: June Medford

March 6, 2023

“Enabling Pathways Toward Sustainable Life on Earth with Synthetic Biology: Essential needs from Physics, Math, Engineering, and Biology” June Medford Monday, March 6th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium). Synthetic biology is a relatively new field with its origin traced to the year 2000 when scientists at MIT and Caltech recognized that life (biology) [Read More...]



Colloquium: J. Ping Liu

February 27, 2023

“Magnetic Hardening in Low-Dimensional Ferromagnets ” J. Ping Liu Monday, February 27th at 4:00pm 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) How “hard” (coercive) a ferromagnet can be has been a puzzle for a century. Seven decades ago, William Fuller Brown offered his famous theorem to correlate coercivity with the magne-tocrystalline anisotropy fields in ferromagnetic materials. However, the [Read More...]



Colloquium: Scott Parker

February 20, 2023

“Fusion Energy: Recent Developments and Physical Constraints ” Scott Parker Monday,  February 20th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Fusion energy is a promising technology for producing clean, limitless, zero-carbon energy. Recently, there has been a paradigm shift where today, privately funded research dominates over the historic government-funded fusion program. Private research and development [Read More...]



Colloquium: Alfred Zong

February 16, 2023

“Pathways toward unconventional light-induced states in quantum materials ” Alfred Zong Thursday,  February 16th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Phase transitions instigated by an ultrashort laser pulse usher in a new era for materials engineering in the femto- (10-15) to pico-second (10-12 s) regime, a time window that is commensurate with nanoscopic dynamics [Read More...]



Colloquium: Yulia Maximenko

February 13, 2023

“Flatland quantum simulation and visualization with atomic resolution ” Yulia Maximenko Monday,  February 13th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Quantum computing and simulation promise to revolutionize fundamental physics, technology, and quantum chemistry. Simulating quantum systems using analog platforms was first proposed in the 1980s, but recent technological advances have brought this idea to new [Read More...]



Colloquium: Shan Wu

February 9, 2023

“Magnetic switching resistance materials” Shan Wu Thursday,  February 9th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Quantum materials are complex systems in which electrons interact strongly and collaboratively. As such, quantum mechanics is dominant in the versatile materials that allow us to explore emergent quantum phenomena and their potential applications in future technologies. Antiferromagnetic (AFM) [Read More...]



Colloquium: Hang Chi

February 6, 2023

“Novel Magnetic Interfaces for New Paradigm of Memory and Logic ” Hang Chi Monday, February 6th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Significant progress has been made in conceptualizing geometric aspects of condensed matter [1]. Inter-twining topology and low-dimensional magnetism, particularly at intrinsic/hybrid interfaces leveraging disparate quantum features, offers an exciting arena for exploiting [Read More...]



Colloquium: Ethan Neil

January 30, 2023

“The muon’s magnetic puzzle” Ethan Neil Monday, January 30th at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Studies of fundamental particles at high precision provide important tests of our understanding of the Universe.  Such tests require substantial efforts both by experimentalists and by theorists, and have led to some of the most accurate predictions and verifications [Read More...]



Colloquium: Alan Van Orden

January 23, 2023

“Time-resolved super-resolution microscopy to image photoluminescence lifetimes and energy transport in semiconductor nanoparticles” Professor Alan Van Orden Monday, January 23rd at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Time-resolved super-resolution microscopy is a technique to image photoluminescence lifetimes and other optical properties of nanoscale emitters with nanosecond time resolution and nanometer spatial resolution. This presentation will [Read More...]



Colloquium: Marianna Safronova

December 5, 2022

“Quantum Sensors for New-physics Searches in the Laboratory and in Space” Marianna Safronova Monday, December 5th at 4PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) The extraordinary advances in quantum control of matter and light have been transformative for atomic and molecular precision measurements enabling probes of the most basic laws of Nature to gain a fundamental understanding of the [Read More...]



Colloquium: Sergei Urazhdin

November 28, 2022

“Quantum Magnetism and Spintronics ” Sergei Urazhdin Monday, November 28th at 4PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Magnetism originates from electron spin, which is an example of quantum phenomena that, at single-electron level, do not have a classical limit. Nevertheless, common interpretations of collective magnetism and magnetoelectronic phenomena treat magnetization as a classical vector field. The [Read More...]



Colloquium: Olivier Pinaud

November 14, 2022

“Instantaneous Time Mirrors and Time Reversal” Olivier Pinaud Monday, November 14th at 4PM 120 Engineering  (Hammond Auditorium) Instantaneous time mirrors (ITMs) were recently introduced by M. Fink and collaborators as a new avenue for time reversal. The latter allows for the focusing of waves, whether acoustic, electromagnetic or elastic, and has found many important applications [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jim Sites

November 7, 2022

“CdTe-Based Solar Cells: Science and Impact” Jim Sites Monday, November 7th at 4PM 120 Engineering  (Hammond Auditorium) Photovoltaic generation of electricity continues to expand at an impressive rate, driven by favorable economics as well as climate-change concerns. Thin-film, polycrystalline CdTe technology is responsible for a large fraction of the growth in the U.S. Interdisciplinary research [Read More...]



CSU students attended the SPS Physics Congress

November 7, 2022

The Little Shop of Physics was invited to do a hands-on science workshop with hundreds of Physics faculty members and undergraduates from around the country at the Society of Physics Students Physics Congress 2022 in Washington D.C. Heather Michalak and Cherie Bornhorst, staff members with Little Shop of Physics, and 6 Physics undergraduates – Levi [Read More...]



Colloquium: Siegfried H. Glenzer

October 31, 2022

“Exploring the most Extreme Conditions of Matter with ultra-bright X-rays” Siegfried H. Glenzer Engineering 120 (Hammond Auditorium) Monday, October 31st at 4:00PM Normally, what surrounds us are gases, liquids, or solids. But elsewhere in the universe, 99% of the observable nature exists under extreme conditions that lead to exotic states of matter and the formation [Read More...]



Colloquium: Christopher R. Weinberger

October 24, 2022

“The Structure, Microstructure, and Properties of Nanolamellar Phases in the Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides” Christopher R. Weinberger Monday, October 24th at 4PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) The transition metal carbides and nitrides are candidate materials for ultra-high temperature applications where they are used as thermal barrier coatings and structural materials. The zeta phase is [Read More...]



Colloquium: Mike Mooney

October 17, 2022

“Unlocking Precision Physics at LArTPC Neutrino Experiments ” Mike Mooney Monday, October 17th at 4PM 120 Engineering  (Hammond Auditorium) The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility is an international project that will be the largest particle physics experiment ever built in North America.  The DUNE project will use massive liquid argon [Read More...]



Colloquium: Chen Hua

October 10, 2022

“Chirality, antiferromagnetism, and the anomalous Hall effect” Hua Chen Colorado State University Monday, October 10th at 4PM Chirality means properties of a system that are changed in its mirror image. In recent years chirality has become such a prevailing word in condensed matter physics that sometimes its meaning in certain contexts is not immediately clear. [Read More...]



Colloquium: Zhexuan Gong

October 3, 2022

“Unsupervised Machine Learning of Quantum Phase Transitions” Zhexuan Gong Colorado School of Mines Monday, October 3rd at 4PM 120 Engineering  (Hammond Auditorium) Experimental quantum simulators have become large and complex enough that discovering new physics from the huge amount of measurement data can be quite challenging, especially when little theoretical understanding of the simulated model [Read More...]



Colloquium: Carol Thompson

September 26, 2022

“X-ray scattering explorations of growth, polarization switching, and domain formation in thin ferroelectric epitaxial films” Carol Thompson Northern Illinois University Monday, September 26th at 4PM 120 Engineering  (Hammond Auditorium) In situ, time-resolved techniques provide valuable insights into the complex interplay of kinetic and equilibrium mechanisms active during materials synthesis and subsequent processing.  X-ray based versions [Read More...]



Colloquium: Haonan Wang

September 19, 2022

“Statistical Modeling of Complex Data With Applications” Haonan Wang Colorado State University Monday, September 19th at 4PM 120 Engineering  (Hammond Auditorium) With the emergence of advanced technologies, massively big data and complex data objects are frequently collected in many scientific studies, as well as in commercial applications. We are facing serious challenges posed by big [Read More...]



No Colloquium 9/12

September 12, 2022

There is no colloquium scheduled on 9/12. [Read More...]



No Colloquium on 9/5

September 5, 2022

Labor Day University closed, no colloquium! [Read More...]



Colloquium: Leo Radzihovsky

August 29, 2022

“Immobile topological quantum matter” Leo Radzihovsky Monday, August 29th at 4:00pm I will discuss a burgeoning field of “fractons” – a class of models where quasi-particles are strictly immobile or display restricted mobility. Focusing on just a cor-ner of this fast-growing subject, a will explain how one class of such theories – sym-metric tensor gauge [Read More...]



Colloquium: Pedro Machado

May 2, 2022

“The Large Neutrino Collider” Pedro Machado Monday, May 2nd at 4:00pm In this colloquium I will discuss exciting aspects of neutrino detectors using the liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, such as DUNE, the future US flagship neutrino experiment. LArTPCs allow for very detailed reconstruction of neutrino events. I will discuss the opportunities LArTPCs [Read More...]



Celebration of Faculty and Staff Milestones

April 20, 2022

Every year, Colorado State University celebrates employees achieving a decade of service of more. Congratulations to all who have reached a Milestone year of service this academic year, and thank you for your commitment to Colorado State University. Download the full Milestones list or visit the Awards and Milestone page here. James Sites Celebrates 50 Years [Read More...]



Spotlight on Colorado State University QuarkNet Center

April 20, 2022

CSU was featured in the Quarknet Friday flyer! Below is an excerpt from the event: The CSU crew was able to meet once again in-person for their 2021 workshop after meeting virtually in 2020. Everyone agreed that Cherie Bornhorst’s delicious chocolate chip cookies were much more enjoyable in-person rather than over Zoom! The July 2021 [Read More...]



Colloquium: Roopali Kukreja

April 11, 2022

“Imaging ultrafast and ultrasmall: Unraveling nanoscale correlations in complex oxide heterostructures time-resolved coherent x-ray scattering” Roopali Kukreja Monday, April 11th at 4:00pm Complex oxide heterostructures provide access to emergent functional and structural phases which are not present in the bulk constituent materials. Controlling ionic distribution, stoichiometry and epitaxial strain in complex oxide heterostructures have been [Read More...]



Colloquium: Ezio Iacocca

April 4, 2022

“Manipulating the magnetization at the nanoscale with femtosecond laser pulses” Ezio Iacocca Monday, April 4th at 4:00pm Magnetic materials have been used for information storage for decades, ever since the inception of the first hard drive. The reason for this application is that magnets have well-defined orientations that remain stable for hundreds of years. The [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jacob Roberts

March 28, 2022

“Electron-ion collision rates in strongly coupled and extremely magnetized ultracold neutral plasmas” Jacob Roberts Monday, March 28th at 4:00pm Ultracold neutral plasmas (UNPs) ~mm scale plasmas formed from photoionizing laser cooled atoms that have electron and ion temperatures typically a few Kelvin above absolute zero (and can be even colder). They are excellent experimental platforms [Read More...]



Colloquium: Andrew Kent

March 21, 2022

“Spintronics with Antiferromagnetic and Quantum Materials” Andrew Kent Monday, March 21st at 4:00pm The magnetization of a magnetic material can be excited and reversed by electric currents that transport spin angular momentum [1]. This was predicted in magnetic tunnel junctions—two metallic ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating barrier—by John Slonczewski in 1989 and demonstrated [Read More...]



Colloquium: Andrew Lucas

March 7, 2022

“Hydrodynamics of viscous electron fluids” Andrew Lucas Monday, March 7th at 4:00pm Hydrodynamics is a universal effective theory which describes how complicated and chaotic many-body systems reach global thermal equilibrium. In ultra-clean solid-state devices, such as single-layer graphene, it is possible to observe a viscous hydrodynamic flow of interacting electrons through the device. In this [Read More...]



Magnetics Seminar- Steven Louis

March 1, 2022

“Spintronic Spiking Neurons” Speaker: Steven Louis Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 Abstract: Artificial spiking neurons are the primary building blocks in a new class of neuromorphic computer hardware, for example, Intel’s Loihi. Spiking spintronic neurons hold promise to transform conventional computer architectures for increased processing speed and computational efficiency [Read More...]



CMP Seminar: A.N. Slavin

March 1, 2022

“Spintronic Diode as a Quadratic Signal Detector and RF Energy Harvester” Speaker: A.N. Slavin Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 Abstract: The spin-torque magnetic diode (STMD) effect [1] is a quadratic rectification effect of the input microwave current IRF(t) in a magneto-resistive nano-junction, which is commonly observed in a traditional [Read More...]



Colloquium: Carmen S. Menoni

February 28, 2022

“Tailoring medium range order in amorphous oxides for coatings of gravitational wave interferometers” Carmen S. Menoni Monday, February 28th at 4:00pm Glassy amorphous oxides are fascinating materials in that their amorphous nature provides for enormous functionality.  Amorphous oxides are ubiquitous in optics as they are transparent over a broad wavelength range spanning from the near [Read More...]



Magnetics Seminar- Tilak Thapaliya

February 25, 2022

Transport properties and heterostructures of topological kagome metals Speaker: Tilak Thapaliya Time: 10:30AM – 11:30AM on Friday, February 25th, 2022 Place: Physics Interaction Space Abstract: TKMs (topological kagome metals) have exotic topological band structures with coexistence of Dirac/Weyl bands with linear energy-momentum dispersion and flat bands without energy dispersion. In this talk I will discuss [Read More...]



Magnetics Seminar- Narendra Shrestha

February 23, 2022

Spin Texture Induced Response through Magnetoresistance in Ferromagnetic EuO1-x and Helical Antiferromagnetic Eu Metal Speaker: Narendra Shrestha Time: 10:30AM – 11:30AM on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022 Place: Physics Interaction Space Abstract: In the field of spintronics, the manipulation of spin textures with electric currents and the magnetic field is an important challenge. Magnetic skyrmions which [Read More...]



Magnetics Seminar- Vipul Sharma

February 22, 2022

“Magnetization Dynamics and Microwave Device Fabrication using Magnetic Nanostructures” Speaker: Vipul Sharma Time: 9:30AM – 10:30AM on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022 Place: https://zoom.us/j/96253932547 Abstract: Nanostructured magnetic material offers great advancement in nano-scale devices. My research consists of the investigation of spin dynamics and microwave device fabrication using magnetic nanostructures. I have fabricated epitaxial ferromagnetic thin [Read More...]



Colloquium: Nancy Aggarwal

February 17, 2022

“Precision measurements aiding the search for dark matter and gravitational-waves” Nancy Aggarwal Monday, February 17th at 4:00pm Low-energy experiments have recently emerged as the next testbeds to investigate big physics questions like (a) Is there physics beyond the standard-model? (b) Do gravitons exist? What is the nature of gravitational forces between quantum systems? (c) What [Read More...]



Colloquium: Emine Altuntas

February 14, 2022

“Quantum Backaction-Limited Measurements in Bose-Einstein Condensates” Emine Altuntas Monday, February 14th at 4:00pm In recent years, there have been rapid breakthroughs in quantum technologies that offer opportunities for fundamental physics discoveries and advanced understanding of basic quantum phenomena. The principal tenet of quantum technologies has two sides: quantum measurement and quantum control. [Read more…] [Read More...]



Colloquium: Christian Sanner

February 10, 2022

“Adventures of a clockmaker: Keeping time, testing relativity, and engineering atom-light interactions” Christian Sanner Monday, February 10th at 4:00pm Optical atomic clocks are incredibly precise timekeepers. They find applications in low-energy tests of fundamental physics, and quantum engineering their clockwork opens new avenues for next-generation quantum sensors. I will report on recent tests of relativity [Read More...]



Colloquium: Xing Wu

February 7, 2022

“Where is All the Antimatter? Electron EDM Search in Cold Molecules Edges Closer” Xing Wu Monday, February 7th at 4:00pm The Standard Model of particle physics accurately describes all fundamental particles discov-ered so far. However, it is unable to address two great mysteries in physics, the nature of dark matter and why matter dominates over [Read More...]



Colloquium: Dmytro A. Bozhko

January 31, 2022

“Perspectives of quantum computing with magnons” Dmytro A. Bozhko Monday, January 31st at 4:00pm Finding new ways for fast and efficient processing and transfer of data is one of the most challenging tasks nowadays. One of the most challenging directions in this area is quantum computing. Thus, it is very important to look for physical [Read More...]



Colloquium: Vedran Brdar

January 13, 2022

“Seeking New Physics at Neutrino Oscillation Experiments” Vedran Brdar Thursday, January 13th at 4:00pm One of the most important achievements in the field of particle physics was the dis-covery of neutrino oscillations. Despite already awarded Nobel Prize, neutrino oscil-lation experiments still have a lot to offer, primarily the discovery of CP violation in the lepton [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jeff Dror

January 10, 2022

“The Detection of Cosmic Fossils” Jeff Dror Monday, January 10th at 4:00pm The first minute of our universe is a mysterious epoch. During this period, the universe may have experienced rapid expansion, filled with a plasma reaching temperatures well exceeding that inside of stars, and undergone cosmic phase transitions. However, we have yet to figure [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jay Hyun Jo

December 6, 2021

“Chasing Long Standing Neutrino Anomalies with MicroBooNE” Jay Hyun Jo Monday, December 6th at 4:00pm Neutrinos are the most elusive fundamental constituents of matter.  And yet these particles may hold the key to exotic new phenomena, which transcend our Standard Model of particle physics.  In the last several decades neutrino oscillation experiments have given us a consistent [Read More...]



Colloquium: G. Brian Stephenson

November 29, 2021

“Coherent X-ray studies of phase transition dynamics” G. Brian Stephenson Monday, November 29th at 4:00pm The greatly increased brightness of synchrotron hard X-ray sources has enabled a new set of experimental methods using coherent X-ray beams. One of these, X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS), is sensitive to structural dynamics on length scales down to the [Read More...]



Colloquium: David Craig

November 15, 2021

“Effective Practices for Physics Programs: A Bird’s Eye View of the EP3 Initiative” David Craig Monday, November 15th at 4:00pm The Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) project is an ambi-tious new initiative by the American Physical Society in collaboration with the American Association of Physics Teachers to support depart-mental efforts to improve themselves using [Read More...]



Colloquium: Mark Bradley

November 8, 2021

“Nanoscale Self-Organization Induced by Ion Bombardment of Solid Surfaces” Mark Bradley Monday, November 8th at 4:00pm Bombarding a solid surface with a broad ion beam can produce a remarkable variety of self-assembled nanoscale patterns, including periodic height modulations or “ripples” and hexagonal arrays of nanodots.  The emergence of these patterns is not just fascinating — [Read More...]



Mingzhong Wu elected fellow of the American Physical Society

November 3, 2021

The American Physical Society has elected the Society’s 2021 Fellows including Mingzhong Wu. The APS Fellowship Program recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise in physics research, important applications of physics, leadership in or service to physics, or significant contributions to physics education. Each year, no more than one half of [Read More...]



Mark Bradley grant proposal selected for funding by National Science Foundation

November 2, 2021

A grant proposal from Mark Bradley of Colorado State University and Karl Ludwig of Boston University submitted to the National Science Foundation has just been selected for funding. The sponsored research will be a joint theoretical and experimental investigation of nanoscale patterns produced by ion bombardment of solid surfaces. The grant is a three-year collaborative [Read More...]



Pumpkin Event Results

October 29, 2021

Thank you to all those who attended the pumpkin carving/painting event! Below are the results of the competition and please enjoy the photo gallery from the event! (click on the images to enlarge them) Best Physics-themed pumpkin: Lia Compton, Jonah Salehi, Megan Wrobel, Nick Lehnerz “Scariest” pumpkin: Sam Fogarty Most creative use of the pumpkin: Mari [Read More...]



Colloquium: Noah Hurst

October 25, 2021

“Dynamics of strongly kinked, low edge safety factor tokamak plasmas in the Madison Symmetric Torus” Noah Hurst University of Wisconsin Monday, October 25th at 4:00pm Current-carrying toroidal fusion plasma devices can be characterized by the edge safety factor q(a), which is proportional to the ratio of toroidal field to plasma current. Tokamaks typically suffer “disruptions” [Read More...]



Colloquium: Norm Buchanan

October 18, 2021

“The Anatomy of a Neutrino Measurement” Norm Buchanan Colorado State University Monday, October 18th at 4:00pm The study of neutrinos is a major area of interest in particle physics. Currently operating accelerator-driven neutrino experiments, such as the NOvA experiment, are providing answers to some of the longstanding questions of how neutrinos mix between themselves, how [Read More...]



Colloquium: Liam Stanton

October 11, 2021

“Exploring Inertial Confinement Fusion with Multiscale Modeling” Dr. Liam Stanton San Jose State University Monday, October 11th at 4:00pm At the National Ignition Facility, high-powered laser beams are used to compress a small target to generate fusion reactions. To achieve this, it is crucial to understand the initial mixing of the interface between the hydrogen [Read More...]



Colloquium: Michael Litos

October 4, 2021

“Big Energy from Tiny Waves – Plasma Wakefield Accelerator Research at FACET-II” Prof. Michael Litos University of Colorado Boulder Monday, October 4th at 4:00pm Plasma-based particle accelerators offer an opportunity to significantly reduce the size and cost of high-energy particle beams for applications ranging from ultrafast electron diffraction, to X-ray free electron lasers, to high-energy [Read More...]



Colloquium: Daniel Adams

September 27, 2021

“Advanced Computational Metrologies: Measuring the Shape of Ultrashort Pulses of Light” Dr. Daniel Adams Colorado School of Mines Monday, September 27th at 4:00pm   Over the past 60 years, the formidable task of measuring the complex structure of coherent light has remained elusive. Fortunately, the last decade has seen the rise of a completely novel [Read More...]



Colloquium: Tim Stasevich

September 20, 2021

“Imaging and quantifying the translation dynamics of single mRNA molecules in live cells” Prof. Tim Stasevich Colorado State University Monday, September 20th at 4:00pm   My lab is creating technology to image gene activity in real time and with single-molecule precision in living cells. Using new mRNA and protein tags, fluorescent probes, and single-molecule microscopy, [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jess Hagman

September 13, 2021

“Talking Critically about Student Success in STEM” Prof. Jess Hagman Colorado State University Monday, September 13th at 4:00pm   In this talk I will share my current research that addresses student success in STEM from a critical perspective. A critical perspective on student success means locating student challenges in STEM not within the students’ themselves [Read More...]



Bob Wilson selected as Board Member for SURF Foundation

July 28, 2021

SURF Foundation selects new Board members The mission of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) Foundation is to support the advancement of world class science and inspiring learning across generations. Established in 2019, the SURF Foundation supports that mission by building upon strong relationships within the community and opening doors for public contributions. At the [Read More...]



Danielle Yahne and Derek Doyle receive DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Award

May 14, 2021

Congratulations to both Danielle Yahne and Derek Doyle on receiving a DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) award! Danielle Rose Yahne received an SCGSR award for her priority research area in BES – Neutron Scattering Research and Instrumentation (Host DOE Laboratory/Facility – Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)). Derek D Doyle received an SCGSR [Read More...]



Colloquium: Giorgio Gratta

May 3, 2021

“Rethinking the Role of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxy Evolution” Prof. Giorgio Gratta Stanford University  Monday, May 3rd at 4:00pm I will describe a new program of measurements in fundamental physics using optically levitated dielectric microspheres. The focus of the talk will be the recently completed first search for new, gravity-like interactions at micron scale [Read More...]



Colloquium: Ann Zabludoff

April 26, 2021

“Rethinking the Role of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxy Evolution” Prof. Ann Zabludoff  University of Arizona Monday, April 26th at 4:00pm While astronomers are working hard to detect the earliest galaxies and follow their evolution, we remain baffled by the present-day dichotomy between the two major galaxy classes: disky galaxies that are forming stars and [Read More...]



Colloquium: Amar Vutha

April 19, 2021

 
“The shape of electron, and why it matters ” Prof. Amar Vutha  University of Toronto  Monday, April 19th at 4:00pm Everything in the universe, as far as we can see, is made of matter. The Big Bang should have created equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, yet there is no natural anti-matter anywhere. The reason for this [Read More...]



Colloquium: Rajibul Islam

April 5, 2021

 
“Programmable Quantum Simulations with Laser-cooled Trapped Ions  ” Prof. Rajibul Islam University of Waterloo, Canada   Monday, April 5th at 4:00pm Trapped ions are among the most advanced technology platforms for quantum information processing. When laser-cooled close to absolute zero temperature, atomic ions form a Coulomb crystal with micron-scale spacings in a radio-frequency ion trap. Qubit or spin-1/2 levels, encoded [Read More...]



Colloquium: Connie Li

March 29, 2021

 
“Direct electrical detection of spin-momentum locking in topological insulators” Dr. Connie H. Li Naval Research Laboratory Monday, March 29th at 4:00pm Topological materials constitute a new quantum phase of matter distinct from the classic dichotomy of simple metals and semiconductors. The existence of this class of material was predicted from the study of electronic band [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jennifer Burris

March 22, 2021

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for STEM Departments” Dr. Jennifer Burris Appalachian State University Monday, March 22nd at 4:00pm Not only should valuing diversity and inclusive excellence be the goal of any fair and just society, but a campus environment that values diversity produces better student learning outcomes, the ultimate goal of any university. Diversity, [Read More...]



Colloquium: Mohammad Hafezi

March 8, 2021

 
“Topological physics: from photons to electrons” Mohammad Hafezi University of Maryland Monday, March 8th at 4:00pm There are many intriguing physical phenomena that are associated with topological features —global properties that are not discernible locally. The best-known examples are quantum Hall effects in electronic systems, where insensitivity to local properties manifests itself as conductance through [Read More...]



Webinar: Xiaoxing Xi

March 8, 2021

 
Scientific Espionage, Open Exchange, and American Competitiveness Professor Xiaoxing Xi Department of Physics, Temple University Monday, March 8th at 2:00pm (Note: you must register for this webinar) Webinar Registration Link : https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SQM6Cz5tQQS21-3B-3GJUA Amid rapidly escalating tension between the United States and China, professors, scientists, and students of Chinese ethnic origin as well as those engaging in [Read More...]



Colloquium: Wes Campbell

March 1, 2021

 
“The Preparation and Measurement of Pure Quantum States” Wes Campbell University of California Los Angeles Monday, March 1st at 4:00pm Quantum mechanical systems with two levels arise in multiple disciplines of physics, astronomy, chemistry, computer science, and materials science. The rules that govern the process and outcomes of measurements of quantum two level systems give [Read More...]



Colloquium: Andrea Liu

February 22, 2021

 
“Doing ‘Statistical Mechanics’ with Big Data” Andrea Liu University of Pennsylvania Monday, Feb. 22nd at 4:00pm Statistical mechanics has been the workhorse that condensed matter physicists have used to make the connection between microscopic properties and macroscopic, collective phenomena. Establishing this connection requires reducing masses of microscopic information (dimensional reduction) to a few relevant microscopic [Read More...]



Colloquium: Maziar Raissi

February 15, 2021

 
“Hidden Physics Models” Maziar Raissi University of Colorado, Boulder Monday, Feb. 15th at 4:00pm A grand challenge with great opportunities is to develop a coherent framework that enables blending conservation laws, physical principles, and/or phenomenological behaviors expressed by differential equations with the vast data sets available in many fields of engineering, science, and technology. At [Read More...]



Colloquium: Stefania Gori

February 8, 2021

“Hunting dark particles at colliders” Stefania Gori University of California Santa Cruz Monday, Feb. 8th at 4:00pm Dark matter is believed to make up most of the matter of our Universe, but its particle origin remains a mystery. So far experimental searches for dark matter particles have largely focused on the mass window at around [Read More...]



HEPPA Seminar: Joseph Zennamo

February 3, 2021

 
“Enabling MeV-Scale Discovery By Improving Liquid Argon TPC Performance” Joseph Zennamo Fermilab Wednesday, Feb. 3rd at 2:00pm A major challenge in searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay is designing a detector with a large mass, low backgrounds, and percent-level energy resolution. A large-scale, high-precision LArTPC experiment, such as DUNE, could provide an exciting new opportunity for [Read More...]



Colloquium: Alex Klotz

February 1, 2021

 
“Materials Physics with Kinetoplast DNA” Alex Klotz California State University Long Beach Monday, Feb. 1st at 4:00pm The biological world is the source of many materials with exotic or desirable properties. Among these, DNA molecules have served as a model system to study the physics of polymers on the single-molecule level. [Read More…] Join Zoom [Read More...]



Colloquium: Heidi Newburg

January 25, 2021

 
“The Marvelous Milky Way” Heidi Newburg Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Monday, Jan. 25th at 4:00pm The Milky Way galaxy is the only galaxy that we can study in three dimensions and is an important key to understanding galaxy evolution. A recent flood of data has revolutionized our understanding of the dynamics of the Galaxy. [Read More…] [Read More...]



Teaching in the Age of Covid

December 3, 2020

A white board with physics work written on it.Faculty and staff members have undertaken herculean teaching efforts in for both the fall, summer, and  and spring semesters due to the COVID pandemic. The transition to remote and hybrid courses, while challenging, also allowed faculty to re-envision their courses and adapt their teaching methods. Faculty have embraced the “Together We Continue” motto to continue to do all the good things the department does, including dedication to teaching.   [Read More...]



Catching up with Tim Walton

December 3, 2020

We caught up with Tim Walton, who received his Ph.D. in 2016. Walton currently works at a plasma physics software company in Madison, WI called Prism. He also recently was a 2nd author on a recent Nature paper with his former Ph.D. advisor, Bill Fairbank.  Walton started out with a B.S. in mathematics with a minor in physics from the University of [Read More...]



Assistant Professors Granted Early Career Awards

December 3, 2020

This fall, Assistant Professor Hua Chen received a three-year, $450,000 Early Career award from the National Science Foundation to support his theoretical work on Novel Electronic and Magnetic Dynamics and Responses in Non-collinear Magnetic Materials.   Assistant Professor Mike Mooney also received a five-year, $750,000 research award from the U.S. Department of Energy. His work will support experimental work related to the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at the Long-Baseline [Read More...]



CSU Team Readies Massive Detector to Search for the Strangest Particle in the Universe

December 3, 2020

Story by Bob Wilson  Neutrinos are the most abundant known particle in the universe. They are produced in unimaginable quantities in stars – a hundred billion of them from our sun pass through your fingertip every second. And they are strange – very strange – even for quantum particles. As they travel through space, they [Read More...]



Little Shop of Physics Perserveres Through the Pandemic

December 3, 2020

Brian Jones performing a Little Shop of Physics demo.The usual mode of operation of the Little Shop of Physics— visit a school and put dozens of hands-on experiment stations in a room and let dozens of students mill about and work with them— clearly won’t work in a pandemic. While the Little Shop van sits idle, the team is busier than ever!   [Read More...]



Colloquium: Dmitri Densiov

November 30, 2020

“Particle Colliders – past, present and future” Dmitri Denisov Brookhaven National Laboratory Monday, Nov. 30th at 4:00pm Developments of the particle colliders over last 50 years have seen tremendous progress in both the energy of the collisions and the intensity of the colliding beams. In order to reach even higher collision energy many fundamental inventions [Read More...]



Colloquium: Andrew Geraci

November 16, 2020

“Searching for “Fifth-forces”, Dark Matter, and Quantum Gravity in the Lab” Andrew Geraci Northwestern University Monday, Nov. 16th at 4:00pm We normally think of large accelerators and massive detectors when we consider the frontiers of elementary particle physics, pushing to understand the universe at higher and higher energy scales. However, several tabletop low-energy experiments are [Read More...]



Colloquium: Bhaskar Dutta

November 2, 2020

“Particle Theory Models and Dark Matter: How to connect?” Bhaskar Dutta Texas A&M University Monday, Nov. 2nd at 4:00pm The results from the ongoing Large Hadron Collider and various direct and indirect dark matter detection experiments have introduced considerable constraints on many particle physics model ideas related to dark matter. After discussing the origin of [Read More...]



Colloquium: Hua Chen

October 19, 2020

“New twists in two-dimensional systems due to (quasi) periodicities in space and time” Hua Chen Colorado State University Monday, Oct. 19th at 4:00pm Thanks to the discrete translation symmetry in crystalline solids, we are able to understand their macroscopic properties from basic principles of quantum mechanics through the Bloch theorem. When such a symmetry is [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jonathan Asaadi

October 12, 2020

“Pixelation: Bringing liquid noble element detectors into focus” Jonathan Asaadi University of Texas Arlington Monday, Oct. 12th at 4:00pm Future long baseline neutrino experiments such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) call for the deployment of multiple multi-kiloton scale liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). To date, two detector readout technologies are being studied [Read More...]



Colloquium: Roger Pynn

October 5, 2020

“Can we reinvent the neutron as an entangled quantum probe?” Roger Pynn Indiana University, Bloomington and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Monday, Oct. 5th at 4:00pm A defining feature of quantum mechanics is the phenomenon of entanglement whereby, as Schrodinger put it, “The best possible knowledge of the whole does not necessarily include the same for [Read More...]



Colloquium: Kate Ross

September 28, 2020

“Quantum Magnetism” Kate Ross Colorado State University Monday, Sept. 28th at 4:00pm When interactions are strong between spins on a lattice, complex many-body collective effects can occur. With low spin values like S=1/2, quantum mechanical effects can play a both a qualitative and quantitative role in determining these collective behaviors. [Read More…] Join Zoom Meeting [Read More...]



Colloquium: Ron Walsworth

September 21, 2020

“Quantum Diamond Sensors” Ron Walsworth University of Maryland Monday, Sept. 21st at 4:00pm The nitrogen–vacancy (NV) quantum defect in diamond is a leading modality for magnetic, electrical, temperature, and force sensing with high spatial resolution (nanometers to millimeters) under ambient conditions. [Read More…] Join Zoom Meeting https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Fj%2F92842611622%3Fpwd%3DT2c1a2tLbGZiTUFWWVhRcEVtVnZvQT09&data=02%7C01%7CAmber.Paquelet%40colostate.edu%7C8746272e6d8a43cba5d108d85a7b86ed%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637358833870392467&sdata=DKEtV573S9gb2%2FuMEVUk2LSVUm3P1sVPYqXVEoptHMA%3D&reserved=0 Meeting ID: 928 4261 1622 Passcode: 1875   [Read More...]



Colloquium: June Lau

September 14, 2020

“Laser-free GHz stroboscopic TEM: construction, deployment, and benchmarking” June Lau NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Monday, September 14th at 4:00pm In the previous two decades, important technological advancements have expanded the range of temporal resolution in transmission electron microscopes (TEM). Commercial direct-counting and single-electron detectors have revealed dynamics in the ms-timescale. Laser-actuated photoemission microscopes [1, 2] combined [Read More...]



Colloquium: Walter Toki

August 31, 2020

“Search for CP violation in Neutrino Oscillations” Walter Toki Colorado State University Monday, August 31st at 4:00pm In this colloquium, a pedagogical discussion will be presented of neutrino physics and the recent measurements by the T2K collaboration of 3 sigma evidence of CP violation in neutrino oscillations. This has been published in the journal Nature. [Read More...]



Department Meet and Greet

August 24, 2020

Dear colleagues, As part of our start to the fall 2020 semester, we will hold a welcome event as we traditionally have on the first Monday of classes during the regular colloquium time slot.  All graduate students, faculty, and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend. This year will of course be different in that [Read More...]



Comet NEOWISE

July 23, 2020

Comet NEOWISE, discovered on March 27, 2020 by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission, has been dazzling the sky as of late and won’t be back around for another 6,800 years. To see the comet, it’s recommended that you are in a location away from city lights with an unobstructed view of [Read More...]



Mark Bradley Advances the Field in Ion Bombardment

July 6, 2020

Mark Bradley portrait  A member of the Physics department for 33 years, Professor Mark Bradley serves the department as the associate chair for research. Bradley’s research is taking on exciting new directions, so we asked him to reflect on his current research and the future challenges ahead.    Will you please provide an overview of your current research and recent discoveries?  When an energetic [Read More...]



Walter Toki – The Story Behind T2K

July 6, 2020

Toki headshotWith the recent successful results of the T2K collaboration, we asked Professor Walter Toki to share the story behind his work on the T2K experiment, as well as reflect on his broader career.  When and why did you start working on T2K project? What sparked your interest?  After finishing my work on the BaBar experiment in which the collaboration observed CP violation in B meson oscillations, I participated in writing a proposal [Read More...]



Physics Alum Passionate About Undergraduate Success

July 6, 2020

Liu with undergraduate studentAfter graduating with a B.S. in Physics from San Diego State University in 2008, Jason Liu joined the Colorado State University Physics Department as a graduate student. “My decision to come to CSU was simple: the department offered me an environment which would allow me to grow,” Liu said. “I was able to learn from all [Read More...]



Wu’s group publishes new paper in Physical Review Letters

July 2, 2020

Professor Wu’s research group finds surface states in a topological insulator can modify magnetism in a neighboring magnetic insulator. Magnetic ordering in a magnetic insulator can break the time-reversal symmetry of topological surface states in a neighboring topological insulator; such symmetry breaking can result in several intriguing quantum phenomena, as demonstrated by recent experiments. Conversely, [Read More...]



Robert Leisure Writes New Book, “Ultrasonic Spectroscopy”

June 23, 2020

Professor Emeritus Robert Leisure has written a book, Ultrasonic Spectroscopy, published by Cambridge University Press.  The manuscript emphasizes applications in condensed matter physics and materials science. The work was motivated by his experience mentoring students for over four decades, and his impression of their needs. The book provides complete coverage of the main issues relevant to [Read More...]



Mike Mooney Awarded DOE Early Career Award

June 23, 2020

Mike Mooney recently received a DOE Early Career award for his project entitled, “Constraining the Electromagnetic Shower Energy Scale at LArTPC Neutrino Detectors Near and Far.” This award will support experimental work related to the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility. The DUNE project will use massive liquid argon time projection [Read More...]



Professor Bob Wilson remains Deputy Spokesperson of the ICARUS Colloboration, HEPPA group receives renewed funding

June 12, 2020

Congratulations to Bob Wilson who has been re-confirmed as Deputy Spokesperson of the ICARUS Collaboration for a two-year term. “I am honored to be reelected to serve the collaboration in this role – grazie colleghi ! It has been very gratifying to help the collaboration grow and to watch as the T-600 was moved from [Read More...]



Hua Chen Awarded NSF Career Award

May 20, 2020

Hua Chen recently received this award from the NSF for his project entitled, “Novel Electronic and Magnetic Dynamins and Responses in Noncollinear Magnetic Materials.”  This award supports theoretical and computational research aimed at unraveling the conceptual and practical challenges associated with describing the magnetic order in the so-called noncollinear magnetic materials. Unlike the case for [Read More...]



CSU’s QuarkNet Center Highlighted

March 16, 2020

CSU’s QuarkNet Center was highlighted in the national newsletter. Nice work, team! Read the spotlight for more information here. [Read More...]



Professor Jim Sites honored as William R. Cherry Award Winner

March 10, 2020

The 2020 IEEE William Cherry Award to be presented at the 47th IEEE PVSC to Professor James Sites. Sites began his photovoltaics career 45 years ago with cells made by ion-beam sputtering of indium–tin–oxide onto silicon. Read more at the IEEE website. [Read More...]



Colloquium: Joseph Zadrozny

March 9, 2020

“Understanding and Controlling Magnetic Relaxation in Highly Magnetic Environments” Joseph Zadrozny Colorado State University Monday, March 9th at 4:00pm 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Magnetic environments are ubiquitous in the many applications of magnetic molecules. For example, bioimaging applications feature aqueous environments, which are concentrated with magnetic 1H protons. Separately, proposed information storage applications for magnetic [Read More...]



ICARUS chases a fourth neutrino

March 3, 2020

Professor Bob Wilson, deputy spokesperson of ICARUS, is on the team looking for the fourth neutrino. Learn more about the work being completed at Fermilab. [Read More...]



Colloquium: Tara Fortier

March 2, 2020

“Optical Clock Comparisons at the 18th-Decimal Place” Tara Fortier NIST, Time and Frequency Division Monday, March 2nd at 4:00pm 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Systems that can produce frequency in a deterministic way are the cornerstones for timing and synchronization in telecommunications networks, the Global Positioning System, and large telescope arrays. The generation of frequency references [Read More...]



Colloquium: Satoru Nakatsuji

February 24, 2020

“Weyl Fermions and Topological Spintronics” Satoru Nakatsuji University of Tokyo Monday, February 24th at 4:00pm 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Among magnets, only ferromagnets have been used for applications, for example, as the main active materials for memory devices. On the other hand, antiferromagnets have attracted recent interest for designing next generation high-density and ultrafast devices [Read More...]



Colloquium: Dennis Perepelitsa

February 17, 2020

“Exploring the Hottest Matter in the Universe with Ultra-Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions” Dennis Perepelitsa University of Colorado Boulder Monday, February 17th at 4:00pm 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in New York and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland accelerate large, fully-ionized nuclei to very near the speed of light. [Read More...]



2020 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWIP)

February 11, 2020

Six undergraduate physics majors – Lena Bruno, Rachel Ericson, Stephanie Mazur, Lara O’Connor, Tommy Miller, and Erica Young – attended the 2020 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) that was held at Black Hills State University in South Dakota over the Martin Luther King long weekend. The conference included a tour of the Sanford [Read More...]



Adam Pearlstein & Cherie Bornhorst: What is a Quarknet Masterclass?

February 6, 2020

We know what a violin or piano masterclass is – a student learning the nuances of their instruments with a master musician – but what does a masterclass look like related to particle physics? Adam Pearlstein and Cherie Bornhorst sit down in this video to discuss what is a masterclass, what they entail, and what [Read More...]



Samuel Brewer: APS / Moore Foundation Fundamental Physics Innovation Award Recipient

February 3, 2020

Sam Brewer, new faculty member in Physics.Samuel Brewer, Assistant Professor of Physics at Colorado State University, will visit Dr. Joseph Tan and the Atomic Spectroscopy Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology to study trapped highly charged ions of interest for tests of fundamental physics. Highly charged ions provide a unique platform for investigating physics beyond the standard model [Read More...]



7th PRSE “Center for Advanced Magnetics” Workshop

January 21, 2020

The 7th PRSE “Center for Advanced Magnetics” Workshop was successfully held in the Grey Rock Room in Lory Student Center on January 17, 2020.  The workshop had about 50 participants.  The program included six invited talks given by Professor Sandra Eaton from University of Denver, Professor Kate Ross from Colorado State University, Professor Leslie Schoop [Read More...]



Congrats to our grads!

December 20, 2019

CSU’s Graduate School commencement was held December 20, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. Pictured below are Jon Gilbert and John Guthrie (adviser: Jacob Roberts),  Matt Judah (adviser: Norm Buchanan), and  and Matt Hogan (advisers: Walter Toki and Bob Wilson). We would like to recognize all graduate students for their achievements this semester: PhD’s earned Adam Craycraft Matt [Read More...]



Professor Mark Bradley’s Paper Reaches Milestone

December 20, 2019

A paper by Professor Mark Bradley, a condensed matter theorist, passed an important milestone, as it’s now been cited over 1100 times.  The paper is R. M. Bradley and J. M. E. Harper, “Theory of Ripple Topography Induced by Ion Bombardment”, J.Vac. Sci. Technol. A 6, 2390 (1988). Congratulations to Mark! [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jorge Rocca

December 2, 2019

“Relativistic nanophotonics: creating extreme plasma conditions and fields with ultrafast lasers” Jorge Rocca Colorado State University Monday December 2nd, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Efficient heating of dense matter to extreme temperatures and pressures could create solid density environments in which heavy atoms such as gold are stripped of most of their [Read More...]



Master Instructor Brian Jones and Professor Kate Ross awarded CNS Teaching and Mentoring awards

November 19, 2019

On November 19, 2019, the Professor Laureate Lecture & Teaching and Mentoring Awards Ceremony, hosted by the College of Natural Sciences at CSU, was conducted in the Cherokee Park Ballroom. Master Instructor Brian Jones was presented with the Outstanding Career Contributions – Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. Professor Kate Ross was presented with the Early [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jim Sites

November 18, 2019

“High-Efficiency Thin-Film CdTe Solar Cells” Dr. Jim Sites Colorado State University Monday April 22nd, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Following an introduction summarizing the recent growth and favorable econom-ics of photovoltaic-generated electricity, the talk will describe the evolving struc-ture of thin-film solar cells based on CdTe and its alloys. The primary focus [Read More...]



Colloquium: Wolfgang Bangerth

November 11, 2019

“Complex simulations: From numerical mathematics via software to applications” Wolfgang Bangerth Colorado State University Monday November 11th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Simulating complex phenomena in nature and engineering requires the integration of mathematical approaches, algorithms, subject knowledge, and the creation of software. In this talk, I will outline some of my [Read More...]



Colloquium: Taritree Wongjirad

November 4, 2019

“FROM PIXELS TO NEUTRINOS” TARITREE WONGJIRAD TUFTS UNIVERSITY Monday November 4th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) The MicroBooNE experiment consists of liquid argon time projection hamber(LArTPC) situated in the path of the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. The goals of the experiment are to (1) investigate the observation of an excess [Read More...]



Colloquium: Chris Chiaverina

October 28, 2019

“PHYSICS FOR THE MANY” CHRIS CHIAVERINA NEW TRIER HIGH SCHOOL/THE PHYSICS TEACHER (AAPT) Monday October 28th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) I think that most individuals involved with doing and teaching physics would agree the world is a much more interesting place and that their lives are richer because of their awareness [Read More...]



Lara O’Connor, senior physics major, attended the Nuclear Physics Summer School

October 28, 2019

A nuclear reaction illuminates the inside of a machine.Senior physics major, Lara O’Connor, had an exciting summer – she worked on the NOVA experiment and attended the Nuclear Physics Summer School. After these experiences, O’Connor is more prepared, and excited, to pursue graduate studies in Physics. Working alongside current CSU graduate student Connor Johnson in the research group of Professor Norm Buchanan, O’Connor assisted [Read More...]



Meet Physics Alumnus – Thomas Campbell

October 28, 2019

Portrait of Thomas Campbell, alumnus.Recent Ph.D. graduate, Thomas Campbell, looks forward to “doing impactful work for years to come,” in his new position at a Biotechnology company. Campbell is using his deep interest in machine learning and analysis to develop algorithms and machine learning methods for use in cancer diagnostic tests, as well as performing analyses in collaboration with [Read More...]



Grad student Danielle Yahne wins APS 4 Corners award

October 22, 2019

At the recent APS 4 Corners meeting in Prescott, AZ, Professor Kate Ross’ student,  Danielle Yahne won a best talk award. Yahne’s talk was entitled “Magnetic Phase Competition in the XY Pyrochlore Er2Sn2O7”.  Congrats to Danielle!   (picture credit: Daniel Shaw) [Read More...]



Professor Michael Mooney’s Grad Students Awarded Research Fellowships

October 16, 2019

Two graduate students in Professor Mike Mooney’s research group, Ivan Caro Terrazas and Justin Mueller, were recently awarded funding to reside at Fermilab (near Chicago, Illinois) for roughly six months to perform research in experimental particle physics. The awards were given out by the Universities Research Association (URA) through the Visiting Scholars Program, which was [Read More...]



Colloquium: Daniel Snowden-Ifft

October 14, 2019

“Beam-Dump Dark Matter Search Utilizing a Low-Threshold, Directional Dark Mat-ter Detector (BDX-DRIFT) at Jefferson Lab ” Daniel Snowden-Ifft Occidental College Monday October 14th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Light dark matter (LDM) in the context of dark sector theories is an attractive candidate to make up the bulk of the mass of [Read More...]



Colloquium: Jennifer L. Hoffman

October 7, 2019

“Metamorphosis: New views of supernovae and progenitors” Jennifer L. Hoffman University of Denver Monday October 7th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) The stellar explosions known as supernovae are not simply brilliant signposts marking the transition from one stage of the stellar life cycle to the next. They hold clues to the very [Read More...]



Professor Bob Wilson meets with Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport in Georgia

October 7, 2019

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Giorgi Vashakidze, recently met with the heads of the DUNE experiment, including CSU’s Bob Wilson. The meeting was also attended by the Rector of Georgian Technical University, Archil Prangishvili, Director of GTU Institute of Quantum Physics and Engineering Technologies Arsen Khvedelidze and Deputy Director Prof. Zviad Tsamalidze. The [Read More...]



Colloquium: Lincoln D. Carr

September 30, 2019

“How the Quantum Craze is Changing the World: From the Hilarious Feynman to 300+ Seriously Powerful Quantum Computers” Lincoln D. Carr Colorado School of Mines Monday September 30th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) In 1981 Richard Feynman suggested that we could recreate quantum reality by creating a copy of it in a [Read More...]



Professor Mingzhong Wu Gives Plenary Talk

September 27, 2019

Professor Mingzhong Wu gave a plenary talk on topological insulator/magnetic insulator hetero-structures in the XVIII Brazil MRS Meeting which were held in Balneario Camboriu, Brazil on September 22-26, 2019.  The Brazil MRS Meetings are organized by the Brazilian Materials Research Society (MRS) and are the largest conferences on materials in Brazil.  Over 1800 people attended [Read More...]



Colloquium: Evdokiya (Eva) Kostadinova

September 23, 2019

“Alice In-Between Worlds: The Wonderland of Dusty Plasma” Evdokiya (Eva) Kostadinova Baylor University Monday September 23rd, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Order and stability in the giant world of stars and galaxies is dominated by the force of gravity. In contrast, the tiny world of atomic and subatomic particles is held together [Read More...]



Colloquium: Dylan Yost

September 16, 2019

“Precision Spectroscopy of Simple Atoms” Dylan Yost  Colorado State University Monday September 16th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and the most important element for the development of modern physics – an attribute that can be traced back to its simplicity as an effective [Read More...]



Colloquium: Mingzhong Wu

September 9, 2019

“Topological Insulator/Magnetic Insulator Heterostructures” Mingzhong Wu  Colorado State University Monday September 9th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Recent years have witnessed a rapidly growing interest in topological insulators, not only because of rich intriguing physics in such materials, but also due to their promising potential in quantum computing and spintronics applications. This [Read More...]



Theoretical High-Energy Physics Faculty Position

September 6, 2019

The Department of Physics, Colorado State University, seeks to hire at least one tenure-track faculty member at the rank of Assistant Professor in theoretical high-energy physics. Exceptional candidates will be considered for positions with a more senior rank. Candidates whose research complements the CSU program in experimental high-energy and particle astrophysics (HEPPA) are strongly encouraged [Read More...]



Professor Mingzhong Wu published in “Science Advances”

September 3, 2019

Dr. Wu’s group, in collaboration with CSU professor Dr. Field’s group, has recently published an article in Science Advances‘ August 2019 edition. The full paper, entitled “Magnetization switching using topological surface states,” can be read here. [Read More...]



Gavin Hester Finalist for APS Four Corners Prize

August 15, 2019

Gavin Hester, a student in Professor Kate Ross’s research group, has been selected as a finalist for the American Physical Society’s Harry Lustig Award. Hester was nominated by Ross and Professor Hua Chen. Hester will give an invited talk entitled, “Discovery of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Strongly Spin-Orbit Coupled Quantum Magnet” during the 2019 Four Corners [Read More...]



Bradley group paper published in Physical Review E

July 26, 2019

Nanoscale patterns produced by bombarding a surface with an ion beam When an energetic ion strikes a solid surface, one or more atoms can be ejected from the solid. Bombarding a flat solid surface with a broad ion beam therefore results in erosion of the solid. Naively, one would expect that the solid surface would [Read More...]



Apollo 50th Celebration and Public Observing Night

July 19, 2019

 
more details to come soon. [Read More...]



Ross group paper published in PRL

July 11, 2019

Evidence for Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Rare-Earth Magnet The Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) state, where almost of the particles in a system “condense” into the lowest available energy state, is a fifth state of matter after solids, liquids, gasses, and plasmas. Quantum magnets are known to be able to host BECs of “triplons”, which are quasi-particles [Read More...]



6th Annual PRSE Center for Advanced Magnetics Workshop

June 24, 2019

The 6th PRSE “Center for Advanced Magnetics” Workshop was successfully held in the Grey Rock Room in Lory Student Center on June 18, 2019.  The workshop had about 55 participants.  The program included eight talks from students and post-doctoral research fellows in the Center and two invited talks given by Professor Sara Majetich from Carnegie [Read More...]






CMP Seminar: Bob Camley

May 9, 2019

“Creating Magnetic Rogue Waves and Nonlinear Effects in Exchange Coupled Structures” Professor Bob Camley Center for Magnetism and Magnetic Nanostructures, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Thursday, May 9th, 2019 at 2:00 pm Physics Conference Room Rogue waves in oceans are a well-known phenomenon where a large wave that can overturn a ship spontaneously arises. [Read More...]



PRSE Seminar: Johan Åkerman

May 7, 2019

“Two-dimensional Mutually Synchronized Spin Hall Nano-oscillator Arrays for Highly Coherent Microwave Signal Generation and Neuromorphic Computing” Johan Åkerman University of Gothenburg, Sweden & New York University Tuesday May 7th at 2:00 pm in the Physics Conference Room Mutually synchronized spin torque nano-oscillators (STNOs) are one of the promising platforms for bioinspired computing and microwave signal [Read More...]



Robert Wilson featured on Faces of DUNE

May 2, 2019

Fermilab profiles of members of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment collaboration in their project, the Faces of DUNE. This week, they have featured CSU’s Dr. Robert Wilson. Learn more about DUNE, and see Dr. Wilson’s post on Facebook or Twitter: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fermilab/photos/a.10150215161033969/10157256527673969/?type=3&theater Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fermilab/status/1123980465713532928 [Read More...]



CMP Seminar: Yejun Feng

May 2, 2019

“Odd and Even Linear Magnetoresistances at Low Field” Yejun Feng Okinawa Institure of Science and Technology Thursday, May 2nd, 2019 at 10:00 am LSC room 308 Onsager’s relationship governs the galvanomagnetic behavior as σij(H) = σji(−H), which in the low field limit, typically leads to quadratic field dependence. Here I discuss two scenarios where linear [Read More...]



Colloquium: Gary Feldman

April 30, 2019

“Neutrino Oscillations” Gary Feldman Harvard University Monday May 6th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Of the fundamental particles of nature, neutrinos are the least understood.  Much, but not all, of what we want to learn about them can be obtained from the study of their peculiar habit of morphing from one species to [Read More...]



Colloquium: Kate Scholberg

April 23, 2019

“Detecting the Tiny Thump of the Neutrino” Kate Scholberg Duke University Monday April 29th, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Neutrinos interact only rarely with matter. Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) was first predicted in 1974; it’s a process in which a neutrino scatters off an entire nucleus. By neutrino standards, CEvNS occurs [Read More...]



CMP Seminar: Pablo Jarillo-Herrero

April 23, 2019

“Magic Angle Graphene: A New Platform for Strongly Correlated Physics” Pablo Jarillo-Herrero Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019 at 10:00 am LSC room 308 The understanding of strongly-correlated quantum matter has challenged physicists for decades. Such difficulties have stimulated new research paradigms, such as ultra-cold atom lattices for simulating quantum materials. In this [Read More...]



Colloquium: Dr. Yayoi Takamura

April 22, 2019

“Engineering Spin Textures in Nanostructured Complex Oxides” Dr. Yayoi Takamura  University of California, Davis Monday April 22nd, 2019 at 4:00 PM 120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium) Due to the strong interaction between the charge, spin, lattice, and orbital degrees of freedom, complex oxides possess a wide range of technologically relevant properties such as ferromag-netism, ferroelectricity, and [Read More...]



Spring 2019 Newsletter

February 15, 2019

Portrait of Jacob Roberts, chair of the Physics department.As many of you know, the Department of Physics newsletter has been on a hiatus, but we are happy to resume regular sending. We look forward to the future, and are glad to be in touch again. Full Newsletter PDF Download [Read More...]