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UrduA U.S. Army veteran living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was presented with an Australian shepherd service dog on Sept. 25, the result of roughly five years of fundraising by an employee group at Argonne National Laboratory.
Tag: Physics
Colorado School of Mines Professor Wins Second Annual Joseph A. Johnson Award
The American Institute of Physics and the National Society of Black Physicists are pleased to announce that physicist Serena Eley is the recipient of the 2021 Joseph A. Johnson III Award for Excellence. The award, now in its second year, is given by AIP and NSBP in recognition of an early career scientist who exemplifies the values of Joseph A. Johnson, a renowned experimental physicist, impactful mentor, and founder of NSBP.
New results from MicroBooNE provide clues to particle physics mystery
New results from a more-than-decade long physics experiment offer insight into unexplained electron-like events found in previous experiments. Results of the MicroBooNE experiment, while not confirming the existence of a proposed new particle, the sterile neutrino, provide a path forward to explore physics beyond the Standard Model, the theory of the fundamental forces of nature and elementary particles.
Scientists Spot Rare Neutrino Signal for Big Physics Finding
Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory developed a software toolkit that reconstructs and isolates neutrino data in 3D. This software directly enabled the long-awaited findings from the MicroBooNE experiment released today by Fermilab in four complementary analyses. The Wire-Cell team at Brookhaven Lab led one of the four analyses—the most sensitive analysis of the electron-neutrino interaction. Some components of the Wire-Cell toolkit were also used in the other three analyses.
Science snapshots from Berkeley Lab
New Berkeley Lab breakthroughs: engineering chemical-producing microbes; watching enzyme reactions in real time; capturing the first image of ‘electron ice’; revealing how skyrmions really move
Scientists recreate cosmic reactions to unlock astronomical mysteries
Scientists from Argonne and Michigan State University have completed the first tests using a new particle accelerator to gain insights into the creation of carbon in stars.
Campaigning for More Marie Curies: More Women Means Changes for Physics, Engineering
Amy Sue Bix, a leading expert on the history of science and women and gender studies, will speak in an upcoming Lyne Starling Trimble lecture Wednesday, Sept. 29, in a live webcast. Her talk will delve into how the dramatic shift of girls and young women toward STEM occurred, how diversity will play a role in the nature and purpose of science and engineering, the changes in gender relations in the scientific community, and escalating concern for girls’ psychological well-being and personal opportunities.
Compact amplifier could revolutionize optical communication
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present a unique optical amplifier that is expected to revolutionise both space and fiber communication.
Regulator Proteins or Symphonies of Genes: Statistical Modeling Points Way Toward Unified Theory for DNA Folding
Researchers seek to point a way toward a unified theory for how DNA changes shape when expressing genes. Presenting their work in Biophysics Reviews, the scientists use an approach called statistical mechanics to explore the phenomenon of so-called expression waves of gene regulation.
Physicists make square droplets and liquid lattices
When two substances are brought together, they will eventually settle into a steady state called the thermodynamic equilibrium. Researchers at Aalto University in Finland wanted to disrupt this sort of state to see what happens — and whether they can control the outcome.
Discovery paves way for improved quantum devices
Physicists and engineers have found a way to identify and address imperfections in materials for one of the most promising technologies in commercial quantum computing.
One scientist’s trash is another’s treasure:
While making materials samples to pursue their own research goals, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory discovered that an unwanted byproduct of their experiments was an extremely high-quality and difficult-to-obtain substance sought after by scientists researching layered materials.
Tulane scientist leads study on faster charging energy storage
A Tulane University researcher has led a team in discoveries that could result in significantly faster charging electric vehicles and portable devices such as cell phones and laptops.
Beer Mats Make Bad Frisbees and Why It Matters
Whilst modelling the forces acting upon a thrown beer mat, physicists discover why flat discs have such poor flight potential.
2021 AIP Helleman Fellows to Study Intercellular Communication, History of String Theory, Dark Matter
AIP’s Center for History of Physics selects Robert van Leeuwen, Pepijn Moerman, and Jaco de Swart as the recipients of the 2021 AIP Robert H.G. Helleman Memorial Fellowships. The fellowships are made possible by a gift from Robert H.G. Helleman to establish an endowment for supporting young physicists with Dutch citizenship in their pursuit of research activities in physics in the United States.
Travis Sjostrom Honored for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research
Los Alamos scientist Travis Sjostrom has been selected for a 2021 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research from the American Physical Society (APS).
Antimatter From Laser Pincers
In the depths of space, there are celestial bodies where extreme conditions prevail: Rapidly rotating neutron stars generate super-strong magnetic fields.
Scientists Offered Using Methanol in Power Generation for Electric Cars
Professors at Ural Federal University (UrFU, Russia) Sergey Shcheklein and Aleksey Dubinin have developed a technology for generating energy for an electric car engine using methanol. An article describing the technology was published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
Capturing Electrons in Space
Interstellar clouds are the birthplaces of new stars, but they also play an important role in the origins of life in the Universe through regions of dust and gas in which chemical compounds form.
Main Attraction: Scientists Create World’s Thinnest Magnet
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have created an ultrathin magnet that operates at room temperature. The ultrathin magnet could lead to new applications in computing and electronics – such as spintronic memory devices – and new tools for the study of quantum physics.
Students at institutions across the U.S. learn about plasma and fusion research in new program managed by PPPL
This new program will allow undergraduates to conduct research in a wide range of plasma physics topics, including fusion energy, general plasma science, astrophysical plasmas, and accelerator physics.
Harnessing AI To Search for New Materials With Exotic Properties
With the support of a prestigious $542,813 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant, physicist Trevor David Rhone is turning to artificial intelligence to help determine which combination of elements might form new materials with interesting properties for advancing both scientific understanding and technological applications, such as data storage, spintronics, and quantum computing.
Heisenberg Under the Microscope
The quantum movements of a small glass sphere could be controlled for the first time in Vienna by combining microscopy with control engineering, setting the course for future quantum technologies.A football is not a quantum particle. There are crucial differences between the things we know from everyday life and tiny quantum objects.
CUR Physics and Astronomy Division Announces 2021 Outstanding Research Mentor Awardee
The Physics and Astronomy Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research announces the 2021 recipient of its Outstanding Research Mentor award: Thomas Pannuti (Morehead State University).
Scientists propose source of unexplained solar jets
Nothing seems more familiar than the sun in the sky. But mysterious swirls, jets, and flashes of powerful light that scientists cannot explain occur in the sun’s outer atmosphere all the time. Now, researchers at PPPL have gained insight into these puzzling phenomena.
People of Argonne’s history: A look at leaders who made Argonne what it is today
Since its founding, Argonne has employed and partnered with innovators whose contributions have dramatically pushed the frontiers of our understanding and improved the world.
FAU Teams Up with Technion – Israel Institute of Technology on NSF Grant
FAU has received a $309,527 grant from the National Science Foundation to spearhead the project that will involve experimental work carried out at Technion, and numerical simulations and machine learning tasks conducted at FAU.
Argonne announces 2022 Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellows, honoring the legacy of the physics Nobel Laureate
Argonne’s Maria Goeppert Mayer is one of only four women to win the Nobel Prize in physics. Today, on her 115th birthday, Argonne announces the award of its 2022 Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellowship to four outstanding early-career doctoral scientists.
Life in these star-systems could have spotted Earth
Scientists at Cornell University and the American Museum of Natural History have identified 2,034 nearby star-systems – within the small cosmic distance of 326 light-years – from which life could find Earth merely by watching our pale blue dot cross our sun.
Tree Pollen Carries SARS-CoV-2 Particles Farther, Facilitates Virus Spread
A study on the role of microscopic particles in virus transmission suggests pollen is nothing to sneeze at. In Physics of Fluids, researchers investigate how pollen facilitates the spread of an RNA virus like the COVID-19 virus. The study draws on cutting-edge computational approaches for analyzing fluid dynamics to mimic the pollen movement from a willow tree, a prototypical pollen emitter. Airborne pollen grains contribute to the spread of airborne viruses, especially in crowded environments.
Blavatnik Family Foundation, New York Academy of Sciences Name 31 Finalists for 2021 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists
The 2021 Blavatnik National Awards today named 31 finalists for the world’s largest unrestricted prize honoring early-career scientists. The finalists were culled from 298 nominations by 157 U.S. research institutions across 38 states. They have made trailblazing discoveries in wide-ranging fields, from the neuroscience of addiction to the development of gene-editing technologies, from designing next-generation battery storage to understanding the origins of photosynthesis, from making improvements in computer vision to pioneering new frontiers in polymer chemistry.
Physicists Achieve Significant Improvement in Spotting Accelerator-produced Neutrinos in a Cosmic Haystack
Scientists demonstrate how ground-breaking image reconstruction and analysis algorithms filter out cosmic ray tracks in the MicroBooNE neutrino detector to pinpoint elusive neutrino interactions with unprecedented clarity.
A quantum step to a heat switch with no moving parts
Researchers have discovered a new electronic property at the frontier between the thermal and quantum sciences in a specially engineered metal alloy – and in the process identified a promising material for future devices that could turn heat on and off with the application of a magnetic “switch.”
DOE names six Argonne scientists to receive Early Career Research Program awards
Six Argonne scientists receive Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program Awards.
Researchers Find Semimetal That Clings to a Quantum Precipice
In an open access paper published in Science Advances, Johns Hopkins physicists and colleagues at Rice University, the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), present experimental evidence of naturally occurring quantum criticality in a material.
Physics, Engineering Undergrads Receive LLNL-AIP Leadership Scholarships
The Society of Physics Students has awarded leadership scholarships to Elyzabeth Graham, Emma Moreland, and Natalie Douglass, three undergraduate members who are currently studying physics and engineering and will each receive a $2,000 scholarship. The scholarships are made possible by a gift from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for AIP-SPS members. The purpose of the LLNL-AIP leadership scholarship is to encourage the study of physics and the pursuit of higher education with a preference for those who are traditionally underrepresented in physics and astronomy, including women.
The torch is passed: Perimeter Institute names a new Board Chair
Twenty years after launching the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, founder Mike Lazaridis is confident the future looks brilliant under the guidance of his successor as Board Chair, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Serbinis.
Physicists Crack the Code to Signature Superconductor Kink Using Supercomputing
A team performed simulations on the Summit supercomputer and found that electrons in cuprates interact with phonons much more strongly than was previously thought, leading to experimentally observed “kinks” in the relationship between an electron’s energy and the momentum it carries.
UCI-led team challenges existence of recently proposed exoplanet at Barnard’s star
In 2018, astronomers announced that they had discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s star, our solar system’s second-closest stellar neighbor, but further analysis by an international group of researchers headed by a graduate student at the University of California, Irvine has cast doubt on the finding.
Discovery of new material could someday aid in nuclear nonproliferation
A newly discovered quasicrystal that was created by the first nuclear explosion at Trinity Site, N.M., on July 16, 1945, could someday help scientists better understand illicit nuclear explosions and curb nuclear proliferation.
Save-the-Date: Acoustics in Focus, June 8-10, Offers New Presentation Options
The Acoustical Society of America will hold its 180th meeting June 8-10. To ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, and ASA staff, the June meeting, “Acoustics in Focus,” will be hosted entirely online with new features to ensure an exciting experience for attendees. Reporters are invited to attend the meeting at no cost and participate in a series of virtual press conferences featuring a selection of newsworthy research.
Staring into space: Physicists predict neutron stars may be bigger than previously imagined
That neutron star is the densest celestial body that astronomers can observe, with a mass about 1.4 times the size of the sun. However, there is still little known about these impressive objects. Now, a Florida State University researcher has published a piece in Physical Review Letters arguing that new measurements related to the neutron skin of a lead nucleus may require scientists to rethink theories regarding the overall size of neutron stars. In short, neutron stars may be larger than scientists previously predicted.
Trust Science Pledge Highlights 2021 International Day of Light Celebration
The annual International Day of Light celebrates light and the role it plays in science, culture, art, education, and many other diverse fields. This year, the day, Sunday, May 16, takes on a special role as organizers invite everyone to #TrustScience. The steering committee of the International Day of Light decided to emphasize the importance of evidence-based solutions in science by asking supporters to sign the Trust Science Pledge.
Wayne State graduate student selected for DOE’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program
A Wayne State University graduate student was one of 78 recipients of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research program’s 2020 Solicitation 2 cycle for his project, “Experimental Research in High Energy Physics.”
Morphogenesis: Geometry, Physics, and Biology – L. Mahadevan webcast
On Wednesday, May 5 at 7 pm ET, Perimeter Institute presents a special public talk by Harvard University’s L. Mahadevan, who will explain how the intersections of physics, biology, and mathematics are unveiling the amazing complexity of life.
Uncovering secrets of the sun
WVU physicists are uncovering secrets of the sun’s turbulent surface in the lab. A new study featured on the cover of the March 2021 issue of Physics of Plasmas is the first published research from the PHASMA experiment in the Center for Kinetic Experiment, Theory and Integrated Computation Physics.
Tulane part of Navy/Army-funded research on improving communication
Tulane scientists are part of a team of Louisiana researchers looking at how smart quantum technology can improve communications systems used in the military.
AIP, Member Societies Seek Presidential, Congressional Action on Key Scientific Issues
AIP and six scientific societies are calling on the new White House and 117th Congress to support research and education in the physical sciences to address critical issues facing our society. In the week of hearings on President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the White House OSTP, a letter sent to the president and congressional leaders highlights calls for action on these foundational issues and outlines several cornerstone policy issues that need attention, funding, and support.
Detecting, Exploiting Non-Line-of-Sight Paths for Terahertz Signals in Wireless Communications
After developing a link discovery method in 2020 using terahertz radiation, Rice and Brown researchers addressed what would happen if a wall or other reflector creates a non-line-of-sight path from the base station to the receiver. In APL Photonics, they consider two different generic types of transmitters and explore how their characteristics can be used to determine whether an NLOS path contributes to the signal received by the receiver.
2021 Posters on the Hill Spotlights Exemplary Undergraduate Research Projects for Policymakers, Scholars, and the Public
Via a virtual public poster session on April 28, undergraduate researchers from colleges and universities in 42 states and the District of Columbia will share their research projects in the 2021 Posters on the Hill event, sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research.