Weber Garden Dedication Held March 12

WeberMemorialNews12919 2The Department of Physics and College of Mathematical and Natural Sciences held a dedication of the Weber Garden on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, which included remarks by colleagues and friends of Joe Weber and a colloquium by Nobel Laureate Rai Weiss: What Joe Weber started: Gravitational wave astronomy. 
 
The garden, next to the main entrance of the Physical Sciences Complex, highlights the ultrapure aluminum gravity bars of UMD physicist Joseph Weber, a pioneer in the search for gravitational waves. Prof. Emeritus Charles W. Misner and his wife Susanne established the Weber Endowment for Gravitational Physics
 
The 2016 announcement that the LIGO experiment had detected gravitational waves led to the Nobel Prize for Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barish.  UMD's key contributions in theoretical and experimental gravitational physics were discussed at a Nov. 1, 2016 symposium, A Celebration of Gravitational Waves.
The plaque on display at the Weber Memorial outside of the Physical Sciences Complex

 

Christopher Monroe Quoted in Gizmodo Article on IBM's New Quantum Computer

Distinguished University Professor & Bice Seci-Zorn Professor Christopher Monroe was quoted in the Gizmodo article, "Why Experts Are Skeptical of IBM's New Commercial Quantum Computer," which explores "Q System One, or as the IBM team described it, “the world’s first fully integrated universal quantum computing system designed for scientific and commercial use.”"

Third Annual Fundamentals of Quantum Materials Winter School

FQMWinterSchool2019 smallThe University of Maryland Department of Physics will host the third annual Fundamentals of Quantum Materials Winter School and Workshop January 14th to the 18th at the University of Maryland. 

The Fundamentals of Quantum Materials Winter School and Workshop is an annual event unique to North America, dedicated specifically to the synthesis, characterization and electronic modeling of quantum materials. The FQM Winter School is aimed at providing fundamental training to our current and future generations of Quantum Materials scientists in synthesis and characterization techniques, bringing together senior and junior scientists to address topics at the forefront of current research into quantum materials, while also providing pedagogical background and practical training for junior scientists. With an interdisciplinary and diverse crowd including physicists, chemists, and materials scientists, participants gain a basic functional knowledge of how to plan and carry out synthesis relevant to the study of quantum materials, and experience a unique opportunity to interact with some of the top researchers in the field while networking with fellow peers. The structure of the school includes mornings of pedagogical lectures by ten of the nation's top practicing quantum materials scientists, with afternoons devoted to practical demonstrations in laboratories in the University of Maryland's Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials. The school also includes a poster session attended by senior scientists. The FQM Workshop, following the school event, covers current top research on quantum materials, focusing on synthesis, characterization and computational approaches to research of quantum materials such as superconductors, strongly correlated electron systems and topological materials.

For more information, visit the Fundamentals of Quantum Materials Winter School and Workshop homepage.

Sankar Das Sarma and Ian Spielman Named 2018 Highly Cited Researchers

Sankar Das Sarma and Ian Spielman join six other faculty members in the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences included on Clarivate Analytics’ 2018 list of Highly Cited Researchers, a compilation of influential names in science.

Sankar Das Sarma is a Richard E. Prange Chair and Distinguished University Professor in PhysicsJoint Quantum Institute Fellow, and Condensed Matter Theory Center Director. Das Sarma was included in all previous compilations of this list in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2001.

Ian Spielman is an Adjunct Professor of Physics, JQI Fellow and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Fellow. Spielman was also included in the 2017 compilation.