- Research News
Quantum Computers Are Starting to Simulate the World of Subatomic Particles
There is a heated race to make quantum computers deliver practical results. But this race isn't just about making better technology—usually defined in terms of having fewer errors and more qubits, which are the basic building blocks that store quantum information. At least for… Read More - Research News
Bilayer Graphene Inspires Two-Universe Cosmological Model
Physicists sometimes come up with crazy stories that sound like science fiction. Some turn out to be true, like how the curvature of space and time described by Einstein was eventually borne out by astronomical measurements. Others linger on as mere possibilities or mathematical… Read More - Research News
New Perspective Blends Quantum and Classical to Understand Quantum Rates of Change
There is nothing permanent except change. This is perhaps never truer than in the fickle and fluctuating world of quantum mechanics. The quantum world is in constant flux. The properties of quantum particles flit between discrete, quantized states without any possibility of ever being… Read More - Research News
Tug-of-War Unlocks Menagerie of Quantum Phases of Matter
Phases are integral to how we define our world. We navigate through the phases of our lives, from child to teenager to adult, chaperoned along the way by our changing traits and behaviors. Nature, too, undergoes phase changes. Lakes can freeze for the winter,… Read More - Research News
Enhancing Simulations of Curved Space with Qubits
One of the mind-bending ideas that physicists and mathematicians have come up with is that space itself—not just objects in space—can be curved. When space curves (as happens dramatically near a black hole), sizes and directions defy normal intuition. Something as straightforward as defining… Read More - Research News
In a Smooth Move, Ions Ditch Disorder and Keep Their Memories
A Persian adage, notably wielded by Abe Lincoln(link is external) and the band OK Go(link is external), expresses the ephemeral nature of the world: “This, too, shall pass.” Physicists have their own version of this rule. It says that wiggles and wrinkles—really any small… Read More - Research News
Graphene’s Magic Act Relies on a Small Twist
Carbon is not the shiniest element, nor the most reactive, nor the rarest. But it is one of the most versatile. Carbon is the backbone of life on earth and the fossil fuels that have resulted from the demise of ancient life. Carbon is… Read More - Research News
Novel Design May Boost Efficiency of On-Chip Frequency Combs
On the cover of the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon, a prism splits a ray of light into all the colors of the rainbow. This multicolored medley, which owes its emergence to the fact that light travels as a wave, is… Read More - Research News
Foundational Step Shows Quantum Computers Can Be Better Than the Sum of Their Parts
Pobody’s nerfect—not even the indifferent, calculating bits that are the foundation of computers. But College Park Professor Christopher Monroe’s group, together with colleagues from Duke University, have made progress toward ensuring we can trust the results of quantum computers(link is external) even when they are… Read More
- Student Spotlight
- Graduate Student Spotlight
When University of Maryland senior physics majors Ela Rockafellow and Kate Sturge entered the lecture hall 
of their honors math course freshman year, they quickly realized they were two of three women in a room of about 25 people.
All through high school, Rockafellow noticed how the number of women, gender minorities and students of color diminished in her advanced STEM classes, especially physics and math. When she asked her friends why their passion for science had faded, they told
… Read MorePhysics can sometimes come across as the business of cold, calculating geniuses. But it can often be joyful, fun, competitive, engaging and more. Physicists are normal people and each of them has a unique and evolving relationship with their discipline.
University of Maryland physics graduate student Michael Winer has had a relationship with physics—and physics at UMD in particular—since he was a kid. He first came to UMD as a high school student pursuing his competitive spirit when physics was
… Read MoreDepartment News
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Aug 10, 2022 Gates Named Winner of Oersted Medal Sylvester James Gates, Jr. has been named as the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Oersted Medal, presented by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). The Medal will be awarded at a Ceremonial Session of the 2023 AAPT Winter Meeting. The Oersted Medal… Read More -
Jul 28, 2022 Michelle Girvan Named Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Professor Michelle Girvan has been named a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. The Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Program, established in 1978, honors a small number of faculty members each year who have demonstrated notable success in both scholarship and teaching. Girvan works in network science, which focuses… Read More -
Jun 9, 2022 Sylvester James Gates, Jr. Returns to UMD Faculty as Clark Leadership Chair in Science Sylvester James Gates, Jr., a member of the National Academy of Sciences and recipient of the National Medal of Science, will rejoin the University of Maryland faculty on July 1, 2022. He will hold the Clark Leadership Chair in Science and a joint appointment in… Read More -
Jun 2, 2022 UMD Leads Quest for Better Detectors The discovery of the Higgs boson, announced on July 4, 2012 by researchers working at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), was a landmark in understanding fundamental particles and their interactions. Afterward, François Englert and Peter Higgs received the Nobel Prize in Physics for predicting the existence… Read More
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