• Research News

    (Possibly) Breaking the Standard Model, One Lepton-universality-violating Decay at a Time

    Physicists in general, and high energy physicists in particular, like to "break" things. It can be useful to prove again that a well established theory is true, especially if you are probing a yet-untested prediction of the venerable theory. But proving that the theory Read More
  • Research News

    UMD Physicists Hope to Strike Gold by Finding Dark Matter in an Old Mine

    Nestled in the mountains of western South Dakota is the little town of Lead, which bills itself as “quaint” and “rough around the edges.” Visitors driving past the hair salon or dog park may never guess that an unusual—even otherworldly—experiment is happening a mile Read More
  • Research News

    Twisting Up Atoms Through Space and Time

    One of the most exciting applications of quantum computers will be to direct their gaze inwards, at the very quantum rules that make them tick. Quantum computers can be used to simulate quantum physics itself, and perhaps even explore realms that don’t exist anywhere Read More
  • Research News

    Nearly 50-meter Laser Experiment Sets Record in Campus Hallway

    It's not at every university that laser pulses powerful enough to burn paper and skin are sent blazing down a hallway. But that’s what happened in UMD’s Energy Research Facility, an unremarkable looking building on the northeast corner of campus. If you visit the Read More
  • Research News

    Electrons Take New Shape Inside Unconventional Metal

    One of the biggest achievements of quantum physics was recasting our vision of the atom. Out was the early 1900s model of a solar system in miniature, in which electrons looped around a solid nucleus. Instead, quantum physics showed that electrons live a far Read More
  • Research News

    Two Light-Trapping Techniques Combine for the Best of Both Worlds

    Taming rays of light and bending them to your will is tricky business. Light travels fast and getting a good chunk of it to stay in one place for a long time requires a lot of skillful coaxing. But the benefits of learning how Read More
  • Research News

    Molecular Tug-of-war Gives Cells Their Shape

    In a new study, University of Maryland researchers have demystified the process by which cells receive their shape—and it all starts with a protein called actin. Actin is a key component of the cytoskeleton that provides structure to cells, much like how our skeletons Read More
  • Research News

    UMD Team Leads a New Test of Universality of Leptons at the LHCb Experiment

    The LHCb collaboration has presented a new test of the universality of the electroweak properties of leptons. Nearly seven years of analysis of LHCb data by University of Maryland physicists Phoebe Hamilton and Hassan Jawahery and CERN collaborator Greg Ciezarek led to the results Read More
  • Research News

    Quantum Gases Keep Their Cool, Prompting New Mysteries

    Quantum physics is a notorious rule-breaker. For example, it makes the classical laws of thermodynamics, which describe how heat and energy move around, look more like guidelines than ironclad natural laws. In some experiments, a quantum object can keep its cool despite sitting next Read More
  • 1 (Possibly) Breaking the Standard Model, One Lepton-universality-violating Decay at a Time
  • 2 UMD Physicists Hope to Strike Gold by Finding Dark Matter in an Old Mine
  • 3 Twisting Up Atoms Through Space and Time
  • 4 Nearly 50-meter Laser Experiment Sets Record in Campus Hallway
  • 5 Electrons Take New Shape Inside Unconventional Metal
  • 6 Two Light-Trapping Techniques Combine for the Best of Both Worlds
  • 7 Molecular Tug-of-war Gives Cells Their Shape
  • 8 UMD Team Leads a New Test of Universality of Leptons at the LHCb Experiment
  • 9 Quantum Gases Keep Their Cool, Prompting New Mysteries
  • Rehearsals, Recitals and Research
  • Calling All Experimentalists, Designers, Fixers and Tinkerers

University of Maryland physics and astronomy dual-degree senior Delina Levine got her first introduction to music when she just was six years old, soon after she pestered her parents to sign her up for piano lessons.  Delina LevineDelina Levine

As her fingers rhythmically tapped the black and white keys, Levine noticed that the sounds she created with the piano differed depending on the amount of force her hands exerted on the keys. Applying the piano’s pedals while she played created variations in the sounds she produced and while some chords harmonized, others didn’t. It wasn’t until years later that she learned why and

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Two of the best-kept secrets in the University of Maryland’s Department of Physics are its Vortex Makerspace and a small class held in the makerspace that is dedicated to the practical skills needed for physics experimentation.

Since 2019, Professor Daniel Lathrop has taught a unique 400-level laboratory course in the Vortex Makerspace (formerly the Physics Welding Shop), which is tucked behind the John S. Toll Physics Building. Designed to teach students hands-on ways to bring their ideas to life, the class touches on topics such as carpentry, circuitry and 3D printing. Lathrop guides the students as they design, plan, build

Read More

Department News

  • Mar 17, 2023 Jonathan D. Moreno to Give Milchberg Lecture on April 4 Jonathan D. Moreno,  the David and Lyn Silfen University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, will give the third Irving and Renee Milchberg Endowed Lecture at 4 p.m. in room 1410 of the John S. Toll Physics Bldg. The talk is free and open to the public, Read More
  • Feb 21, 2023 Manuel Franco Sevilla Receives Junior Faculty Award Manuel Franco Sevilla has received the 2022 Junior Faculty Award from the Board of Visitors of the College of Computer, Mathematics and Natural Sciences in recognition of his “exceptional accomplishments that have raised the profile and prestige of the college”. Franco Sevilla is a particle physicist Read More
  • Jan 31, 2023 Rehearsals, Recitals and Research University of Maryland physics and astronomy dual-degree senior Delina Levine got her first introduction to music when she just was six years old, soon after she pestered her parents to sign her up for piano lessons.  As her fingers rhythmically tapped the black and white Read More
  • Jan 26, 2023 When Higgs Fly When Christopher Palmer was a physics graduate student at UC San Diego, he had to decide whether to specialize in supersymmetry or search for the Higgs boson. Though there was no experimental evidence of the Higgs boson’s existence at the time, Palmer was convinced that Read More
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Upcoming Events

21 Mar
Spring break
Date Tue, Mar 21, 2023 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
23 Mar
QMC COLLOQUIUM: Alfred Zong, Berkeley Lab
Thu, Mar 23, 2023 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
23 Mar
Geometry/Physics RIT
Thu, Mar 23, 2023 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
27 Mar
JQI Seminar: Danna Freedman (MIT)
Mon, Mar 27, 2023 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
27 Mar
Dissertation Defense: Daochen Wang
Mon, Mar 27, 2023 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm