• Research News

    Researchers Play a Microscopic Game of Darts with Melted Gold

    Sometimes, what seems like a fantastical or improbable chain of events is just another day at the office for a physicist. In a recent experiment by University of Maryland researchers at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences, a scene played out that would be right Read More
  • Research News

    IceCube Search for Extremely High-energy Neutrinos Contributes to Understanding of Cosmic Rays

    Neutrinos are chargeless, weakly interacting particles that are able to travel undeflected through the cosmos. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole searches for the sources of these astrophysical neutrinos in order to understand the origin of high-energy particles called cosmic rays and, Read More
  • Research News

    Twisted Light Gives Electrons a Spinning Kick

    It’s hard to tell when you’re catching some rays at the beach, but light packs a punch. Not only does a beam of light carry energy, it can also carry momentum. This includes linear momentum, which is what makes a speeding train hard to Read More
  • Research News

    Repurposing Qubit Tech to Explore Exotic Superconductivity

    Decades of quantum research are now being transformed into practical technologies, including the superconducting circuits that are being used in physics research and built into small quantum computers by companies like IBM and Google. The established knowledge and technical infrastructure are allowing researchers to harness quantum technologies in Read More
  • Research News

    New Design Packs Two Qubits into One Superconducting Junction

    Quantum computers are potentially revolutionary devices and the basis of a growing industry. However, their technology isn’t standardized yet, and researchers are still studying the physics behind the diverse ways to build these quantum devices. Even the most basic building blocks of a quantum Read More
  • Research News

    HAWC Finds High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emissions from Microquasar V4641 Sagittarii

    A new study in Nature, “Ultra-high-energy gamma-ray bubble around microquasar V4641 Sgr,"   has  revealed a groundbreaking discovery by researchers from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory:  TeV gamma-ray emissions from V4641 Sagittarii (V4641 Sgr), a binary system composed of a black hole and a main sequence Read More
  • Research News

    Nobel Prize Celebrates Interplay of Physics and AI

    On October 8, the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton for their foundational discoveries and inventions that have enabled artificial neural networks to be used for machine learning—a widely used form of AI. The award highlights how Read More
  • Research News

    High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory Sheds Light on Origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays

    HAWC observes Ultra-High Energy gamma rays confirming Galactic Center as a source of Ultra-High Energy cosmic ray protons in the Milky Way The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory, located on the slopes of the Sierra Negra volcano in Mexico, has achieved a groundbreaking milestone Read More
  • Research News

    UMD Physicists Advance NASA’s Mission to ‘Touch the Sun’

    Those who say there’s “nothing new under the sun” must not know about NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission. Since its launch in 2018, this spacecraft has been shedding new light on Earth’s sun—and University of Maryland physicists are behind many of its discoveries.At its Read More
  • 1 Researchers Play a Microscopic Game of Darts with Melted Gold
  • 2 IceCube Search for Extremely High-energy Neutrinos Contributes to Understanding of Cosmic Rays
  • 3 Twisted Light Gives Electrons a Spinning Kick
  • 4 Repurposing Qubit Tech to Explore Exotic Superconductivity
  • 5 New Design Packs Two Qubits into One Superconducting Junction
  • 6 HAWC Finds High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emissions from Microquasar V4641 Sagittarii
  • 7 Nobel Prize Celebrates Interplay of Physics and AI
  • 8 High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory Sheds Light on Origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays
  • 9 UMD Physicists Advance NASA’s Mission to ‘Touch the Sun’

Physics is Phun

Department News

  • Senior Physics Major Becomes an Antarctic Ice Quake Detective When senior physics major Zoe Schlossnagle arrived at the University of Maryland in fall 2021, she never could have imagined the opportunities she would seize. “I was sure that I was going to receive a vigorous physics education, of course,” Schlossnagle said. “But I also Read More
  • Building an Error-Creating Quantum Computer Alaina Green is happy to face a challenge. Before becoming one of Joint Quantum Institute's newest Fellows, she cruised around the Atlantic in a 34-foot sailboat with only her husband, occasionally facing waves as tall as a two-story building.  “It was a little bit scary Read More
  • Mapping Maryland’s Methane: UMD Initiative Takes Flight University of Maryland Physics Professor Daniel Lathrop is making significant strides in tracking methane emissions on UMD’s campus and beyond.  In 2024, Lathrop and his team surveyed the stinky vapor plumes on the UMD campus caused by the university’s aging energy infrastructure for their Remediation Read More
  • Norbert M. Linke to Return to UMD The National Quantum Laboratory at Maryland (QLab) welcomes a renowned expert in quantum physics, computing and networking to serve as its new director, effective September 1, 2025. Norbert Linke, Ph.D., brings a decade of experience running a quantum computer user facility and conducting research on Read More
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Upcoming Events

11 Mar
CS Seminar: Ainesh Bakshi
Date Tue, Mar 11, 2025 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
11 Mar
Physics Colloquium
Tue, Mar 11, 2025 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
12 Mar
QuICS Seminar: Steven Flammia
Wed, Mar 12, 2025 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
12 Mar
Candidacy Talk: Amin Shiraz Gilani
Wed, Mar 12, 2025 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm
12 Mar
RIT in Quantum Information Science
Wed, Mar 12, 2025 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
13 Mar
Dissertation Defense: Eric Kubischta
Thu, Mar 13, 2025 8:30 am - 10:30 am
13 Mar
CMT Student Seminar: Chris Fechisin
Thu, Mar 13, 2025 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
13 Mar
13 Mar
NT Seminar - Farid Salazar, Temple U/BNL
Thu, Mar 13, 2025 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Leonardo's Model

Bulent Atalay, University of Mary Washington
December 01, 2009

Leonardo was a part-time artist, a passionate scientist, and a consummate inventor, whose interests were frequently inseparable. Physicist-artist Bulent Atalay invokes ‘Leonardo’s Model,’ in order to achieve the larger goal of achieving a synthesis of the two fields by presenting science through art, and art through science

Part I. “The Artist Doing Science” Described by legendary art historian Lord Kenneth Clark as the “most relentlessly curious man in history,” Leonardo constantly sought patterns, symmetries and connections in all of his studies. His astonishingly sharp observational skills led him not to prefigure sciences not to be formally invented for centuries. With unmatched drafting skills, he illustrated his ideas that reveal him to be one of the greatest scientists ever. Leonardo was in the business of inventing the future, but, since he was not publishing his discoveries, was not influencing the future.

Part II. “The Scientist Doing Art.” An extraordinary level of reciprocity exists between Leonardo the artist and Leonardo the scientist-engineer. The qualities of timelessness and universality in his miraculous works speak eloquently for themselves. He created the two most famous works in the history of art. With ‘Leonardo's Model’ providing the unifying thread, however, it becomes possible, first, to glimpse his restless intellect, that extraordinary psyche; second, to see whence the ideas for his works of art came; and ultimately to appreciate his art at a different level.

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Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.