Faculty, Staff, Student and Alumni Awards & Notes

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Category: Department News

Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 05:24

We proudly recognize members of our community who recently garnered major honors, began new positions and more.

 Faculty and Staff 

• Sarah Eno was chosen as a leader of US Future Higgs Factory effort.
• Jim Gates was named to the board of directors of the Federation of American Scientists and to the Honorary Board of the Society for Science. 
  He received an honorary doctorate of science during Harvard University’s 373rd Commencement. Gates was interviewed on the Les Fridman podcast: Supersymmetry, Strong Theory and Proving Einstein Right.
• Alexey Gorshkov won the 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Photonics Society Quantum Electronics Award. He was also named a finalist in the 2024 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists.2024 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists.
• Amelia (Lia) Hankla received a NASA Hubble Fellowship.  
• Maissam Barkeshli was promoted to the rank of Professor.
• Bill Dorland was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Howard Milchberg was named a Distinguished University Professor.
• Johnpierre Paglione received the CMNS Board of Visitors Distinguished Faculty Award.
• Sasha Philippov received a 2024 Sloan Research Fellowship.
• Aaron Sternbach was quoted in Phys.org.
• Greg Sullivan was named a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher.

Students

• Patrick Banner received a Metropolitan Washington Chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (MWC/ARCS) Foundation Scholarship.
• Clement Charles received a Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship.
• Patrick Chen received an endowed undergraduate award.
• Sarah Waldych an endowed undergraduate award and sent a video greeting describing her summer at CERN.

Alumni

• Kathryn Sturge, Ariana Shearin and Scott Moroch were selected to join the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.
• James Olthoff (Ph.D., '85) was featured in a NIST blog post.
• Amir Caspi (B.S.), a principal scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, was interviewd by CNN about the 2024 eclipse.
• Paul Cassak, (Ph.D., '06), a professor at WVU, serves as Associate Director of the Center for KINETIC Plasma Physics at NASA.
• Arati Dasgupta (Ph.D., '83),  received the IEEE Plasma Science and Applications Committee Award.
• Bhupel Dev is an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
• Bryan Dorland (Ph.D., 07) manages space technology in a position at the Department of Defense.
• Fred Angelo Garcia (B.S., '23) received a Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship.
• Rajibul Islam (Ph.D., '12) received the Excellence in Science Teaching Award at the University of Waterloo.
• Chris Najmi (Ph.D., '16) is a physicst at the Applied Physics Lab.
• Jackie Townsend (B.S., Physics) Roman Space Telescope Deputy Project Manager - Goddard Space Flight Center.
• Juan Alejandro Valdivia (Ph.D., '97) has been named a corresponding member of the Chilean Academy of Science
• Ming Wang (Ph.D., '86) was highlighted in a film, Sight, about his breakthroughs in ophthalmology.
• Elijah Willox (Ph.D., '24) joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a Research Staff Member.

Department News 

• The department hosted Physics Boot camp for the 2024 U.S. Physics Team.
• Maissam Barkeshli, Mohammad Hafezi, Chris Jarzynski, Nicole Yunger Halpern, Bill Phillips, Michael Gullans and Charles Tahan are part of UMD Art-Science Projects to Explore Quantum Creativity.
• UMD President Darryll Pines spoke to quantum leaders at the Quantum World Congress.

In Memoriam

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Category: Department News

Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 05:24

It is with much sadness that the Department of Physics announces the passing of several members of our community.

• Melanie Knouse Cline, a coordinator in the Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics (MCFP), died on June 3, 2024.
• Robert Dewar, a former postdoctoral associate, died on April 5, 2024.
• Robert Goldstein, an alumnus, died on Sept. 4, 2024.
• Charles Hussar, an alumnus and donor, died on March 30, 2024.
• Verne Kauppe (B.S., '71), who worked in multisensor and microwave remote sensing, died on September 8, 2024.
• William Kuperman (Ph.D., '72), former Director of the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography,  died on June 30, 2024. 
• Ernest Madsen (B.S. and M.S.), a medical physicist at the University of Wisconsin, died on August 24, 2024.
• Martin Vol Moody, an experimentalist working on gravitation, died on August 18, 2024.  
• Robert L. Parker, (Ph.D.,'60) who worked in metallurgy for the U.S. government, died on April 21, 2024.
• Joseph Perez (Ph,D., '68), former head of the Auburn University Physics Department, died on July 25, 2024.
• Edward "Joe" Redish, an acclaimed researcher and Professor Emeritus, died on August 24, 2024.
• Paul Richardson, a physicist with the U.S. Bureau of Mines, died on May 29, 2024.

UMD Adds Undergraduate Physics Specializations in Biophysics and Applied Physics

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Category: Department News

Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 05:24

The University of Maryland’s Department of Physics added two new specializations to its bachelor’s degree program this fall: biophysics and applied physics. These augment the existing primary physics major designed to prepare students for graduate studies in physics and the physics education specialization designed for students obtaining a teaching certificate through the College of Education.

“The American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society have recommended that undergraduate physics programs be diversified to prepare students for a variety of career paths, including those that extend beyond graduate study in physics,” said Carter Hall, a professor and the associate chair of undergraduate education for the Department of Physics. “The biophysics and applied physics specializations were developed with these recommendations in mind and based upon input from our students and faculty.”

The biophysics specialization is designed for students interested in exploring the intersection of physics and biology. It serves those who aim to study biophysics in graduate school and those who seek a strong physics foundation while preparing for the MCAT and medical school. This specialization provides a comprehensive understanding of biological and physical systems, offering insights into the physical principles underlying biological processes. Students will gain valuable analytical and problem-solving skills, preparing them for advanced studies in biophysics or medical research or a career in the health sciences.

The applied physics specialization is designed for students who aim to enter the workforce in technical or scientific roles immediately after graduation or those who plan to pursue further studies in applied physics at the graduate level. This specialization focuses on practical applications of physics principles, equipping students with hands-on experience and problem-solving skills relevant to technology and research industries. By blending theoretical knowledge with practical training, the applied physics specialization prepares students to tackle real-world challenges and innovate in their chosen fields.

At UMD, the nearly 300 physics majors benefit from small class sizes, outstanding teachers and talented classmates. In addition, they are encouraged to participate in cutting-edge research with the department’s internationally recognized faculty members.

“Through participation in research projects, our students learn what it takes to conduct world-class scientific research,” Hall added. “Whether students decide to continue to study physics in graduate school or work in fields such as engineering, software development, law, business or education, a bachelor's degree in physics from Maryland provides an excellent foundation.”

Exploring the Mechanics of Life’s Tiniest Machines

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Category: Department News

Published: Wednesday, September 11 2024 04:24

Maria Mukhina hopes to shine a new light on how the intricate machinery of life works at its most fundamental level. 

With a background in physics, optics and nanotechnology, the assistant professor of physics who joined the University of Maryland in January 2024 studies how cells use mechanical energy to organize themselves and carry out their jobs—both when they’re healthy and when they’re not. Mukhina develops nanoscale tools to visualize and quantify the mechanical forces within cell nuclei. Her work focuses on the mechanical information processing in DNA and chromosomes, which could lead to a better understanding of gene expression, disease mechanisms and how complex structures like tissues form. Maria Mukhina

“Physics is just as important for controlling cell physiology as chemicals and genes,” Mukhina explained. “Yet, we know very little about the mechanics that emerge when millions of molecules come together in larger dynamic structures like the genome or cytoskeleton. This is due to the lack of appropriate tools that would allow us to read out the properties of these mechanics—and that is where my work comes in.”

Physics Chair Steven Rolston said Mukhina’s research will provide UMD students with new perspectives on how physics can be applied to many other disciplines, from biology to materials science. 

“Dr. Mukhina’s training in the optical physics of nanocrystals gives her unique insights in applying techniques based in physics to study genome mechanobiology—the interplay of mechanical forces with biological function,” Rolston said. “We are delighted to have her join our biological physics effort in the department.”

Using tiny tools to solve big mysteries

Growing up in Russia, Mukhina had no idea she would eventually pursue an academic career in physics. Raised in a family of musicians, engineers and doctors, she had no lab or research experience until she entered ITMO University in St. Petersburg as an undergraduate studying laser physics. 

“I was in third year of my undergraduate education when I finally realized that I could be working in a research lab looking for answers to a real scientific question,” she recalled. “Ever since then, I’ve been in love with experimental work in the lab. Nothing can compare with sitting there in the dark, doing some microscopy work and knowing something that no one else under the sun knows—it’s like pure magic!”

Mukhina brought that sense of wonder to her graduate studies at ITMO University, earning a master’s degree in photonics and optical computer science and a Ph.D. in optics. Her doctoral research focused on the new optical properties arising in spatially ordered ensembles of anisotropic nanocrystals, tiny semiconductor particles with unique properties that can be controlled by changing the size and shape of a nanocrystal. 

After that, Mukhina wanted to explore more biological applications for this rapidly evolving technology, so she joined the lab of Harvard University cell biologist Nancy Kleckner as a postdoc.

“The Kleckner lab introduced me to the world of cellular mechanics,” Mukhina said. “We viewed chromosomes as mechanical objects rather than carriers of genetic information. This perspective led me to a whole new world of questions about how physical forces can shape the behavior of cells. I was fascinated by the idea that one can use nanotools to do work in a living cell, to change how it performs its functions, and also how this branch of research draws so heavily from physics, cell biology, chemistry and more.”

The interdisciplinary nature of that work led Mukhina to look for research environments that could provide a space for both collaborative research and innovative thinking. She found the perfect new home for her research at UMD.   

“I wanted to find a place where I could interact with very diverse faculty and resources,” Mukhina said. “And beyond the university, I am also close to many cutting-edge research hubs like the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. I’m very excited to join a group with such varied expertise.”

Now, Mukhina’s biggest research challenge is to accurately measure nanoscopic forces without disrupting the delicate environment of living cells. Drawing on her background in physics and nanotechnology, she develops tiny probes that can be directly introduced into cells to map out the forces at work within them. 

One probe is based on a concept called “DNA origami”—a technique that uses complementarity of two DNA strands to fold them into specific shapes. Another probe relies on a phenomenon called mechanoluminescence, where mechanical stresses applied to a material cause it to emit light. Both tools are designed to respond to the minute mechanical forces generated by mammalian cells, allowing researchers to create very detailed 4D maps of the intracellular force fields, which, as the researchers hypothesize, are used by the cells to orchestrate changes across microns of space, a huge distance in the cell universe. 

“All of this requires very fast and gentle to the cells light microscopy, so I’m also currently building a custom microscopy setup that will allow me to measure fluorescence or mechanoluminescence in events that occur within milliseconds,” Mukhina said. 

Mukhina also sees potential long-term applications for her research in medicine and beyond.

“Understanding the mechanics of how cells divide and segregate DNA could provide insights into cancer development or help us learn how to restart regeneration of our heart muscle cells after birth,” she explained. “My goal is for my work to open new avenues into developing regenerative therapies—and to push the boundaries of what we know about these physical forces that shape life itself.”