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Ellen Williams Named Caltech Distinguished Alumna

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Category: Department News
Published: Tuesday, August 30 2016 01:00

Distinguished University Professor Ellen Williams was named a 2016 Distinguished Alumna at the California Institute of Technology, where she received her PhD in Chemistry in 1982. Caltech cited "her sustained record of innovation and achievement in the area of structural-surface physics. She founded the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Maryland and was the chief scientist for BP. She now serves as director of the Advanced Research Project Agency–Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy." The award was presented May 21 in Pasadena.
 

 

Peter Shawhan Awarded the 2016 Richard A. Ferrell Distinguished Faculty Fellowship

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Category: Department News
Published: Monday, August 29 2016 01:00

Peter Shawhan has received the 2016 Richard A. Ferrell Distinguished Faculty Fellowship, which recognizes outstanding personal effort and expertise in physics as well as dedicated service to the UMD Department of Physics. The Fellowship, established in 2001, honors Dr. Richard A. Ferrell, a deeply-respected physicist who joined the University in 1953, served 40 years, and remained active in the department even after his retirement. Dr. Ferrell died in 2005 at his nearby University Park home.

Shawhan is an Associate Professor researching gravitational waves, astrophysics and time-domain astronomy. He is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and of the UMD Joint Space Science Institute and Center for Experimental Fundamental Physics. 

 

Proximity Effect Realized in Topological Kondo Insulator

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Category: Research News
Published: Thursday, August 25 2016 14:01

Superconductivity in the topologically protected surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator has been predicted to be a promising platform for exploring exotic quantum states such as Majorana fermion excitations. Although previous efforts have focused on the superconducting proximity effect in bilayer structures between a superconductor and a chalcogenide topological insulator, suppressing the conducting bulk contribution and securing high interfacial transparency between a superconductor and a topological insulator have been major experimental bottlenecks to demonstrating induced superconductivity. Researchers from the Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials led by Ichiro Takeuchi, in collaboration with Richard Greene and Johnpierre Paglione, have now demonstrated a supercurrent to flow through the surface layer of the topological Kondo insulator material samarium hexaboride (SmB6) via in situ deposition of a superconducting layer on SmB6 thin films. Published in Physical Review X, this study provides a unique insight into the surface state of SmB6, and marks an important stepping stone for pursuing novel quantum phenomena using thin-film topological insulator devices.

Tom Cohen Contributing to "Democracy Then & Now" Series on Oct. 20

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Category: Department News
Published: Wednesday, August 24 2016 10:47

Democracy Then & Now is a campus-wide initiative exploring the central role of public education in the development of American democracy. DTN asks students, faculty, and staff to consider what good public education means now in terms of civic participation, political representation, and full citizenship rights for all people in this country.

On Thursday, Oct. 20, Professor Tom Cohen will discuss American Democracy and Science at 4 pm in the lobby of the Physical Sciences Complex, with light refreshments at 3:30 p.m.

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