Congratulations to alumna Ana Maria Rey, who was named a 2013 MacArthur Foundation Fellow. Rey received a B.S. (1999) from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá and a Ph.D. (2004) from the University of Maryland, studying with Charles Clark. She is currently a JILA fellow and University of Colorado professor. Her research group focuses on ultracold atoms, optical lattices and the underlying physics of these systems, with applications in condensed matter and quantum information science. JILA is a research partnership between CU and NIST, Boulder.Ana Maria Rey. Courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

The American Physical Society (APS) has awarded Phillip Sprangle the 2013 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics for " pioneering contributions to the physics of high intensity laser interactions with plasmas, and to the development of plasma accelerators, free-electron lasers, gyrotrons and high current electron accelerators."

The prize is the highest honor bestowed to plasma physicists by the APS. It will presented at the annual meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics, November 11-15, 2013 in Denver, Colorado.

Arpita Upadhyaya has received the 2013 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. Professor Upadhyaya is an Assistant Professor for the Maryland Biophysics research group. Her primary research interests are in membrane and cellular biophysics, soft condensed matter and statistical mechanics of polymer networks.

Global climate change, which is almost universally accepted in the scientific community, may have profound effects on this planet's civilizations. Dr. Charles F. Kennel, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, directed NASA's "Mission to Planet Earth," a study of natural and human-induced changes to the planet. The experience led him to dedicate his research to environmental science, and he subsequently served as the Director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and as the Vice Chancellor of Marine Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. He is the founding director of the UCSD Environment and Sustainability Initiative and leads the University of Cambridge/UCSD Global Water Initiative. He will discuss the most current timelines and predictions for a changing climate, and explain actions and adaptations necessary to confront this truly global crisis on Wednesday, September 18 at the University of Maryland. All are welcome, and students are particularly encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served at 4 pm in the Physics Lecture Hall (1412). The talk will begin at 4:30 pm.

Parking is available in the Regents Drive Garage across the street from the Physics Lecture Hall. An attendant will direct visitors within the garage. A free ShuttleUM bus runs to and from the College Park Metro station at about eight-minute intervals.

For further information: or 301.405.5946.

Physics events: http://umdphysics.umd.edu/events.html

Alex Dragt

Alex Dragt is a co-honoree of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society's 2013 Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Award. This award is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of particle accelerator science and technology.

Professor Dragt was recognized for "substantial contributions to the analysis of non-linear phenomena in accelerator beam optics by introducing and developing map-based approach." He will be honored at an Awards Ceremony, on October 3, 2013, during the North American Particle Accelerator Conference.

For more information visit, http://www.napac13.lbl.gov/subpages/dragtdetails.html