Peter Shawhan did graduate research in Physics at the University of Chicago, studying CP violation in neutral K meson decays, and earned his Ph.D. in 1999. He then spent seven years at Caltech as a Millikan Prize Fellow and Senior Scientist, helping to establish observing operations and data analysis for the LIGO gravitational wave detectors. As a University of Maryland Physics faculty member since 2006, Shawhan's primary research revolves around searching for gravitational wave signals from neutron stars, black holes, collapsing stars, and other extreme astrophysical sources. Detection of these elusive signals, beginning with the first spectacular event in September 2015 from a pair of merging black holes, has confirmed a prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity and is revealing the properties of gravitational-wave sources and enabling tests of the theory of gravity. Other research interests include laboratory tests of gravity and high-energy astrophysics space missions. He is a UMD Distinguished Scholar-Teacher.

Research Area:

• Gravitation Experiment

Research Interests:

• Gravitational waves
• Astrophysics
• Time-domain Astronomy
• Laboratory Gravity Experiments

Centers & Institutes: Joint Space-Science Institute 

• Physics 121: Fundamentals of Physics I
• Physics 171:  Introductory Physics Mechanics and Relativity
• Physics 172: Succeeding in Physics: Applications, Resources and Concepts
• Physics 270: Electrodynamics, Light, Relativity & Modern Physics
• Physics 273: Introductory Physics: Waves       
• Physics 375: Experimental Physics III: Electromagnetic Waves, Optics and Modern Physics
• Physics 405: Advanced Experiments
• Physics 410: Classical Mechanics

• Shawhan Named a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher
• Shawhan Elected APS Fellow
• Peter Shawhan Awarded 2018 Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize
• Peter Shawhan Honored by USM Board of Regents
• The Chirps Heard Round the World
• Peter Shawhan Awarded the 2016 Richard A. Ferrell Distinguished Faculty Fellowship

Eun-Suk Seo earned her Ph.D. in 1991 from Louisiana State University. She joined UMD in 1991 and became a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2010. Her research focuses on cosmic ray origin, acceleration, and propagation including searches for exotic matter, such as antimatter and dark matter using direct measurements of galactic cosmic rays by flying instruments on balloons or spacecraft. Professor Seo has worked on numerous projects for the detection and characterization of cosmic rays, including four major international collaborations: ATIC (the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter), AMS (the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, intended for deployment on the International Space Station), BESS (the Balloon-borne Experiment with a Superconducting magnet Spectrometer) and CREAM (the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass program). She is the Principal Investigator for CREAM and Co-Investigator for the others.

Research Area:

• Cosmic Ray Physics

Research Projects:

• Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter ( ATIC )
• Alpha Magnet Spectrometer ( AMS )
• Balloon -borne Experiment with a Superconducting magnet Spectrometer ( BESS )
• Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass ( CREAM )

Centers & Institutes: Center for Experimental Fundamental Physics, Institute for Physical Science & Technology, Joint Space-Science Institute

• Physics 107: Light, Perception, Photography & Visual Phenomena Laboratory
• Physics 121: Fundamentals of Physics I
• Physics 122: Fundamentals of Physics II
• Physics 141:Principles of Physics I
• Physics 260: Vibrations, Waves, Heat, Electricity & Magnetism 
• Physics 270: Electrodynamics, Light, Relativity & Modern Physics
• Physics 272 & 272H: Introductory Physics: Fields
• Physics 276: Experimental Physics II

Jay Sau received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 2008. He is a theoretical condensed matter physicist with a broad interest in many particle physics relevant to experiments. At present, he is predominantly interested in applying topological principles to create protected solid-state and cold-atomic systems for quantum information processing.

Research Area:

• Condensed Matter Theory
• Quantum Science and Technology

Notable Publications:

• "Generic New Platform for Topological Quantum Computation Using
  Semiconductor Heterostructures" Jay D. Sau, Roman M. Lutchyn, Sumanta Tewari, and S. Das Sarma. Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 040502 (2010).
• "A number conserving theory for topologically protected degeneracy in one-dimensional fermions" Jay D. Sau, B. I. Halperin, K. Flensberg, S. Das Sarma. Phys. Rev. B 84, 144509 (2011).
• "A proposal to probe quantum non-locality of Majorana fermions in tunneling experiments" Jay D. Sau, Brian Swingle, Sumanta Tewari.  arXiv:1210.5514 (2012).

• Physics 420: Principles of Modern Physics
• Physics 622: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics I
• Physics 625: Quantum Many-Body Theory I
• Physics 626: Modern Condensed Matter Physics II
• Physics 731: Solid State Physics: Survey

• Researchers Spy Finish Line in Race for Majorana Qubits
• Sau Named UMD Co-Director of JQI
• Research Team Describes "Somersaulting" Photons
• Jay Sau Receives Sloan Research Fellowship
• Jay Sau Receives CAREER Award
• Jay Sau Awarded the 2015 Richard A. Ferrell Distinguished Faculty Fellowship

Steve Rolston received his B.S. in 1980 from Wesleyan University and his Ph.D. in 1986 from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is currently Chair of the Department of Physics and a Fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America.

Research Area:

• Atomic, Molecular & Optical
• Quantum Science and Technology

Research Projects:

• Ultracold Plasmas
• Quantum Information
• Optical Lattices
• Quantum Computation

Centers & Institutes: Joint Quantum Institute; Quantum Technology Center

• Physics 105: A Global Challenge: Energy and Climate Change
• Physics 401: Quantum Physics I
• Physics 402: Quantum Physics II

• Rolston Reappointed Department Chair
• UMD Leads New $25M NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation
• Steve Rolston Named Chair of UMD Department of Physics
• Steve Rolston Comments on the Computers of our Wildest Dreams
• Steve Rolston Named Recipient of Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award

Doug Roberts received his B.S. in 1988 from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in 1994 from the University of California, Los Angeles. His research efforts are focused on the BaBar experiment, one of the largest and most prominent experiments in the field of high energy physics. He has served as the Department's Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and currently serves as the university's Associate Dean of Undergraduate Services.

Research Area:

• High Energy Physics