Climate Committee Chair; CMNS Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council Member
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Peter Shawhan (he/him/his or they/them/theirs) joined the Physics Dept. as a faculty member in 2006, twenty years after competing in the Physics Olympics at UMD as a high school student. His research interests are gravitational wave detection, astrophysics, and high-precision gravity sensors. One of his children is a UMD undergraduate student.
Professor
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Rajarshi Roy (he/him/his) grew up in India and came to the USA as a graduate student in 1975. He is an experimental scientist interested in optics, nonlinear dynamics and neuroscience, and enjoys working with students, staff and colleagues at UMD and elsewhere. He also enjoys walking, listening to music and reading.
Assistant Professor
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Alicia Kollár is an assistant professor in the department of physics. She joined the faculty in Fall 2019 and is an experimentalist working in the field of superconducting circuits.
Graduate student; Graduate Committee
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Landry (he/him/his) is a fourth-year experimental plasma physics graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Originally from Burundi, he came to the United States when he was 7 years old. He had a complicated path to physics yet eventually graduating with two degrees in physics and interdisciplinary physical sciences. He currently conducts research on shear driven waves near dipolarization fronts at the Naval Research Laboratory and is also interested in fusion research. Additionally, Landry is committed to expanding outreach and mentorship programs for people from marginalized backgrounds and to highlighting the value of diversity in physics. Apart from physics, he enjoys playing soccer, board games, and philosophy.
Physics Director of Education; EDI Senate Committee
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Donna Hammer (she/her/hers) is the Director of Education for the Department of Physics. Her work is largely driven by her commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition to her work with the Climate Committee, she is a member of the University Senate EDI Committee and she is the Department lead and co-founder of the UMD-NIST Conference for Underrepresented Undergraduate Minorities in Physics (CU2MiP) previously held in 2016 and 2017. The conference will be held again on January 8-10, 2021. She also co-organized the UMD Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) in 2014 and 2020.
Staff; Coordinator of Graduate Studies
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Josiland (she/her/hers) has many years of experience working in academic affairs and serving on various UMD committees. In 2018, she was awarded the Outstanding Coordinator of Graduate Studies by the UMD Graduate School. This award recognizes exceptional contributions made to the graduate student experience. She enjoys working with students and assisting them as they progress through the graduate program.
Graduate Student
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Madison Anderson (she/her/hers) works for Dr. Gretchen Campbell studying ultracold atomic physics. She serves as the graduate student representative on the Executive Committee of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (DAMOP). Her interests on the Climate Committee include fostering equal representation for underrepresented groups in UMD Physics colloquia, including talks about DEI in the colloquia series, implementing Bystander Training, and better connecting the UMD Physics Department with STEM at UMD.
Kaustubh Agashe obtained his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley in 1998. After conducting postdoctoral research at the University of Oregon, Johns Hopkins University and (briefly) the Institute of Advanced Study (Princeton), he joined the faculty of the physics department at Syracuse University in 2005. He then moved to the University of Maryland in 2007. Professor Agashe's research is in the field of theoretical particle physics (more details are under the "personal website" link). He works on ideas going beyond the standard model of particle physics. This research includes building new models and making predictions for them which can be tested in experiments ("phenomenology") and plotting direct production of new particles at high-energy colliders and calculating their indirect detection in lower-energy experiments.
Raj Roy is a professor of physics and Director of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in 1981 from the University of Rochester. He is a Fellow of American Physical Society and a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. His research interests include the study of nonlinear dynamics and noise in optical devices and systems relevant to very practical technological applications such as compact disk players, fiber optic communications, and the development of optical switching devices and laser arrays.
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Centers & Institutes: Institute for Physical Science & Technology; Institute for Research in Electronics & Applied Physics
James Drake's research focus is on the theory and modeling of plasmas with applications to laboratory, space and astrophysical systems. He has made important contributions to the understanding of laser-plasma interactions, plasma turbulence and magnetic reconnection. On the topic of magnetic reconnection he and his students and colleagues have made key discoveries on the mechanisms that control the rate of reconnection, its explosive onset and the production of energetic particles. Collaborations with scientists with access to laboratory and satellite data have tested his models against reality. He is a UMD Distinguished University Professor.
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Centers & Institutes: Institute for Physical Science & Technology; Institute for Research in Electronics & Applied Physics; Joint Space-Science Institute