Tags: physics and astronomy

photo of deer in forest, with trees, green foliage
UGA research team receives USDA APHIS funding for development of a rapid diagnostics platform for SARS-CoV-2

A person with COVID-19 might transmit SARS-CoV-2 to domestic cats and dogs (and perhaps other pets) in the same way that an infected animal could possibly transmit it to another individual. In addition, lions, tigers, pumas, snow leopards and non-human primates from zoos or wildlife refuges in the U.S. and other countries have been confirmed infected with SARS-CoV-2, while infections have also been reported in white-tailed deer, both wild and…

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UGA faculty awarded Moore Foundation grant to investigate 'brain on a chip'

Imitating the astonishing energy efficiency phenomena of the human brain presents the next challenge in high-speed computing. Potential solutions might combine new quantum functionality that arise from nano-scale complex materials to replicate brain-like performance, or neuromorphic computing. Yohannes Abate, Susan Dasher and Charles Dasher MD Professor of Physics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of physics and astronomy,…

telescopes image of purple, organ and yellow disk in space
UGA researchers discover new planet outside solar system

A University of Georgia research team has confirmed evidence of a previously unknown planet outside of our solar system, and they used machine learning tools to detect it. A recent study by the team showed that machine learning can correctly determine if an exoplanet is present by looking in protoplanetary disks, the gas around newly formed stars. The newly published findings represent a first step toward using machine learning to identify…

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Landau, Terns named Regents’ Professors

Three University of Georgia faculty members have been named Regents’ Professors in recognition of the national and international reach of their innovative and pace-setting scholarship. Regents’ professorships are bestowed by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and are the highest professorial recognition in the state’s system of public colleges and universities. The university’s 2022–2023 Regents’ Professors are Jenna…

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Next-generation nanophotonics devices and applications come into view

Densely-packed solar cells that fit on a car and efficiently transfer light to electricity; point-of care medical diagnostic tools; major advances in communication, sensing and imaging – all of these plus many more depend on interaction of light with the material world at a very small scale, also known as nanophotonics. What makes nanophotonics so interesting to scientists and so promising across a broad array of industry is the subject of a new…

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New Quantum Networks Research and Training Program Receives $3M NSF Award

The National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program (NRT) awarded a $3 million Collaborative Grant to the University of Georgia (UGA) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to develop a Quantum Networks Training and Research Alliance in the Southeast (QuaNTRASE). The NSF award advances convergent research in quantum information science and engineering, which it has identified as a national priority of utmost importance, via…

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Noted and Quoted, April 2022

Racial disparities and COVID, personality traits of 'difficult' people, the war in Ukraine, and faster cheaper COVID tests headline Franklin faculty expertise in the media during the month of April. A sample of the recent news featuring our colleagues: How war in the world’s breadbasket “changes everything” – Scott Reynolds Nelson, Georgia Athletic Association Professor in the department of history, interviewed by  Ad Age, WNYCStudios, …

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UGA team develops faster, cheaper COVID tests

A University of Georgia nanotechnology research group entered the race to develop a rapid test for COVID-19 in August 2020, running experiments on a new sensor for an American manufacturing company. The group, led by Yiping Zhao and Ralph Tripp, tested nanotechnology-based optical sensors designed for COVID-19 detection and saw the potential for their home-grown technology. In March 2022, the group filed a patent application and published its…

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Lewis, Shannon among 2022 Meigs Professors

Five University of Georgia faculty members have been named Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professors, the university’s highest recognition for excellence in instruction. “Meigs Professors are an elite group of faculty members at an institution that places a great value on outstanding instruction,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “I congratulate the recipients of this significant honor and…

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Sensors eliminate sparking risk in hydrogen vehicles

Hydrogen as a clean, renewable alternative to fossil fuels is part of a sustainable-energy future, and very much already here. However, lingering concerns about flammability have limited widespread use of hydrogen as a power source for electric vehicles. Previous advances have minimized the risk, but new research from the University of Georgia now puts that risk in the rearview mirror. Hydrogen vehicles can refuel much more quickly and go…

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Teaching physics via Zoom

When she started her stint as head teaching assistant in the Physics and Astronomy Department in August 2019, Lauren Sgro’s life was pretty well mapped out. The Ph.D. candidate had time to work on her dissertation – concerning dust around red dwarfs – while keeping up with head TA duties, such as teaching the new TAs how to do their once-a-week labs and helping anyone with questions. Then the pandemic hit. “After COVID-19, the position took on a…

photo of man in lab with protective eyewear
New materials provide link to innovative products

When we think about the links to the future – the global transition to solar and wind energy, tactile virtual reality or synthetic neurons – there’s no shortage of big ideas. It’s the materials to execute the big ideas – the ability to manufacture the lithium-ion batteries, opto-electronics and hydrogen fuel cells – that stand between concept and reality. Enter two-dimensional materials, the latest step in innovation. Consisting of a single…

portrait of cassandra hall
Royal Astronomical Society honors stars of astronomy and geophysics

The Royal Astronomical Society has announced the winners of its medals and prizes, awarded to scientists around the world for significant achievement in the fields of astronomy and geophysics. University of Georgia Assistant Professor Cassandra Hall has received the Winton Capital Award for astronomy for 2020.  There are two Winton awards per year, one each in astronomy and geophysics and they are funded by the Winton Capital Investment House in…

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Inaugural Chhabra-Landau Lecture features materials science engineer Sharon Glotzer

The Center for Simulational Physics presents the inaugural Chhabra-Landau lecture on Thursday Jan. 9, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. in room 202 of the Physics building. The speaker is Sharon Glotzer, the Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering, the John Werner Cahn Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, where she is also…

photo of man in lab coat with tubes in isolation chamber
Research finds that insulin drug may be used to treat brain tumors

Fascinating new work from colleagues in the UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center. A research team, including faculty from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the College of Engineering and associate professor of physics Qun Zhao: has found that a compound molecule used for drug delivery of insulin could be used to treat glioblastoma, an aggressive, usually fatal form of brain cancer. Glioblastoma, also known as GBM, is a fast-…

photo of woman with telescope and starry background
Amazing student: Mackenzie Joy

A big week on campus, as fall semester begins and so many new students begin a great journey. Physics and astronomy major and Goldwater Scholar Mackenzie Joy shares a few insights about her path to a successful future: I chose to attend UGA because … The first time I came to UGA was in February 2016 when I was interviewing for the Foundation Fellowship. I had never really considered UGA my top choice of where to go for my undergraduate studies,…

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Graduate student receives Department of Energy fellowship

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has selected Matthew Wilson from the University of Georgia’s Center for Simulation Physics to participate in its Graduate Student Research Program. Wilson studies protein aggregation using computer simulation to test physical phenomena that defy analysis by traditional approaches.  “These graduate student awards prepare young scientists for STEM careers critically important to the DOE mission,” said U…

Photo of four scholarship awards winners outside in front of a building
Four Franklin students named 2019 Goldwater Scholars

The highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering, the Barry Goldwater Scholars program encourages outstanding students to pursue careers in these fields. This year, UGA has four Goldwater Scholars:  Monte Fischer, an Honors student and Foundation Fellow, plans to pursue a doctorate in mathematics to investigate questions of stochastic processes, probability and computation. MacKenzie…

vector image of materials diagram
New study opens possibilities for smaller, more powerful light-control in quantum materials

The transfer of energy, as light or information, from one point to another is a big part of the science behind the phone in your hand and the images on your screen. Manipulating light wavelengths to transmit information represents the next frontier in optoelectronics, though many obstacles remain. Among the primary challenges in using light for information processing is the difficulty of squeezing light to very small space to fit in ever-…

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2nd Southeast Quantum Computing Workshop at UGA May 18

With development timetables already showing practical quantum computing machines arriving much sooner than expected, researchers from the region will gather at UGA for second consecutive year fotr discussion on new work and ideas at the Southeast Quantum Computing Workshop May 18: Quantum computers, which use quantum states of subatomic particles to store information, was initiated as a field in 1980, and though its development remains in the…

overhead image of glacier in color
Noted and Quoted, April 2018

Franklin faculty members, students and alumni have been featured in a broad variety of media this month. A sampling: IRS computer glitch caused by "master file" issue – associate professor of history Stephen Mihm quoted on NPR  Voting laws for felons can be hard to follow – assistant professor of sociology Sarah K.S. Shannon quoted in the New York Times The 2018 hurricane season looms but Hurricane Maria still haunts Puerto Rico - Georgia…

group photo with small satellite parts
Student satellite team moves one step closer to space

The ingenuity and hardwork of the Small satellite Research Labaoratory continues to lead the project up, up and away: A University of Georgia research laboratory led by a group of undergraduate students is one of only two university research programs chosen by the United States Air Force to build and launch satellites into space. The UGA Small Satellite Research Laboratory, which is supported by faculty from the Franklin College of Arts and…

woman with telescope in the background
Focus on the faculty: Robin Shelton

The impact of my research is that it has moved forward our understanding of the galaxy in which we live. How does your research or scholarship inspire your teaching, and vice versa? Students greatly enjoy when I tell them about the newest astronomical discoveries. Some of that information is learned at scientific meetings that I attend as part of my research and scholarship duties. Probably, my scientific presentations have benefited from…


Negritud in Latin American Art

Great panel discussion on tap tonight in the Lamar Dodd School of Art:  The Dodd Galleries present a panel discussion on the exhibition "Negritud in Latin American Art" this evening in Gallery 101, 6-7pm. Join Dodd art instructor Stanley Bermudez discuss his curated exhibition "Negritud in Latin American Art" with Lesley Feracho, associate professor in the department of romance languages and the Institute of African-American Studies and Ximena…


School of Art welcomes new Gallery Director

New gallery director in the Lamar Dodd School of Art Katie Geha is featured in the Athens Banner-Herald: As the incoming gallery director at Lamar Dodd, Geha’s relationship with curatorial work won’t lessen. Geha sees the position as quasi-academic, wherein she’ll act as teacher or mentor to young artists, but without the workload of production or publishing demands. Geha will teach a class called “Artist’s Writing.” Geha joins UGA and the…
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