Cory Dean, PhD (Columbia University) – Cory Dean kicked off a revolution in experimental physics. Working with a unique class of two-dimensional materials called van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure materials—very thin materials made of single atomic layers stacked and held together by weak forces—Dean’s breakthrough experimental techniques sparked a completely new field of study known as “twistronics”. His work has enabled the exploration of new areas in quantum physics, including superconductivity, topology, and magnetism.
Brian Metzger, PhD (Columbia University) – Where does…
Scientists from the international XENON collaboration announced today that data from their XENON1T, the world's most sensitive dark matter experiment, show a surprising excess of events. The scientists do not claim to have found dark matter. Instead, they say to have observed an unexpected rate of events, the source of which is not yet fully understood. The signature of the excess is similar to what might result from a tiny residual amount of tritium (a hydrogen atom with one proton and two neutrons), but could also be a sign of something more exciting -such as the existence of a new particle known…
Brian Humensky and Reshmi Mukherjee's groups, in collaboration with researchers from other institutions, have detected gamma rays from the Crab Nebula, the "standard candle" of gamma-ray astronomy, using a prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope. Demonstrating the viability of the key technologies used in this innovative telescope opens the door for their use as astrophysicists study some of the most energetic and unusual objects in the universe. This work is part of an international effort, known as the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), which aims to construct the world’s largest and most…
Dmitri Basov joined Columbia in 2016 as the Higgins Professor of Physics. Currently, he serves as the Director of Energy Frontier Research Center in Programmable Quantum Materials and as the co-Director jointly with Andrew Millis of the New York City - Max Planck Society Center in Non-equilibrium Quantum Phenomena. At Columbia, Dmitri Basov has established a laboratory focused on nano-optical studies of quantum materials.
Andrew Millis joined the Columbia Physics Department in 2001 after appointments at Bell Laboratories and served as Chair from 2006-2009. He also co-Directors the…
Professor Elena Aprile has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together, as expressed in our charter, “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.”
Professor Aprile has led a more than 15 year effort to detect Dark Matter. She has…
Professor Elena Aprile was featured in the April 7, 2020 edition of the NY Times. The article is on the impact of the Coronavirus and her XENON Dark Matter experiment at the Gran Sasso Underground in Italy.
On April 1, 2020, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Columbia University/Nevis Labs a $75M multi-year Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) grant to Professors Brooijmans, Parsons and Tuts (PI) to build and manage the construction of key components for the upgrade of the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. (For more details click here).
The upgrades supported by this grant and others will be completed in 2025 and will allow the international ATLAS collaboration to address some of the outstanding questions in particle physics such as elucidating…
We are pleased to announce that a new accolade, Fellow of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), has been established to honor members for extraordinary achievement and service. David Helfand, Brian Metzger, and Jerry Ostriker of Columbia are included among the initial group of more than 200 Legacy Fellows designated by the AAS Board of Trustees. These include past recipients of certain awards from the AAS or its topical Divisions, distinguished AAS elected leaders and volunteer committee members, and previously unrecognized individuals with long histories of outstanding research, teaching, mentoring,…
Dr. Kenneth "Rainer" Corely successfully defended his dissertation:
"Detection, data analysis, and astrophysics of gravitational waves.”
Dissertation Sponsor and Research Advisor: Professor Szabi Marka
Dr. Chih-Hsi Lee and Dr. Aaron Sternbach each successfully defended their dissertation.
Chih-Hsi Lee
"Quantum Metrology with a Molecular Lattice Clock and State-Selected Photodissociation of Ultracold Molecules.”
Dissertation Sponsor and Research Advisor: Professor Tanya Zelevinsky
Jiqun Tu
"Dynamics of quantum materials at the nanoscale.”
Dissertation Sponsor and Research Advisor: Professor Dmitri Bassov
Dr. Hanjie Liu and Dr. Jiqun Tu each successfully defended their dissertation.
Hanjie Liu
"Measurement of F2n/F2p, and the A=3 EMC effect in deep inelastic electron scattering off tritium and helium nuclei."
Dissertation Sponsor and Research Advisor: Professor Emlyn Hughes
Jiqun Tu
"Scale lattice QCD simulations towards strong and weak coupling limits."
Dissertation Sponsor and Research Advisor: Professor Bob Mawhinney