Posts Tagged Department of Physics and Astronomy

University Research Awards for 2018-19 have been awarded to 15 projects ranging from an analysis of the roles of prisons in the Rochester region, to a new approach to genome editing, to new initiatives for advanced materials for powerful lasers.

Four undergraduates and two graduate students have been selected to receive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, providing support for US students pursuing graduate degrees in STEM fields.

Imagine if, many millions of years ago, dinosaurs drove cars through cities of mile-high buildings. A preposterous idea, right? In a compelling thought experiment, professor of physics and astronomy Adam Frank and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Gavin Schmidt wonder how we would truly know if there were a past civilization so advanced that it left little or no trace of its impact on the planet.

Unlike typical observatories that are positioned on the ground or in space, the telescope Dan Watson is working on is situated in between — on a Boeing 747SP jet airliner.

Scientists at the HAWC Gamma Ray Observatory have ruled out two pulsars as the source of an unexpectedly large presence of positrons in our corner of the galaxy. Could they come from something more complex and exotic: dark matter?

Using the strange rules of quantum mechanics, researchers were able to put a quantum bit in a superposition of two different energy states at the same time in order to speed up the accurate measurement of frequencies.

Institutions including Cornell, Michigan, Princeton, and Stanford will join Rochester in developing an instrument to produce and study matter that exists under pressures far higher than either on or inside Earth.

For more than 50 years, the Kardashev scale has been the gold standard for classifying hypothetical “exo-civilizations” by their ability to harness energy. A team of researchers led by Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank have devised a new system that takes into account the impacts of that energy use.

Physics and astronomy professor Dan Watson will be experiencing Monday’s total solar eclipse from Tennessee, and he shares more eclipse answers and tips, as well as places at the University of Rochester where you can safely view the eclipse.

From near-Earth objects to quantum computing, physics students come to Rochester to get an early start on their research careers this summer, working on federally funded and University sponsored projects.