Scientists create new ‘spark plug’ for fusion reactions
Techniques developed with the Laboratory for Laser Energetics’ OMEGA laser system hold promise for sparking fusion at larger scales.
Edward Thorndike, physicist who found ‘beauty’ in b quarks, remembered
Thorndike made pathbreaking contributions to the study of matter.
Is oxygen the cosmic key to alien technology?
Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank explores the links between atmospheric oxygen and detecting extraterrestrial technology on distant planets.
New strategy reveals ‘full chemical complexity’ of quantum decoherence
The findings can be used to design molecules with custom quantum coherence properties, laying the chemical foundation for emerging quantum technologies.
Rochester research with ‘ghostly’ neutrinos among Physics World’s breakthroughs of the year
Led by researchers from the University of Rochester, scientists from the international collaboration MINERvA have, for the first time, used a beam of hard-to-detect neutrinos to investigate the structure of protons.
Straining memory leads to new computing possibilities
“We’ve combined the idea of a memristor and a phase-change device in a way that can go beyond the limitations of either device,” says Stephen Wu, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of physics.
How do living things use meaningful information to survive?
A team from the Department of Physics and Astronomy has applied the theory of semantic information to a realistic model capturing attributes of living systems—and found the critical point where information matters for survival.
Qubit by qubit: Optimizing silicon for quantum computing
A team of researchers including John Nichol, an associate professor of physics, has won a grant from the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research to address challenges posed by silicon spin qubits.
New tools will help study quantum chemistry aboard the International Space Station
Rochester Professor Nicholas Bigelow helped develop experiments conducted at NASA’s Cold Atom Lab to probe the fundamental nature of the world around us.
September 2023 in photos
Take a brief look back at some memorable moments captured at Rochester in September.