Posts Tagged Department of Physics and Astronomy

It’s still more science fiction than science fact, but perfect energy efficiency may be one step closer due to new research by Rochester physicists.

The University is the host institution for a NSF-funded national collaboration to explore ‘revolutionary states of matter.’

Work by Rochester researchers will help make a space-based infrared telesecope—the kind that detected Comet NEOWISE—even more precise.

Using sand, marbles, and mathematical modeling, Rochester researchers from across departments worked to improve the accuracy of data collected from the surfaces of asteroids.

Physicist Gourab Ghoshal and electrical and computer engineer Gonzalo Mateos received alumni-supported fellowships to use data science in exploring their fields.

Rochester physicists are exploring new ways of creating quantum-mechanical interactions between distant electrons. The research marks an important advance in quantum computing.

Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy, is searching for “technosignatures,” or the physical and chemical traces of advanced civilizations, among the 4,000 or so exoplanets scientists have found so far.

Members of a University of Rochester cosmology group who are a key part of a multi-institutional effort to create the most detailed 3-D map ever made of the universe are looking forward to the launch of the instrument later this year in Arizona.

The team—Regina Demina, professor of physics; Satya Gontcho A Gontcho, postdoctoral research associate; Segev BenZvi, assistant professor of physics; and Kelly Douglass, visiting assistant professor of physics and astronomy—are working on the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project, an initiative to provide a more comprehensive look at dark energy and how it’s influencing the expansion of the universe. The instrument—including the 5,000 robotic positioners of the telescope’s focal plane (above)—will capture data from 35 million galaxies, potentially providing insight about the life cycle of galaxies and about the cosmic web that connects matter in the universe.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the lead institution on the project, announced on June 1 that DESI was complete and was moving toward its startup.

Read more about Rochester’s team.

Computational scientists win a National Science Foundation grant to develop a tool to provide accurate, timely information to local-level policymakers monitoring the spread of COVID-19.

The national scholarship, which helps cover tuition, room, board, and fees, was authorized by Congress to ensure a continuing source of highly qualified STEM professionals pursuing careers in research.