Department of Physics
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Department of Physics News RSS Feed![Volume rendering of simulation of two neutron stars merging.](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/sfho_m140120_m0_v3_rho_188416.png?h=066667f8&itok=eUAr2l8O)
What happens when neutron stars collide?
June 18, 2024
![Combined X-ray and optical observations on left and simulated gas column density on right, with inset of artist's impression of active supermassive black hole](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/brandt_zou_aas_figure.jpg?h=a6e6ef5b&itok=XqzhD00z)
How do supermassive black holes get super massive?
June 11, 2024
![Architect's rendering of Physics Building](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/2024-0212_revision-to-psu-physics_2_ext-se.jpg?h=58a81f7d&itok=M2f1ss3I)
Plan to renovate Osmond Laboratory advances
February 15, 2024
![Fodor wearing blue shirt](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/fodor_zoltan-1_43.jpg?h=84071268&itok=sGLBDMoi)
Penn State physicist Zoltan Fodor named distinguished professor
February 14, 2024
![Jainendra Jain](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/jainendrajain.jpg?h=88ab1938&itok=oTedKbfD)
Jain selected as holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Physics
November 27, 2023
![Nitin Samarth in front of metal equipment](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/10/nitin_samarth_43lr.jpg?h=fb8348c6&itok=xBrAD7yO)
Samarth named Verne M. Willaman Professor of Physics
October 05, 2023
![Portraits of Abhay Ashtekar, George Andrews and James Kasting](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/Ashtekar_Andrews_Kasting_0.jpg?h=dff1bc88&itok=B4g2U-dx)
Three Penn State faculty members named inaugural Atherton Professors
February 23, 2023
![Scematic of waveguides through glass (left) and measured light intensity showing fractionalization (right)](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/01/Rechtman_SolitonsFQHE.png?h=19ad3fdd&itok=A25zysi0)
Emergent behavior observed in self-interacting light
January 17, 2023
![Kyle Lynn, wearing gloves and goggles, works in the lab](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/KyleLinnLaserLabOct22-1_LR.jpg?h=7d37a0ee&itok=XdJ7T3v_)
Penn State undergraduate views the world through the lens of physics
December 12, 2022
![dish of mayonnaise fades into splotches of colorful particles](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/10/mayothresholds3-43.jpg?h=a1a94a7a&itok=haHAByH4)
Some everyday materials have memories, and now they can be erased
October 05, 2022
![front-view of the International Space Station](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/09/ISS4-3_0.jpeg?h=3eeac4f9&itok=phtheDvt)
New space station experiment TIGERISS will probe origins of elements
September 08, 2022
![Illustration of STAR-X spacecraft in space, a black background filled with stars.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/08/STARX_illustration_0.png?h=469c9c4c&itok=Zt8qW1kj)
NASA selects STAR-X for $3M mission concept study
August 29, 2022
![LZ detector in sealed room while person in cleanroom suit walks by](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/07/3---LZ_TPC_under_construction_43LR.jpg?h=08b866d1&itok=lVz_dkYt)
Dark matter detector completes startup operations
July 07, 2022
![David Radice](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/radice.jpg?h=69e90c6d&itok=D3cD82mX)
Radice awarded 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship
February 15, 2022
![A schematic picture of hot accretion flows around a supermassive black hole.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/EAbrqahC.jpg?h=cf073c20&itok=xI2GSQKj)
Gamma-rays and neutrinos from mellow supermassive black holes
September 23, 2021
![Graph showing match of expimental data for out-of-equilibrium one-dimensional gases with theory](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/WeissRigol_GenHydro.jpg?h=803526ad&itok=FCw68xE2)
Putting a new theory of many-particle quantum systems to the test
September 02, 2021
![placeholder image](/news/static/fallback-8980cf856bdab01efc8dcf95c2158b37.jpg)
The muon's magnetic moment fits just fine
April 07, 2021
![placeholder image](/news/static/fallback-8980cf856bdab01efc8dcf95c2158b37.jpg)
Antarctic balloon mission chosen for NASA Pioneers program
February 03, 2021
![Artist impression of gravitational waves generated by binary neutron stars](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/LIGO%202015.jpg?h=8abcec71&itok=oOm4g4L2)
Q&A with the Penn State LIGO group
November 05, 2020
![This rendering shows the density of matter in the aftermath of two merged neutron stars, resulting in the formation of a black hole.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/neutronstarmerger750px.jpg?h=9e499333&itok=ONFnR0bC)
Penn State a partner in new NSF Physics Frontier Center
September 24, 2020
Latest News
Department of Physics News RSS Feed![Volume rendering of simulation of two neutron stars merging.](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/sfho_m140120_m0_v3_rho_188416.png?h=066667f8&itok=eUAr2l8O)
What happens when neutron stars collide?
June 18, 2024
![Illustration of supermassive black hole with quasar wind, with inset spectra.](https://sc-cms.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/main-figure-v3.png?h=34177dc1&itok=GlGg35_R)
![Combined X-ray and optical observations on left and simulated gas column density on right, with inset of artist's impression of active supermassive black hole](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/brandt_zou_aas_figure.jpg?h=a6e6ef5b&itok=XqzhD00z)
How do supermassive black holes get super massive?
June 11, 2024
![George Atherton Bust](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/PSUstock-George%20Atherton%20Bust-Old%20Main.jpg?h=185a712a&itok=b3AunEri)
![Head of Nittany Lion Shrine](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/IMG_7337.jpeg?h=b306346d&itok=R-1m92ha)
![RĆ©ka Albert](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/05/reka-albert_1.png?h=051a62cf&itok=fquZg3Jl)
![A bust of Penn State's first president Evan Pugh located in the main lobby of Old Main.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/05/pugh-bust-32.jpg?h=95dc9010&itok=K7QyP1Ny)
![Scanning electron microscope image of a āstrainedā photonic crystal](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/04/rechtsman_strained-photonic-crystal_psn.jpg?h=e4ab74fb&itok=xdRd0Ock)
![Radio data and X-rays from the quasar H1821+643](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/03/h1821.jpg?h=97102f31&itok=E2PNkpne)
![View of IceCube Neutrino Observatory at twilight](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/03/icltwilight_ngc1068_psn.jpg?h=1090211e&itok=EJc-7GQD)
![Zhen Bi stands on dock with ocean behind](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/03/zhenbi_43v1.jpg?h=29234840&itok=gP3apByv)
![Architect's rendering of Physics Building](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/2024-0212_revision-to-psu-physics_2_ext-se.jpg?h=58a81f7d&itok=M2f1ss3I)
Plan to renovate Osmond Laboratory advances
February 15, 2024
![Fodor wearing blue shirt](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/fodor_zoltan-1_43.jpg?h=84071268&itok=sGLBDMoi)
Penn State physicist Zoltan Fodor named distinguished professor
February 14, 2024
![several diagrams and plots](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/figure-jan-22-chang-01_43.jpg?h=790ee065&itok=tLl8JiNz)
![Undergraduates Unnati Akhouri and Quynh Nhu Le, featured speakers at the 2024 ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/01/envision2024.png?h=08b866d1&itok=t2B1wwmM)
![Stylized "30" with text reading Ashtekar Frontiers of Science](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/01/afos_press.jpg?h=e4fe0964&itok=Ye8UnEVU)
![Jainendra Jain](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/jainendrajain.jpg?h=88ab1938&itok=oTedKbfD)
Jain selected as holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Physics
November 27, 2023
![Anna Stasto, Chaoxing Liu and Adri van Duin](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/apa_2023.jpg?h=7255827b&itok=qnXIW6_m)
![Nitin Samarth in front of metal equipment](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/10/nitin_samarth_43lr.jpg?h=fb8348c6&itok=xBrAD7yO)
![three diagrams with current arrows in different directions](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/10/chang_qahinsulator_switch.jpg?h=502e75fa&itok=dK3ZVYSr)
![Promotion & Tenure 2023](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/10/img_3368_0.jpeg?h=65dcccdb&itok=KopJh8m_)
![Nitin Samarth in front of metal equipment](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/10/nitin_samarth_43lr.jpg?h=fb8348c6&itok=xBrAD7yO)
Samarth named Verne M. Willaman Professor of Physics
October 05, 2023
![Artist's impression of neutrino emission from Milky Way over IceCube Lab](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/06/icl_gp_neutrinos_psn.jpg?h=96a96008&itok=fH1Hrv1_)
![PA Space Grant](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/06/nasa-space-grant.jpg?h=342db57d&itok=UXfCYD-2)
![Penn State graduate student Yuan Le in physics lab](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/05/yuan-image_edited_sm.jpg?h=96a96008&itok=USbjwrT2)
![Old Main bell tower with a leafy branch to the left](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/05/old-main-summer-justified-right.jpg?h=201717c3&itok=RKjGKOiX)
![Cody Messick](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/04/cody-messick-web.jpg?h=707772c7&itok=ZzBkoQEZ)
![structure of Cbf1 interacting with DNA and histones](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/04/thumbnail_cbf1-nucleosome_43.jpg?h=4da5062b&itok=oqfi1Lec)
![Mauricio Terrones](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/03/terrones_psn.jpg?h=6dade3ba&itok=47RWDo6b)
![Portraits of Abhay Ashtekar, George Andrews and James Kasting](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/Ashtekar_Andrews_Kasting_0.jpg?h=dff1bc88&itok=B4g2U-dx)
Three Penn State faculty members named inaugural Atherton Professors
February 23, 2023
![Niel Brandt](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/Brandt_PSN.jpg?h=a3ba2e73&itok=7C_EKe8B)
![winners of the 2022 climate and diversity awards with dean and donors](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/DeansClimate%26DiversityAwards2023-44_LR.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=JEHhPIWm)
![Sankar Das Sarma](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/01/DasSarma%202.jpg?h=c81b39f6&itok=AqNPnAoG)
![Katie Mack in business suit](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/01/JKe-lXFN.jpeg?h=d1cb525d&itok=ojhEcxyv)
![Scematic of waveguides through glass (left) and measured light intensity showing fractionalization (right)](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/01/Rechtman_SolitonsFQHE.png?h=19ad3fdd&itok=A25zysi0)
Emergent behavior observed in self-interacting light
January 17, 2023
![Junyu Zhang in front of Old Main steps](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/12/Junyu%20Zhang.jpg?h=dab30fcb&itok=CUPm_iGr)
![Kyle Lynn, wearing gloves and goggles, works in the lab](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/KyleLinnLaserLabOct22-1_LR.jpg?h=7d37a0ee&itok=XdJ7T3v_)
Penn State undergraduate views the world through the lens of physics
December 12, 2022
![Hubble image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1068.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/galaxy_NGC1068.jpg.jpeg?h=70c8bc7d&itok=zFY5IVhc)
![several graphs with curves and illustrations of superconductivity](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/10/cuizu1-43.jpg?h=f439ad15&itok=lkOXPVZa)
![three headshots: Nelson, Mostafa, and Zarzar](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/10/mentoringawards-43.jpg?h=90538247&itok=8qUTNt9J)
![Radu Roiban and Zoltan Fodor](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/10/Roiban_Fodor_PSNews.jpg?h=f477311e&itok=mlDmno0m)
![dish of mayonnaise fades into splotches of colorful particles](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/10/mayothresholds3-43.jpg?h=a1a94a7a&itok=haHAByH4)
Some everyday materials have memories, and now they can be erased
October 05, 2022
![front-view of the International Space Station](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/09/ISS4-3_0.jpeg?h=3eeac4f9&itok=phtheDvt)
New space station experiment TIGERISS will probe origins of elements
September 08, 2022
![Illustration of STAR-X spacecraft in space, a black background filled with stars.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/08/STARX_illustration_0.png?h=469c9c4c&itok=Zt8qW1kj)
NASA selects STAR-X for $3M mission concept study
August 29, 2022
![LZ detector in sealed room while person in cleanroom suit walks by](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/07/3---LZ_TPC_under_construction_43LR.jpg?h=08b866d1&itok=lVz_dkYt)
Dark matter detector completes startup operations
July 07, 2022
![Mauricio Terrones](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/Terrones2011.jpg?h=b5ab7c6f&itok=4FDLQXvg)
![placeholder image](/news/static/fallback-8980cf856bdab01efc8dcf95c2158b37.jpg)
![illustration of kilonova](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/03/h-871-GW170817_kilonova_illT_lrg_LR.jpeg?h=c9a55663&itok=spDWPr1f)
![Scheme of chemically induced chromosomal interaction technique and image of yeast cells showing typical data](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/02/Bai_CICI.jpg?h=89bea731&itok=HEbegb0L)
![David Radice](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/radice.jpg?h=69e90c6d&itok=D3cD82mX)
Radice awarded 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship
February 15, 2022
![Stephanie Wissel](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/stephanie_wissel.jpg?h=c9a55663&itok=EVqEa8qP)
![Chang writing on chalk board](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/Cui-Zu-Chang-2_LR.jpg?h=1ead5095&itok=NEqt3KIX)
![glowing neutron star approaches black hole, with colorful swirl around it](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/20-Rainbow-Swirl-Refracted_LR.jpg?h=8f818b46&itok=EgqfzJRI)
![A schematic picture of hot accretion flows around a supermassive black hole.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/EAbrqahC.jpg?h=cf073c20&itok=xI2GSQKj)
Gamma-rays and neutrinos from mellow supermassive black holes
September 23, 2021
![Graph showing match of expimental data for out-of-equilibrium one-dimensional gases with theory](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/WeissRigol_GenHydro.jpg?h=803526ad&itok=FCw68xE2)
Putting a new theory of many-particle quantum systems to the test
September 02, 2021
![blue blobs representing neutron stars merge, with red dots in the middle](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/thumbnail_NSNS_Quarks.png?h=9e6c9da4&itok=_uf5BlMN)
![Graphic logo of IceCube 10th anniversary](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/IceCube_10thAnniv_Social_FB-CoverPhoto_1640x924.jpg?h=a424cd8f&itok=K9MF6A9e)
![glowing neutron star approaches black hole, with colorful swirl around it](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/20-Rainbow-Swirl-Refracted_LR.jpg?h=8f818b46&itok=EgqfzJRI)
![Cosmic Microwave Background](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/CMB.png?h=bde28bee&itok=9mq8Mc69)
![placeholder image](/news/static/fallback-8980cf856bdab01efc8dcf95c2158b37.jpg)
The muon's magnetic moment fits just fine
April 07, 2021
![placeholder image](/news/static/fallback-8980cf856bdab01efc8dcf95c2158b37.jpg)
Antarctic balloon mission chosen for NASA Pioneers program
February 03, 2021
![Mikael Rechtsman, Randall McEntaffer, Lauren Zarzar](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/RechtsmanMcEntafferZarzar.jpg?h=1f7bee9c&itok=vk205b-8)
![Artist impression of gravitational waves generated by binary neutron stars](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/LIGO%202015.jpg?h=8abcec71&itok=oOm4g4L2)
Q&A with the Penn State LIGO group
November 05, 2020
![This rendering shows the density of matter in the aftermath of two merged neutron stars, resulting in the formation of a black hole.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/neutronstarmerger750px.jpg?h=9e499333&itok=ONFnR0bC)
Penn State a partner in new NSF Physics Frontier Center
September 24, 2020
![illustration of a diverse group of people](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/APSIDEA-illustration.jpg?h=ef2d6e95&itok=iqDcXK2a)
![placeholder image](/news/static/fallback-8980cf856bdab01efc8dcf95c2158b37.jpg)
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