2024 Magazine

Letter from the Chair

I am delighted to start off the latest edition of the Physics Newsletter. The past couple of years have been great, with numerous accomplishments by our students, staff and faculty, which gives all…

The Annual Alpheus W. Smith Lecture

This year’s Alpheus Smith Lecture will feature Anne L’Huillier. L’Huillier, a French native and researcher at Lund University in Sweden, was one of the three…

Pierre Agostini honored with Nobel Prize in Physics

Pierre Agostini, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physics, received the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics at a ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10. Colleagues,…

Ohio State High Energy Nuclear Physics Group

Physicists tend to figure out how a system works by breaking it into smaller components. Usually, the apparent complexity of a large system can be understood in terms of simpler interactions between…

NSF Awards $780K Grants to Ohio State’s Andrew Heckler for STEM Fluency App

Andrew Heckler, well-known specialist in physics education research at The Ohio State University was awarded two grants from The National Science Foundation (NSF) totaling $780,000 to enhance the…

Physicists demonstrate powerful physics phenomenon

In a new breakthrough, researchers have used a novel technique to confirm a previously undetected physics phenomenon that could be used to improve data storage in the next generation of computer…

Departments of Astronomy and Physics receive NASA grants to join Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Mission

Photo credit: NASA Faculty, staff and students in the Departments of Astronomy and Physics will play a large part in NASA’s next large astrophysics mission…

Ohio State to launch quantum MS/PhD program with funding from the National Science Foundation

An interdisciplinary team at The Ohio State University has received $3M from the National Science Foundation to support the launch of a new graduate program in quantum information science and…

How an essential class of proteins can access blocked genes

Genetic information contained within DNA has to be read by specific proteins that enable the process of gene activation to begin – but in many cases, these proteins can’t access their targets because…

Novel quantum entanglement lets researchers spy on atomic nuclei

Nuclear physicists have found a way to peer inside the deepest recesses of atomic nuclei, according to a new study. The finding was made possible using the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at…

Discovering the magic in superconductivity’s ‘magic angle’

Researchers have produced new evidence of how graphene, when twisted to a precise angle, can become a superconductor, moving electricity with no loss of energy.In a study published today (Feb. 15,…

Ohio State establishes Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering

The Ohio State University recently announced it is establishing the Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering (CQISE), building on the momentum around a discipline with far-reaching…

Resolving the black hole ‘fuzzball or wormhole’ debate

Black holes really are giant fuzzballs, a new study says. The study attempts to put to rest the debate over Stephen Hawking’s famous information paradox, the problem created by Hawking’s conclusion…

Physicists Observe ‘Unobservable’ Quantum Phase Transition

Measurement and entanglement both have a “spooky” nonlocal flavor to them. Now physicists, including Brian Skinner in the Department of Physics at Ohio State, are harnessing that nonlocality to probe…

Using Top Quarks to Probe Nature's Secrets

Despite its exceptional success, we know that the standard model (SM) is incomplete. To date, the LHC has not yet found clear indications of physics beyond the SM (BSM), which might mean that the BSM…

Meet Our New Faculty

Welcome to new faculty members Daniel Brandenburg, Jacki Chini, Mike Chini, Geraldine Cochran, Kaeli Hughes, and Pierre Heidmann! Daniel Brandenburg …

Physics graduate students awarded Ohio State Presidential Fellowships

The Presidential Fellowship is the most prestigious award given by the Ohio State Graduate School to recognize the outstanding scholarly accomplishments and potential of graduate students entering…

Students awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowships

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are…

Students receive Goldwater Scholarships

The Goldwater scholarship is awarded annually to about 300 college sophomores and juniors and is based on merit. It provides an award to cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up…

Harrison Blake awarded an Astronaut Scholarship

Congratulations to Harrison Blake, a double major in physics and astronomy and astrophysics, for being awarded an Astronaut Scholarship. Harrison has been…

Physics Summer Research Scholarship awarded to undergraduate students

The Physics Summer Research Scholarship provides funds up to $5,000 to support undergraduate physics and engineering physics majors pursuing research projects…

Ohio State student paves the way in accessibility and inclusion in STEM

As a freshman, Caitlin O’Brien worked with SciAccess on hosting the annual science accessibility conference. Feeling inspired after it ended, she asked: “What…

Polaris program fosters physics student community

This year, new heights were reached for the Polaris program. Run by graduate and undergraduate students in the Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Polaris aims to increase retention of students…

Alumni Profiles

Hear from David Vernier and Steven Richardson about their careers and experiences and why they support the department.

Support the Department

We are proud of the work we do in the Department of Physics and we invite you to help us make it better.Opportunities to GiveThank you for your support of the Department of Physics at Ohio State. If…

Faculty News and Awards

Workshop on Stellar Intensity Interferometry In May 2023, Prof. Mike Lisa and the Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP) hosted the Workshop on Stellar Intensity Interferometry (…