Research, teaching and public engagement in Physics at UW–Madison
Joshua Foster’s long-standing interest in computational tools is, he believes, what led him to research a range of theoretical physics, including dark matter, gravitational waves, and new physics. “What got me interested in studying theoretical physics in particular was the idea that you could study structures or ways of doing calculations that would enable you …
Condensed matter theorist Ben Woods joined the department as an assistant professor this fall. Originally from a small town in North Dakota, Woods studied physics at the University of North Dakota and earned a PhD in physics from West Virginia University. He first came to UW–Madison for a postdoc with Mark Friesen in 2021, and now moves …
Theoretical plasma astrophysicist Vladimir Zhdankin ‘11, PhD ’15, returns to UW–Madison as an assistant professor of physics on January 1, 2024. As a student, Zhdankin worked with Prof. Stas Boldyrev on solar wind turbulence and basic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, which are relevant for near-Earth types of space plasmas. After graduating, Zhdankin began studying plasma astrophysics of more extreme environments. …
Atomic, molecular and optical and quantum theorist Matthew Otten will join the UW–Madison physics department as an assistant professor on January 3, 2024. He joins us most recently from HRL Laboratories. Prior to HRL, Otten earned his PhD from Cornell University, and then was the Maria Goeppert Mayer fellow at Argonne National Laboratory. Please give …
Plasma theorist Rogerio Jorge will join the UW–Madison physics department as an assistant professor on January 1, 2024. He joins us from IST in Lisbon, Portugal, where he is a research professor. Jorge completed his first postdoc at the University of Maryland at College Park, then accepted a Humboldt Fellowship where he worked on the …
When Lake Mendota freezes over in the winter and thaws in the spring, those water/ice phase transitions might seem mundane. But, says new assistant professor of physics Ilya Esterlis, interesting things happen during phase transitions, and commonalities exist between phase transitions of any matter. “That’s very surprising and strange sounding, but it turns out that …
In the modern, cutting-edge field of quantum computing, it can be a bit puzzling to hear a researcher relate their work to low-tech slide rules. Yet that is exactly the analogy that Roman Kuzmin uses to describe one of his research goals, creating quantum simulators to model various materials. He also studies superconducting qubits and …
Cramer, who received his PhD in Physics in 2005 from UW–Madison, will be a faculty member in the Department of Physics in addition to Director of the American Family Data Science Institute This story was originally published by University Communications Kyle Cranmer, a University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnus who played a significant role in the …
University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor Emeritus Willy Haeberli passed away October 4, 2021. He was 96. Born in Zurich, Switzerland on June 17, 1925, Haeberli received his PhD from the University of Basel (Switzerland) in 1952. He joined the faculty of UW–Madison in 1956, retiring in 2005. Haeberli was a world-class experimental nuclear physicist. His research …
The Department of Physics is pleased to announce that Prof. Yang Bai has been promoted to the rank of full professor. “It is my pleasure and honor as Dean to approve Prof. Yang Bai’s promotion to Full Professor. His creativity and impressive breadth in particle physics research make him a leader not only on dark …