The 2017 Solar Eclipse As Observed from the Rooftop of Fronczak Hall
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Interactions The Newsletter of the UB Department of Physics, 2017-18 The 2017 solar eclipse as observed from the rooftop of Fronczak Hall Alok Mukherjee, PhD student Condensed Matter Experiment CHAIR’S LETTER | HONG LUO ear alumni and friends, graduate and undergraduate students, to put together videos of various I hope you had another great in addition to funds dedicated to cutting- departments. They piloted the program D year since I last wrote to you. edge research. More details can be with Physics, not entirely a surprise to It has been a rewarding year for us here found on page four. We were so pleased us. It is very rewarding to get a glimpse in the department. I am very excited that Om and Saraswati could visit the of student accomplishments with the to tell you that our undergraduates department a little earlier in October, a guidance of faculty members. You can continue to amaze us. One of them, Anne homecoming for them after more than view this video at: Fortman, became our newest Goldwater forty years, and an inspiration for our https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/physics/ Scholar. It is rewarding to see that this faculty and students. We are also very about/physics-ub.html once illusive scholarship has become a grateful to Dr. Ashok Kaveeshwar, a regular scholarship for our majors. The long-time staunch supporter of UB, who Two new faculty members joined us quality and hard work of the students allocated 100% of his generous annual this year, Prof. Priya Banerjee from UC and the dedication of faculty mentors CAS contribution to the department San Diego, working in biophysics, and made it almost an annual scholarship, this year. Instructional Assistant Prof. Landon although it is usually no more than Lehman, who is responsible for three for a university, including the I am also very happy to tell you that instruction of lecture and lab courses. most elite institutions. Anne came to UB one of our junior faculty members, Both have made their presence felt in a as a chemistry major with a chemistry Prof. Ciaran Williams, received the very short period of time and we all wish departmental scholarship. After one prestigious NSF CAREER award. He is them great success in the future. year at UB taking some physics classes, the ninth winner in the department, Anne expressed her interest in joining keeping us first in CAS by a large margin. Our former colleague Prof. Jan Per us to Prof. Rappoccio, who later became Roalsvig passed away on Aug. 16, 2017. her research mentor. The department The department went through its I overlapped with him very briefly, and did not have a similar scholarship, but comprehensive review earlier in April, he was a very gentle and kind colleague. managed to put enough resources which takes place every six or seven To honor his great service of 35 years together to match the chemistry years. It involves a self-study of the to UB and the wish of his wife Myrth, scholarship. She is now a senior, department, and a team of external many made donations to the department, maintains a 4.0 GPA, is one of the experts spending two days interacting including a very generous donation CAS Ambassadors, jointly gave a with faculty, staff and students to see from Myrth, to be used to support our departmental seminar with another where the department is and where graduate students. student, and has one paper in it should go in the future. While the preparation. department typically has some level Stay in touch and share things at work of preparation for such a review, it and in life with us! One great development was clear after the self-study that the last year was the faculty, staff and students made great Best regards, very generous strides during the review period and we contribution decided to have an impromptu review. from our alum It was a very successful review, with Dr. Om Bahethi both the reviewers and the university and his wife administrations at all levels recognizing Hong Luo, Chair Saraswati Bahethi. the outstanding achievements of the Professor of Physics It was used for six department, in addition to providing scholarships to our very insightful input for both the very deserving department and UB administration for further growth. As a part of the effort to promote CAS undergraduate programs, and educating students and the public, CAS decided 2 2017-18 Interactions TABLE OF CONTENTS WEBSITE In this Issue: http://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/physics. html ›› Letter from the Chair 2 › Hong Luo CONTACT Comments about the newsletter, or 4-6 ›› Alumni News information about yourself for our › Om and Saraswati Bahethi Foundation Alumni News section, may be sent to U.S.A. supports students and research Tracy Gasinski via email: › Felicia S. Manciu [email protected] or mailed to: Department of Physics 7 ›› Faculty News University at Buffalo 239 Fronczak Hall 8-9 ›› Research News Buffalo, NY 14260 › Stimulating specific neurons deep in the brain using magnetic fields › Speeding up GW calculations to meet the challenge of large scale quasiparticle predictions › Using a ferromagnet to enhance “valley splitting” in 2D semiconductors EDITING STAFF 10-11 ›› Faculty and Student Awards Editors: Prof. Doreen Wackeroth and Nicole Pannullo 12-15 ›› Department Events and Outreach Editorial Assistant: Tracy Gasinski › 2017 Rustgi Memorial Lecture Design and Production: › The New York State Section of the Gina Cali-Misterkiewicz American Physical Society held at UB Elin Hawkinson › BOOST 2017 Renee Ruffino › Buffalo March for Science Pierce Strudler › Eclipse viewing on Fronczak Hall’s rooftop › Science and Art Cabaret keeps going strong GIVE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS STAY CONNECTED - You will always be a part of UB and we want you to Thank you for your support of the stay connected and get involved by: Department of Physics! With the support of alumni and friends, • Attending alumni events and programs we can access vital resources to • Becoming a Regional Network Leader enhance our department and • Helping build a strong network of alumni in your region provide support for students, • Mentoring UB students research projects and programs. • Attending career events with students We are grateful for your • Recruiting prospective students as a UB Admissions Ambassador generosity. • Connecting with an alumni chapter in your area • Giving to UB and making an impact on students You can support your department • Following UB and the College of Arts and Sciences on social media and help to provide for our students by making a gift online: https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/ TO GET INVOLVED, please visit http://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/ physics/make-a-gift.html alumni/get-involved.html or email [email protected] Interactions 2017-18 3 ALUMNI NEWS Om and Saraswati Bahethi Foundation U.S.A. supports students and research at the Department of Physics Hong Luo, PhD, and Xuedong Hu, PhD ›› In 1967, Om Bahethi came to the U.S. from India to pursue a PhD in physics at UB. He had seven dollars in his pocket, as he recalled. He was two months late for his teaching assistant position, but was able to receive the assistantship and start his graduate studies. He was the first student of Prof. Emeritus Michael Fuda. Upon successful completion Dr. Om Bahethi and his wife, Sarswati Bahethi, with Professor Arnd Pralle (second from right) and Associate Vice Presi- of his PhD, he started his career in dent for Individual and Planned Giving, Wendy Irving (right), share a laugh at their visit to the UB Physics Department. industry. He and his wife, Saraswati Photo: Hong Luo Bahethi, co-founded Science Systems and Applications, Inc. in 1977 and Dr. Bahethi During his first year in the Master’s Rahul Munshi is a PhD student has been its Chairman of the Board. Dr. program, Zhao studied diligently, solved working in Prof. Pralle’s group on Bahethi served as President of Science problems independently and got an experimental biophysics, with a research Systems and Applications, Inc. until excellent GPA of 3.875, the highest among focus on behavioral modification by June 15, 2016. He has provided hands-on all MS students over the past few years. magnetothermal modulation of neurons. direction for support services on NASA, Zhao has not only focused on courses, but Rahul did his undergraduate study at and NOAA contracts for scientific R&D, worked hard to find his research interest. the Indian Institute of Technology, and satellite remote sensing and retrieval In fall 2017, he joined Prof. Peihong had research experience in theoretical of physical parameters. Through the Zhang’s research group for his Master’s and experimental optics. He did an Om and Saraswati Bahethi Foundation project, and will study first-principle internship project at the Indian Institute U.S.A. (OSBFUSA), the Bahethis made simulation of materials. With a solid of Astrophysics, and designed a far- an extremely generous donation to the foundation of knowledge and an intense ultraviolet spectrograph for a satellite department for undergraduate and enthusiasm for research, Zhao plans based observatory for monitoring graduate scholarships and cutting edge to pursue a PhD degree in the area of nascent galaxies. His excellent research for the first round. Future plans Computational Physics in the future. performance earned him a Presidential are currently being made so that more Fellowship when he came to UB for students can benefit from their help. Changliang Zhu entered the Physics his graduate studies in 2012. At UB, he Master’s program in the fall of 2016. He joined Prof. Pralle’s biophysics lab, with We have two winners for the OSBFUSA studied hard and achieved an impressive an initial research focus on optically Scholarship for Master’s students GPA of 3.834.