Fall 2012 @ BERKELEY INSIDE Excitement at the Large Hadron Collider—A Behind the Scenes Report First Measurements of AntiHydrogen Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in Diamond Topological Insulators—The New Superstars of Condensed Matter Physics Alumni News and more! Cover: Clockwise from top left: evidence of Higgs events at the Large Hadron Collider (page 4); Physics at Berkeley 2012 nitrogen vacancy centers in a Published annually by the diamond lattice (page 10); Department of Physics theorist Joel Moore discusses Frances Hellman: Chair topological insulators (page 12); Claudia Lopez: Director anti-hydrogen trap (page 8). Carol Dudley: Assistant Director Maria Hjelm: Development Officer Devi Mathieu: Editor, Senior Writer Tom Colton: Photography Meg Coughlin: Design Department of Physics 366 Le Conte Hall #7300 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720-7300 Copyright 2012 by The Regents of the University of California FEATURES Table of Contents 4 Excitement Reigns at the Large Hadron Collider A behind-the-scenes report from Berkeley physicists on observations of the Higgs boson and the continuing search for new physics Experimental particle physicist Beate Heinemann shares details about her role in the ATLAS project at CERN. 8 First Measurements of AntiHydrogen Berkeley physicists catch, trap, and probe anti-atoms Experimental physicist Joel Fajans and theoretical physicist Jonathan Wurtele help lead CERN’s ALPHA project into new frontiers of research with antimatter. 10 Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in Diamond Flaws in diamond crystals spark a new revolution in physics and technology Physicist Dmitry Budker’s research group explores new roles for diamond in atomic physics research and in development of high-precision nanoscale sensors. 12 Topological Insulators The New Superstars of Condensed Matter Physics Theoretical physicist Joel Moore marries math and physics to discover an entirely new class of materials. DEPARTMENTS 2 Notes from the Chair 15 Department News 28 In Memory 31 Physics in the Media 35 Undergraduate Affairs 38 Graduate Affairs 44 Alumni Affairs NOTES FROM THE CHAIR October 25, 2012 DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS, It is hard to believe, but this is my spaces, research-driven centers and institutes, resulting in sixth year as Chair of this amazing ground-breaking discoveries. Over the next decade, we department. This newsletter will envision growth in three research areas: Physics of the describe remarkable events from the Universe, Quantum Scale Physics, and Biophysics, and some past year, including another Nobel key improvements in our undergraduate and graduate Prize, the likely discovery of the programs. Higgs Boson, and other awards and Physics of the Universe encompasses cosmology, FRANCES HELLMAN scientific breakthroughs. particle physics, nuclear physics, and astrophysics, where In this letter, I want to tell you about the just-com- some of the most exciting physics is occurring at the pleted once-a-decade Academic Program Review (APR). boundaries between these sub-fields. This field, exempli- Physics faculty, students (both undergraduate and graduate) fied by the discoveries of not-yet understood dark matter, and staff devoted much energy and time over two years to dark energy, and neutrino oscillations, the search for and this strategic planning exercise, which culminated in a possible discovery of the Higgs boson, gravitational waves, 423 page self-study document (!) and a review by a very and for physics beyond the Standard Model, is concerned distinguished external committee. This exercise allowed with measuring and understanding the evolution of the us to consider our strengths and our weaknesses and to Universe, and the laws that govern fundamental particles create a strategic plan for the next 10 years. I am delighted and their interactions. One of our newest hires, for example, to share with you some of the findings. Gabriel Orebi Gann, does research on neutrino physics and The Department is arguably stronger than it has been dark matter searches. The science listed above represents in decades. The National Research Council (NRC) tied the exciting research areas where we will be looking for Berkeley with Harvard as the top Physics programs in the new faculty. country. Three Nobel Prizes have been awarded to faculty Physics at the Quantum Scale describes phenomena and alums in 7 years, we have hired great young faculty that emerge from the interactions of electrons, nuclei, and who have been recognized with top young faculty prizes, photons, forming the basis of both condensed matter and and our student group Compass won a 2012 American AMO (atomic, molecular, and optical) physics, and the Physical Society Award for Improving Undergraduate increasing areas of overlap between these fields. There are Physics Education. We have made tremendous strides in direct connections to applications including energy storage the areas of faculty hiring, infrastructure improvements, and harvesting, information technology, and sensors. One leveraging on- and off-campus partnerships, and fund rais- of Berkeley’s greatest strengths in this sub-field is the close ing. Quoting from the external review committee: “In the connection between experimentalists and theorists, and eight to nine years since the previous external review, the across the different departments and institutes on campus Physics Department has renewed itself with strong support and LBNL. Our most recent faculty hire, James Analytis, from the University. Today, it ranks as one of the best, possi- fills in a key missing component: design, synthesis, and bly even the top Physics Department in the world, with understanding of quantum materials. Future hires are strength and vitality across a broad range of physics sub- similarly anticipated to broaden and strengthen the fields.” Department, leading to breakthroughs in our understand- The Department is poised at a unique time in its ing of quantum matter and creating new technologies. history. Several subfields of physics are entering particularly UC Berkeley is also a powerhouse in Biosciences, and exciting eras of discovery, at a time when the Department Biophysics is a key component. The Department’s tradi- will be hiring many new faculty. The goal is that this tional strength in molecular biophysics, with a single fac- department should be the best place in the world to work ulty member in neuroscience, will grow in the areas of and study for the best students, post-docs, and faculty. It cellular and systems biophysics, starting with our most should be known as a place where colleagues welcome recent hire, an evolutionary biophysicist, Oskar students and collaborators into their labs and their offices, Hallatschek, who starts in 2013. with time to discuss common research interests and ideas. Our undergraduate and graduate programs also were Collaborations, both within the department and between closely examined in the APR self-study. Despite our top disciplines, will flourish as a result of new interaction ranking in the NRC assessment, there are still several 2 PHYSICS AT BERKELEY/FALL 2012 graduate student issues we identified and will be address- I conclude this letter with a grand picture of where ing. Our undergraduate program is also one of the best; we would like to be in ten years. The next decade will be we annually award 75-90 Bachelor’s degrees, the highest one of growth: strengthening some existing structures in the nation. Approximately half of our undergraduates and creating new ones; cultivating an atmosphere of get involved in research and continue to graduate school collaboration; building new labs and new interaction in physics or related disciplines. A significant fraction spaces to support the research and teaching that lead to of the others get jobs in industry, and the rest take other ground-breaking discoveries in our understanding of the career paths. Our goal is to support all of these students. Universe and its components; training and mentoring of We recently completed a significant study of the goals of the the next generation of students; and communication of major, working with campus on the Undergraduate Student physics to the public. Learning Initiative, and are part way through a major Our vision includes: revamp and infrastructure upgrade of our capstone class, ■ the newly envisioned Berkeley Particle Physics Center Physics 111 Advanced Lab (page 36). We prioritized several (page 7), which forms the third leg of a “tripod” whose areas for further study and improvement. other legs are the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics Along with most of the country, we also recognize and the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics. Along the need to address issues of diversity in the faculty, grad- with faculty and colleagues in Astronomy, Space Sciences uate, and undergraduate populations in physics; our goal Lab and LBNL, these centers will create an overarching is to create a welcoming environment for all genders, eth- Institute for the Study of the Physics of the Universe that nicities, and sexual orientations, and to improve the rep- enables shared research goals and infrastructure. resentation of under-represented minorities in Physics by ■ the creation of a cross-campus Institute for Science and encouraging applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply Engineering at the Quantum Scale, with funds to to Berkeley and by creating a welcoming environment support seed projects that lead the way to future science which supports all of our students and faculty. Finally,