Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University

2012 Johns Hopkins University 2012 Physics && Astronomy Letter from the Chair

Dear alumni, colleagues, and friends, ne of the striking things about physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins is the broad range of scholarship and research pursued by the members of our department. We have condensed matter physicists examining Oquantum phenomena in solids and pursuing microscopic understanding of familiar phenomena, such as friction; we have theorists researching large-scale structures and the early history of the universe; we have particle physicists leading the charge to analyze On the cover: Created by Johns Hopkins research scientist Miguel the exciting findings from the Large Hadron Collider; we have astronomers locating Aragón-Calvo, the image is part of a larger computer-generated what could be the most distant galaxy ever seen; we have a team of astrophysicists and illustration that depicts streams of matter delineating a network of cosmic voids, each tens of millions of light years across. This particular engineers developing instrumentation that will enable unprecedented new studies of section shows how most matter in the universe is located in a complex cosmology and galactic evolution; and we have faculty leading a space mission science network of walls, filaments, and clusters. We see the individual voids as membranes, each designated with a different color. team, which produced the three most highly cited scientific papers in the world. That’s just a snapshot of the research being conducted in the department, but it illustrates This page: The streams in this figure illustrate the close relation the diverse expertise of our faculty and researchers. This issue of Physics & Astronomy provides between the geometry and the dynamics of the cosmic web as TABLE OF CONTENTS matter moves from under-dense voids onto increasingly dense an overview of some of the impressive endeavors our faculty and students have engaged in walls, filaments, and clusters. Letter from the Chair 1 during the past year.

Exploring Galaxies, Millions at a Time 2 Aragón-Calvo’s poster, made in conjunction with Julieta Aguilera On a sadder note, the department continues to mourn the loss of Professor Zlatko and Mark SubbaRao PhD ’97 from the Adler Planetarium, was The Slippery Physics of Friction 4 Tesanovic, who died suddenly in July of an apparent heart attack. Many of his colleagues, awarded first place in the informational graphics category in Research of Theorist Mark Kamionkowski 6 friends, students, and former students gathered in the Bloomberg Center in November for the 2011 NSF International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge. Aragón-Calvo is part of Johns Hopkins Institute for Research Briefs 8 a touching tribute to this extraordinary man. In March 2013, we will host some of Zlatko’s Data Intensive Engineering and Science, aimed at developing People 11 colleagues from around the world for the Zlatko Tesanovic Memorial Symposium. A number new ways of building and analyzing huge data sets. of distinguished speakers will give presentations, and we will highlight Zlatko’s scientific accomplishments. A confident, esteemed academic; a gifted teacher; and a brilliant physicist, Physics and Astronomy is an annual publication of the Johns Hopkins University Zanvyl Krieger School Zlatko will be deeply missed. You can read more about his work and life on page 12. of Arts and Sciences Department of Physics and Astronomy. Send correspondence to: Kate Pipkin, I hope these pages reflect the energy and enthusiasm that is so inherent in our department. 3400 N. Charles Street, Wyman 500W, Baltimore, Every day I witness in our faculty and students a drive to question and learn, to teach and MD 21218 or [email protected]. experience, and to explore and discover. Editor Thank you for your interest in and support of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins. Kate Pipkin

Managing Editor Best, Ian Mathias

Photography See a detailed view of this poster on the web at zoom.it/Boj2 James T. VanRensselaer and Will Kirk, Daniel Reich, Chair Homewood Photography (unless otherwise noted) The Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 1 The world’s largest, most powerful spectrograph could yield a revolution in astrophysics. Exploring Galaxies, Millions at a Time By Ian Mathias

Photo courtesy of SUbaru telescope, NAOj

hat is the shape of the dreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. astronomical instruments,” says Timothy and the PFS will contribute to it,” continues Heckman predicts. “We’re looking to surpass significant multi-object capacity will yield universe? How do galaxies These spectra are collected using telescopes Heckman, the A. Hermann Pfund Professor Ménard. “This is the emergence of a field we our ground-breaking SLOAN Digital Sky the best data set ever recorded of the motions form and evolve? What is equipped with spectrographs. However, spec- of Physics and Astronomy. “The Japanese could call ‘astrostatistics.’” Survey in slices of time, and in each redshift and positions of the old stars in the Milky the nature of dark energy tral lines from very distant objects are faint government’s decision to grant us such a Ménard will work on the PFS cosmology slice, look at hundreds of thousands of Way, which can help answer some of the and dark matter? Many and difficult to measure; it takes a very large large role in the PFS project is, in part, a team—one of three teams (the other two galaxies at once. We’ll essentially be making fundamental questions of our galactic origin. Wcomplex, multi-year experiments attempt telescope equipped with a sophisticated testament to the excellence of our Instru- will focus on galactic evolution and galactic a movie of how galaxies have evolved using “And the more we understand about the to answer just a fraction of one such query, spectrograph to garner useful data quickly. ment Development Group.” archaeology). Cosmologists will use the PFS the Subaru telescope as a time machine to formation and merging history of the Milky yet every so often an opportunity arises to To advance this study—to better answer our The instrument will reside within the to take a census of galaxies, Way Galaxy,” says Wyse, “the more we answer several of these fundamental Subaru telescope, a facility operated by utilizing their redshifts will understand about the nature of human questions all at once. Such an the National Astronomical Observatory to identify trends in their “This is the most exciting thing dark matter,” which provides the grav- opportunity has arrived, in the form of “We will be able to observe of Japan at the Mauna Kea Observato- movement in relation to ity that holds stars and gas together in an instrument called the Prime Focus ries in Hawaii. Hitoshi Murayama, of one another over time, happening in astronomy. It’s galaxies while giving off no light at all. Spectrograph (PFS). The PFS is cur- about a million galaxies.” the Kavli Institute for the Physics and thus gaining further insight one of those ‘holy grail’ studies “There are increasing tensions between rently being built in part by the Johns Mathematics of the Universe, spear- into the nature of the dark the outcomes of cold dark matter —Brice Ménard, Assistant Professor Hopkins Department of Physics and headed the proposal to build the PFS energy that pushes them of our cosmic origins.” simulations on the scales of individual Astronomy, and once constructed, JHU and is the project’s principal investiga- apart. A more advanced galaxies and the actual observations will be one of just three institutions in tor. (A truly international affair, the understanding of the —Timothy Heckman, Professor we’ve made from smaller data sets in the U.S. that will have access to it. fundamental questions about the universe— PFS will be used by astronomers at Japanese, geometry of the universe the past.” The PFS at Subaru, Wyse Though construction of the PFS be- as Roy Scheider famously uttered in Jaws, U.S., French, and Brazilian institutions.) is also expected to be a key says, will likely provide the definitive gan this year, the spectroscopic study of “you’re gonna need a bigger boat.” The seventh largest optical telescope in outcome of this study, furthering Hopkins see the progenitors of the Milky Way.” data set that will compel the astronomy the universe has been happening since Enter the PFS and the team of Johns the world, the Subaru has an aperture of 8.2 researchers’ drive to provide more accurate The PFS will enable an examination of community to embrace or abandon exist- at least 1929. That was the year Edwin Hopkins astrophysicists and engineers who meters. Such a powerful telescope, when measurements of the universe’s curvature, the earliest development of our Milky Way ing theories on the nature of dark matter. Hubble discovered that distant galaxies are helping to design, construct, and combined with the PFS, will enable an whether it continues to appear Euclidean Galaxy by conducting large surveys of its PFS could likely revolutionize the are moving away from the Milky Way, ultimately employ it. In January 2012, Johns unprecedented survey of cosmological or if small deviations begin to appear. oldest stars—a study called “galactic understanding of a variety of fundamental and hence, that the universe is expand- Hopkins was named one of the U.S. spectra—as many as 2,400 galaxies simulta- Heckman and Assistant Professor Nadia archaeology.” “We’re going to look at as astronomical studies, and it will take roughly ing. As objects in space move away from universities—along with Princeton Univer- neously. “It is an extremely powerful Zakamska will lead the department’s study of many stars in our own galaxy as we can,” a decade of work to get there. Hopkins’ role our galaxy, their emission spectra are sity and the California Institute of Technol- instrument,” says Assistant Professor Brice galactic evolution with the PFS. “We know a explains Professor Rosemary Wyse, who will in the project was approved in early 2012, displaced toward longer wavelengths. The ogy—that will build and use the PFS. The Ménard, one of five JHU faculty members lot about the contemporary universe, but we lead Hopkins’ study of galactic archaeology the PFS will be in service by 2017, and data faster the galaxy is receding, the redder task of designing and building the PFS lies who will conduct research using PFS. “We need to understand more about how we got at the PFS. “This spectrograph will give us a collection will be complete by 2022—with its spectral lines shift. Thus the recession partly in the hands of Stephen Smee, will be able to observe about a million to this point,” Heckman says. Heckman and much better understanding of the chemical members of the department closely involved speed is measured by the “redshift.” engineering manager, and his team in the galaxies.” To a certain extent, the PFS is all Zakamska will use the PFS to deepen the abundances of the old stars, how they are from start to finish. “This is the most Hubble’s discovery enabled astronomers JHU Instrument Development Group. about sheer volume—taking in as much data understanding of how galaxies and black moving, and provide insight into the exciting thing happening in astronomy,” says to correlate galactic distance and redshift by “They are one of the preeminent groups in as possible from as many galaxies as possible. holes have changed over the history of the merging history that led our galaxy to be Heckman. “It’s one of those ‘holy grail’ analyzing the shifting spectra of the hun- the country in terms of building precision “We are now in an era of data-driven science, universe. “I think this will be revolutionary,” what it is today.” Wyse believes the PFS’s studies of our cosmic origins.”

2 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 3 “In the simulations, we put millions of atoms or molecules in a virtual space designed to mimic the situations in experiments on friction or other phenomena.”

—Mark Robbins, Professor

Simulation image, above, courtesy Mark Robbins

a remarkably simple equation allows us to predict the ratio.” The model also predicts a Using Physics to Help Protect the Military simple linear rise in electrical conductivity, stiffness and other contact properties with load. The latest research asks what makes Robbins has brought his experience in bridging the gaps between atomic surfaces sticky. A simple criterion explains why geckos and tape can break friction and macroscopic scales to the new Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute laws while a book or coffee cup does not. (HEMI). Housed in JHU’s Whiting School of Engineering, HEMI is headed by Understanding the friction per unit area in regions where atoms on opposing surfaces K. T. Ramesh, the Alonzo G. Decker, Jr. Professor of Science and Engineering. make contact has proved much harder. Its first project was launched in April 2012 with up to $90 million in funding Robbins has been one of the pioneers in studying how friction operates at nanometer over 10 years from the U.S. Army. scales. Surprising behavior is observed with Robbins is part of that project, a collaborative endeavor called Materials solids flowing like fluids and fluids acting like solids. Indeed, friction almost always in Extreme Dynamic Environments, which is a major component of President vanishes between two clean surfaces, in sharp contrast to our experience with macroscopic Obama’s Materials Genome Initiative. He and his colleagues are conducting The Slippery Physics of Friction objects. The resolution to this contradic- fundamental research into protective materials, developing new predictive tory behavior may lie in the ultra-thin layer Professor Mark Robbins uses high-tech modeling and data-intensive of water molecules and hydrocarbons that models for how well they will absorb energy in an attack. cover any surface not kept in a vacuum. “We want to understand and predict how every aspect of material computing to explore friction’s complex origins. “The water and the hydrocarbons in this monolayer of dirt aren’t strongly bound,” structure from atomic bonds to macroscopic shape affects the behavior of Robbins says. “We found that this gives riction pervades every aspect of the fact the surfaces are rough on scales them the flexibility to move to favorable materials at high strain rates,” Robbins says. “The central vision of the Materials daily life from brushing one’s that range from atomic-level features to sites between the two surfaces and lock Genome Initiative is that this type of capability will revolutionize the develop- By Michael Purdy teeth to walking to controlling a irregularities that are millimeters in size,” them together—like sand between two computer with a mouse. It wears says Professor Mark Robbins. “They are macroscopic surfaces. This simple idea ment of future materials.” out our shoes and wastes energy fractal in nature, with bumps on top explains a growing number of experi- inF our car engines, but we rely on it when of bumps on top of bumps, and when ments on atomic to macroscopic scales.” we apply the brakes. One would think that we study friction, we press two of these Robbins loves uncovering baffling myster- such a familiar phenomenon would be bumpy surfaces together, like bringing the ies like this that underlie everyday phenom- At Johns Hopkins, Robbins is a key duties for a year. He is pursuing research well understood, but the origins of friction Alps down on top of the Himalayas.” ena. He uses computer simulations as virtual player in high-performance computing for projects developed during a three-month have puzzled researchers for centuries. Since the 1950s, scientists have known experiments to develop and test theories. research. He is chair of the committee that workshop he organized last spring on “The Introductory physics classes teach that the area where rough surfaces touched “In the simulations, we put millions runs the Homewood High Performance Physical Principles of Multi-Scale Model- what Leonardo da Vinci and Guillaume was a small fraction of the total area where of atoms or molecules in a virtual space Computing Cluster, which includes over ing.” The goal of the workshop, held at the Above: Mark Robbins explains that the blue Amontons determined in their early their surfaces overlap. To explain why fric- designed to mimic the situations in experi- 400 computer nodes with more than 4,000 Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, was regions in the figure on the left screen show investigations of friction: that the amount tion is typically proportional to load, they ments on friction or other phenomena,” processing cores. The cluster is a shared to develop models for physical processes that the fractal geometry of contacts between of friction is independent of surface area made two assumptions: That the contact area he explains. “We watch them to see what facility used by many JHU researchers and bring together different scales of analysis and proportional to the force pushing the between surfaces grew linearly as the load on rough surfaces. The screen on the right shows they do, and then we try to construct is part of the Institute for Data Intensive and different types of physics. “Friction is surfaces together, which is called the load. the surfaces increased, and that there was a simple analytical models that explain how a great example of this challenge,” Robbins how subtle changes in the atomic structure Engineering and Science at Hopkins, a These deceptively simple “laws” work in constant friction force per unit area. Testing atoms determine the behavior of macro- says. “You can’t just look at the proper- of surfaces lead to qualitative changes in center dedicated to bringing together data- many cases, but familiar “lawbreakers” these assumptions has remained a challenge. scopic objects.” Other research projects have intensive research from different depart- ties and behavior of atoms, and you can’t local forces, including friction. include tape, putty, insects, and the geckos “Our research group has been able to examined how adhesives work, why plastics ments for cross-disciplinary collaboration. ignore roughness on millimeter scales. A featured in TV ads. All rely on friction do the first large numerical calculations are hard to break, why raindrops don’t slide Robbins, a faculty member since 1986, revolution in techniques for bridging these without any load to stay on vertical walls. of the contact area between fractal sur- down window panes and how it’s pos- was also recently awarded a prestigious scales promises to transform the way we “Many of the challenges of describing faces,” Robbins says. “Despite the complex sible to drink through a straw, which fluid Simons Fellowship in Physics, which allows approach physical systems and the com- friction between two surfaces stem from geometry, area is proportional to load and mechanics says should take infinite energy. him to set aside teaching and administrative plexity of the problems we can solve.”

4 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 5 Research of Theorist Marc Kamionkowski Spans Many Fields By GABRIEL POPKIN

s Marc Kamionkowski a particle physi- sooner than anyone expected. “We thought that the particle’s mass should be accessible cist, an astrophysicist, or a cosmologist? it would take several decades for this experi- by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). His “I’m a theorist,” says Kamionkowski. ment to be carried out,” says Kamionkowski. more recent work has helped guide particle In the 2011-12 academic year, his first Beyond confirming that the universe is collider, cosmic ray, and neutrino experi- at Johns Hopkins, he has published flat (Euclidean) to an order of magnitude of mentalists in looking for the signatures of papersI on gravitational waves, cosmic accel- greater precision than before, WMAP pro- these thus-far unobserved particles. eration, dark matter, and particle decay—a vided strong support for previous observa- Unsurprisingly, the searches for dark remarkable discipline-bridging assortment of tions made of distant supernovae, which had matter and supersymmetry are among the research. “When you’re a theorist in physics, shown that the expansion of the universe is hottest topics in particle physics today, and you can jump around to different areas. You accelerating. More broadly, WMAP is cred- many believe the LHC has a shot at provid- don’t have to wait for the satellite to launch, ited with ushering in the era of “precision ing us the answer—especially now that it or for the collider or telescope to be built.” cosmology,” and establishing the field as a may have delivered the long sought Higgs That’s not to say Kamionkowski is unin- core subject within physics and astronomy. boson. “We used to say that if the Higgs terested in what experimentalists learn from “Cosmology used to be the butt of every- is discovered, that proves supersymmetry their satellite missions, telescope observa- one’s jokes,” says Kamionkowski. “Now it’s a exists; and if supersymmetry exists, the tions, and collider experiments—quite the paradigm of how quantitative science should lightest supersymmetric particle should be contrary, in fact. Previously the Robinson be done. I take pride in being one of the the dark matter,” says Kamionkowski. “[We Professor of Theoretical Physics and As- people who motivated this transformation.” now have reason to believe] the Higgs exists, trophysics at the California Institute of Pushing precision cosmology even but it’s still a pretty tenuous argument. We Technology, Kamionkowski sees his role as further, Kamionkowski and colleagues have would like to see the lightest supersymmetric tightly linked to experiments in cosmology, suggested a way to peer beyond the CMB particle observed at the LHC.” Whether the astrophysics, and particle physics. “My job into the very earliest moments of the uni- LHC will reveal dark matter and super- is to keep an eye on a bunch of unrelated verse. They proposed that the polarization of symmetry remains to be seen. “You never fields, synthesize and amalgamate results radiation coming from the CMB could be know. If we did, we wouldn’t need to do the from different areas, and provide feedback in used to look for gravitational wave signals experiment.” While the LHC experiment the form of suggestions for new experiments from the first tiny fractions of a second after continues, Kamionkowski forges ahead in that would answer questions that remain.” the Big Bang—the period of rapid expan- his own “lab”—which mostly consists of a Although Kamionkowski’s graduate sion known as inflation. Previously, these desk, paper, and pencils. research had been on the nature of dark mat- signals had been thought to be too small to “I’m actually one of the last of my ter, an area where he is still active, as a post- be observed, but Kamionkowski’s papers generation to still make a living with paper doc he developed an interest in the cosmic stimulated a number of research efforts. and pencil,” he says. “Sometimes I work on microwave background (CMB) results com- “Experimentalists picked up on this faster projects involving simulations, but I’m not ing out of the Cosmic Background Explorer than I had anticipated,” says Kamionkowski, a simulator. I like to think of myself as an satellite, or COBE. COBE established that “and the idea of inflation started to seem idea-oriented pencil-and-paper theorist.” the CMB radiation released around 380,000 like it could be a little less crazy.” For someone with the wide-ranging years after the Big Bang—the so-called “time Alongside his work on the early universe, curiosity and talents of Marc Kamion- of last scattering”—is anisotropic, or non- Kamionkowski continues to probe the nature kowski, the diverse and high-powered uniform, giving us critical information about of dark matter, which accounts for around Department of Physics and Astronomy the evolution of the large-scale structure we 23 percent of the energy in the universe. at the Krieger School is an ideal place to see in our universe today. Most cosmologists concur that dark matter work. “There are a lot of exciting things Kamionkowski and some of his colleagues must be an as-yet undiscovered particle, and going on in physics and astrophysics at published a series of papers suggesting fur- Kamionkowski is in the camp that believes Johns Hopkins,” he says. “There are really ther measurements that could map the CMB this particle will turn out to be described by smart people, creative people, people who with enough precision to answer long-stand- the theory supersymmetry, which was devel- know how to get things done. This depart- ing questions about the geometry of the uni- oped to answer some of the questions that ment is smaller than some of the places it verse. These papers helped make the case for emerged from the Standard Model of par- competes with, but it looms large. When the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, ticle physics. Kamionkowski’s earlier research you put it together with the Space Tele- or WMAP, which was led by JHU physicist showed that quantum mechanics places an scope Science Institute, it’s a great place to Charles Bennett (who had also been a key upper limit on the mass of a supersymmet- be. The trajectory is extremely positive.” figure behind COBE) and launched in 2001, ric dark matter particle; this limit suggests

6 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 7 RESEARCH BRIEFS

Milestone: The Judd-Ofelt Theory Turns 50 WMAP Team Scores Big with Gruber Cosmology Prize and o one would have guessed that in calculations with the idea of describing only World’s Most Cited Papers N1962, rare earth metals would be- what an experimentalist would find useful.” come a staple of modern living in less The Judd-Ofelt Theory quickly became rofessor Charles Bennett and the than 50 years time. Likewise, few would a standard work, frequently cited in papers PWilkinson Microwave Anisotropy have guessed that 31-year-old physicist by other researchers. Its citation rate ac- Probe (WMAP) space mission science Brian Judd was on the verge of publish- celerated sharply in the early 1990s, after team were awarded this year’s Gruber ing seminal research on rare earth metals the invention of erbium-doped optical fiber Cosmology Prize. that his colleagues would cite well into the amplifiers, critical for long-range optical Bennett and the 26-member WMAP 21st century—becoming more popular and fiber communications, and is now be- team were recognized for their unprece- relied upon as decades came and went. ing referenced over 200 times per year. dented study of ancient light dating back Brian Judd became fascinated by the rare In August, Judd and Ofelt were hon- to the infant universe. The WMAP team, earth ions in crystalline materials or liquids ored at a chemistry and physics confer- led by Bennett, was able to determine a while studying at Oxford in the 1950s. He was ence in Udine, Italy, where a series of much more precise age, shape, compo- particularly interested in the paramagnetic speakers celebrated the 50th anniver- sition, and history of the universe. The resonance of these 15 elements’ electrons, an sary of the publication of their work. WMAP team also discovered that the first effect akin to the nuclear magnetic resonance “It’s really defined the whole field for stars formed when the universe was only used in medical imaging devices. the people who study the spectroscopy about 400 million years old. The study of rare earth metals was advanc- of these rare earth elements,” says Dan- The annual Gruber Cosmology Prize ing thanks in part to interest in crystals stimu- iel Reich, chair of the department. recognizes “fundamental advances in lated by radar and microwave research. But The late physicist Brian Wybourne, who our understanding of the universe.” It is these metals and their ions were still puzzling studied rare earth elements at Hopkins co-sponsored by the Gruber Foundation researchers because, despite their similarities, in the early 1960s, wrote in 2004 that the and the International Astronomical Union they produced strikingly different signatures Brian R. Judd, Gerhard H. Dieke Professor Emeritus Judd-Ofelt papers “represent a paradigm and aims to acknowledge and encourage when analyzed with a spectrograph. that has dominated all further work on the Assistant Professor N. Peter Armitage makes adjustments to the new helium reliquefier system. further exploration. “They were just a big mystery,” says Judd, Judd, then at the University of California at intensities of rare earth transitions in solu- “It is tremendously exciting to be the Gerhard H. Dieke Professor Emeritus in Berkeley, used the mathematical theory of Lie tions and solids up to the present time.” Department Responds to Global Helium Shortage recognized with the Gruber Cosmology the Department of Physics and Astronomy. groups to simplify the calculations needed to Judd came to Hopkins in 1966, not long af- Prize,” says Bennett, the Alumni Centen- And few researchers have done more to describe the behavior of rare earth electrons, ter authoring his groundbreaking research pa- arly in the fall semester, researchers and faculty members installed a helium recovery nial Professor of Physics and Astronomy. try to unravel that mystery than he has. without sacrificing accuracy. per, and he would remain on the Homewood E system and liquefier in the Bloomberg Center. Condensed matter physicists and “I have been very fortunate to work with As late as the early 1960s, physicists His paper was published the same day campus for the rest of his career. Today he is astronomers in the department use liquefied helium to create extremely cold research the talented and fine people of the WMAP struggled to find a mathematical language as a structurally similar work on f electrons retired and living in Baltimore with his wife, conditions (often just a few degrees above absolute zero). When helium gas is released team, and I am particularly delighted that to describe the behavior of these elements at by George Ofelt, a graduate student of Josephine Gridley, but keeps in touch with his into the air, whether from a party balloon or from liquid helium vaporized in a research our entire science team has been hon- the sub-atomic level, where classical physics Brian Wybourne at Johns Hopkins Univer- former graduate students and maintains an cryostat, it dissipates into the atmosphere, never to be utilized again. The new system, ored with this prestigious award.” breaks down and quantum theory takes over. sity, which did not include Judd’s detailed office at the Homewood campus. which captures used helium from labs throughout the department and then purifies Bennett and the team shared the What no one knew 50 years ago was numerical comparisons between theory Even in retirement, Judd remains fascinat- and re-cools it back to the liquid state, serves as a much-needed recycler of this non- $500,000 prize, and Bennett was given a that one day rare earth doped materials and experiment for the radiation intensi- ed by the mathematical challenges posed by renewable resource. It can store 500 liters of liquid helium. gold medal in August at the International would play a crucial role in fiber optic com- ties of the electrons. The approach came elements 57 through 71 of the periodic table. “The liquefier delivers helium to researchers at a greatly reduced cost,” explains Astronomical Union meeting in Beijing. munications, and make it possible to produce to be known as the Judd-Ofelt Theory. “There’s a whole pile of mysteries, to my mind, Assistant Professor N. Peter Armitage, who spearheaded the liquefier’s acquisition In addition to winning the Gruber miniaturized electronic components for every- “The reason that the article I wrote was so in the mathematics of rare earths,” he said. and installation. “The price of helium had increased about 30 percent in the five Cosmology Prize, the research conducted thing from laptop computers and mobile successful was that it dealt directly with ex- “Everything can be calculated according to years or so leading up to when we decided to buy a liquefier last year, and the by Bennett and the WMAP team resulted phones to hybrid cars and lasers. periment,” Judd, now 81, said in an interview. quantum mechanics. And everything works price has gone up about another 40 percent just in this year alone. And we can’t in production of the three most highly Judd’s key scientific contribution to the “I remember that the British physicist Maurice out well.” But certain complicated electron even get it reliably. Helium is becoming more expensive and less available.” cited scientific papers in the world in field came in 1962, when he published a Pryce told me never to get seduced by the configurations produce results that still puzzle The current scarcity of helium could have significant implications for the space, 2011, according to Thomson Reuters’ paper titled “Optical Absorption Intensities of mathematics. It’s very easy to be first of all him, and he is still trying to understand them. high-tech, and medical industries. Science Watch. Papers from the WMAP Rare-Earth Ions,” that proposed a mathemati- amazed by how the mathematics is beautiful “If you get too interested in the mathemat- “It’s just wasteful not to have a liquefier,” says Armitage. The liquefier creates a nearly mission have made it to the top of the list cal method for predicting how the f electrons in a funny kind of way, by the surprises you ics, you can spend a lifetime working it out,” he closed loop of helium usage within Bloomberg, and by enabling a stable and affordable in previous years (2003, 2007, 2009), but in rare earths behave when they jump from get when you work out the mathematics. says. “And in fact that’s what happened to me. supply of liquid helium for the department, it will provide critical infrastructure for this is the first time they have taken the one energy level to another while orbiting the “But Pryce said, ‘Never be seduced.’ And I’ve become seduced by the mathematics.” research from superconductivity and nanoscience to cosmology for years to come. top three spots. atom’s nucleus. in fact when I wrote the article it was strictly —Doug Birch

8 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 9 PEOPLE

Faculty Members Receive Prestigious Fellowships and Awards

Tyrel McQueen recently garnered the research. In particular, the union cited Chien’s detection of gravitational magnification by 2012 David and Lucile “seminal contribution to magnetic materials, dark matter around galaxies, the discovery of Packard Foundation nanostructures, magnetoelectronic tiny grains of dust in the intergalactic space, Fellowship for Science phenomena, and devices.” and a better understanding of how light rays and Engineering. Just propagate throughout 16 Packard Fellowships the universe. are awarded annually, Ménard’s fellowship each honoring young marks back-to-back scientists with Sloan awards for the unusually creative research interests. department: Nadia McQueen, a dual appointment in the Zakamska was awarded Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Sloan Fellowship in the Department of Chemistry, will use the 2011 for her research fellowship’s $875,000 stipend to further his Research scientists Mark Neyrinck (left) and with Earth and space-based telescopes and unique interdisciplinary research: discovering, Miguel Aragón-Cavalo won a New Frontiers large data sets. designing, and controlling materials with in Astronomy & Cosmology award for their exotic electronic states of matter. Applications work combining origami concepts with for such study are wide-ranging, from measurements of the universe’s shape and fundamental science to solving complex complexity. Neyrinck and Aragón-Cavalo will energy problems. use the prize money to construct the first “I’m excited to see generous support all-inclusive quantitative measurement of the for new materials synthesis and solid state entropy of the cosmic web—the cellular, web- © 2012 CERN chemistry,” says McQueen, “and the flexibility like arrangement of galaxies in the universe offered by these unrestricted funds will that shares concepts and methodologies Faculty and Students Instrumental in LHC Breakthrough be invaluable to my research team as we with origami and paper-folding. The award is pursue exotic new quantum phenomena in funded by the John Templeton Foundation. embers of the department played important roles in this summer’s discovery of a new electronic materials.” Mparticle that contains qualities consistent with the Higgs boson—arguably the most “The Krieger School is enormously Brice Ménard was important particle physics breakthrough in decades. proud of the accomplishments of Professor selected by the For most of 2012, Associate Professor Andrei Gritsan, post-doctoral fellow Sara Bolognesi, and McQueen, and we look forward eagerly to Maryland Academy of graduate student Andrew Whitbeck traveled back and forth from Baltimore to the Large Hadron the discoveries he will provide in the years Sciences as the Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland. The trio was part of a large, world-wide team of physicists to come,” adds Dean Katherine Newman. “I Outstanding Young Gardner Fellow Studies working on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), one of two massive particle detectors used to have had the personal pleasure of hearing Scientist of 2012. The Quasar Spectra “We do not yet know where it analyze the LHC’s proton-proton collisions in the search for the long-predicted Higgs boson. him lecture undergraduates on his work, award was established Gritsan and his team focused their search for the Higgs boson on a specific form of decay and he conveys the kind of excitement in 1959 to recognize When he began graduate studies in 2011, will lead us. But it may have of the Higgs into two Z bosons. They developed an array of very specific variables designed that we want budding scientists to hear. and celebrate the extraordinary contributions Ting-Wen Lan didn’t imagine he would profound implications.” to indicate the presence of a new particle over the course of billions of individual collisions. We are grateful to the Packard Foundation of young Maryland researchers across all win the department’s sought-after Gardner And the presence of a new particle is precisely what they and their colleagues found. for recognizing this rising star.” fields of science. Ménard was recognized Fellowship. In fact, he didn’t know he was But what particle? Much more research is needed to identify the new particle and confirm for his research in extragalactic astrophysics eligible. Having just arrived from Taiwan, Lan —Andrei Gritsan, if it is, in fact, the Higgs boson. Such a confirmation would help explain how massless particles Chia-Ling Chien, the and cosmology. focused on his study of astronomy (and, when Associate Professor acquired mass in the very early history of the universe and add more legitimacy to the Standard Jacob L. Hain Professor, Ménard also won the 2012 Sloan Research there was time, the English language). Model. “We do not yet know where it will lead us,” explains Gritsan, who has been working at the has won the 2012 Fellowship to support his research on But in one of his first courses, Observa- LHC since 2005. “But it may have profound implications.” Asian Union of extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology. The tional Astronomy, Lan caught the attention of Regardless of the particle’s true identity, Gritsan, Bolognesi, and Whitbeck contributed to its Magnetics Societies Sloan Fellowship honors early-career scholars Assistant Professor Brice Ménard, who discovery and were front-and-center at the LHC during the exciting early days of July, when the Award. Given once with outstanding promise with two-year co-taught the course with Assistant Professor revelation was announced. “It was a huge discovery that will influence my research for the rest every two years to $50,000 grants, which Ménard will use to Nadia Zakamska. “For the final part of his of my career,” says Whitbeck. researchers from AUMS continue developing new techniques of semester project, Ting-Wen had to estimate member countries, the award honors Chien’s mining large astronomical data sets. His work how many quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky significant contributions to magnetics using such techniques has already led to the Survey (SDSS) should be spectroscopically

10 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 11 (cont. from p. 11) Johns Hopkins Mourns Death of Professor Zlatko Tesanovic & A stronomy & examined to detect intervening Mg II he Johns Hopkins dation Fellowship. He men- absorbers,” explains Ménard, whose Department of Physics tored 10 graduate students P hysics T of research interests also include this spectro- and Astronomy lost one and seven postdocs. He was a scopic study of extremely distant quasars. of its most distinguished leader in the department and “We expect most first-year grad students to members with the pre- worked diligently to attract D epartment the

come up with a rough estimate. Ting-Wen mature death of Professor stellar faculty and students to of surprised us by performing an entire Monte Zlatko Tesanovic. He died Johns Hopkins. Carlo simulation using real data to take into of a heart attack July 26 He was also an academic courtesy account all the parameters of the survey.” at the George Washing- leader at JHU and recently P hoto “Without a doubt,” says Ménard, Lan was ton University Hospital in served as secretary of the ready for a research project. Ménard had Washington, D.C., after col- Homewood Academic been working with post-doctoral student lapsing at Reagan National Council, the elected faculty Professor Zlatko Tesanovic Guangtun Zhu on a new algorithm to auto- Airport. He was 55. body responsible for faculty matically detect absorbers in quasar spectra Zlatko was born in Sarajevo, in what governance and tenure review. As Krieger and was ready to begin applying it to the was then Yugoslavia. He earned his under- School of Arts and Sciences Dean Katherine vast data sets from the SDSS, the Baryon graduate degree in physics in 1979 from the Newman noted at a memorial service in Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), University of Sarajevo. A Fulbright Fellowship Tucson, Ariz., “Zlatko was a great citizen of and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and brought him to the University of Minnesota, the department and of the community.” One Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS). Lan where he earned a PhD in physics in 1985. may not have agreed with him on every- was in a perfect position to begin assisting. Zlatko then did postdoctoral work at Harvard thing, but ultimately one could be sure that “This was related to my study in Professor University and Los Alamos National Labs he was motivated by a deep desire for what Members from the Johns Hopkins chapter of the Society for Physics Students visited NASA’s Kennedy Space Center earlier this year. Ménard’s course,” says Lan. “He suggested before arriving on the Johns Hopkins cam- was best for the department and university. Here they visit an area used for assembling and testing parts of the International Space Station. (l-r): JiYeong Kim ’13, David Coren ’12, the fellowship and I applied.” pus as an assistant professor in 1988. He was In addition to his academic successes, Paul O’Neil ’13, Marie Hepfer ’13, Eddie Brooks ’13, Georges Obied ’15, Ben Hartman ’14, Jessica Noviello ’14, Kevin Mather ’13. The Gardner Fellowship freed Lan from promoted to associate professor in 1990 and Zlatko was a man of many talents. He was teaching assistant responsibilities for the to full professor with tenure in 1994. a master classical guitarist, an aficionado of first half of 2012—time he spent research- A leading theoretical condensed matter Baltimore’s gastronomical delights, and had a ing and analyzing the surveys, some of physicist, Zlatko’s research in recent years hysterical and occasionally biting wit. Among For Students in Physics Society, It’s all About the Teamwork which are available just to Johns Hopkins primarily concerned high temperature many things, he was known for his brightly and a handful of other institutions around superconductors and related materials. In colored Hawaiian print shirts and being able the world. “The fellowship provided me particular, he worked on the theory and to get a table at any restaurant in town with ddie Brooks ’13 and Marie Hepfer ’13 remember spend time together because so much of their academic ’13 with an opportunity to start my research phenomenology of iron- and copper-based no more than a phone call. “It’s taken care of,” what it was like to be freshman physics and as- study and research requires them to work in teams. earlier [in my graduate program] and learn high temperature superconductors. He he would whisper to the nervous host of a H epfer tronomy majors. “I felt dwarfed by all of these older, One of this year’s highlights for the group was a trip arie more about what I’m interested in.” also studied the quantum Hall effect, and distinguished colloquium speaker in search M E of “Ting-Wen made very good use other manifestations of “strong correla- of last-minute dinner reservations. intelligent students,” says Brooks. “But now that’s me.” to the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral

of this opportunity,” says Ménard. tions” and emergent behavior in quantum Zlatko was a man of passionate beliefs As president and vice president (respectively) of the Air Force Station. Thanks to a few faculty connections, courtesy “He has demonstrated remarkable many-particle systems. The theme that ran and deep convictions. He was an exceptional Johns Hopkins chapter of the Society of Physics Students the group was given exceptionally close access, and they P hoto problem-solving ability, and one day throughout his work was that of strong cor- scientist and teacher, a loyal friend, a trusted (SPS), Brooks and Hepfer say membership is an ideal way were able to engage in a mission control simulation. he could very well surprise us again.” relations between electrons. He sought to colleague, and devoted to his family. He will to become integrated into the professional community. With the guidance of Professor Petar Maksimovic, mem- Lan is the fourth Gardner Fellow. The understand how it is that large ensembles be greatly missed. fellowship was founded by William Gardner of strongly interacting, but fundamentally Zlatko is survived by his wife, Ina Sarcevic, Members of the SPS meet every Friday afternoon bers of the group also hold tutoring sessions and bring in out- ’68, who received his PhD in physics under simple particles like electrons in solids, can a professor of physics at the University to talk physics and exchange ideas in a relaxed set- side speakers, including department alumni. Maksimovic says Professor Warren Moos. After a successful act collectively to exhibit complex emergent of Arizona; his daughter, Rachel Sarcevic- ting. “While our focus is on majors, the group is open that past SPS members have also organized trips to major lab- career in fiber optics and telecommunica- quantum phenomena like high temperature Tesanovic, who will graduate from the to any undergraduate who’s interested in physics,” oratories such as Fermilab in Illinois, the SLAC National Accel- tions, Gardner now supports a high priority superconductivity. Krieger School in May; and his sister, of the department—enabling graduate Zlatko published more than 125 papers, Mirjana Tesanovic. says Hepfer. After graduation in spring, Hepfer plans erator Laboratory in California, and even CERN in Switzerland. students to start their doctoral research as and received numerous honors and awards, —N. Peter Armitage, Assistant Professor to pursue a career in aerospace engineering. “Our professors encourage us to work together, and early as possible. including a David and Lucile Packard Foun- Brooks, a double major in physics and earth and plan- the SPS helps to foster that environment,” says Brooks. etary science, says it’s important for physics majors to “We help physics majors see what their future will hold.”

12 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY 2012 Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Baltimore, MD Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Permit No. 391 500 W Wyman 3400 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218

In April, more than 600 young people, ranging from elementary through high school age, visited the Bloomberg Center for the department’s ninth annual Physics Fair. Each Physics Fair year during the day-long fair, about 100 physics and astronomy faculty members, postdocs, and graduate and undergraduate students engage children in individual and team competitions, a physics-themed scavenger hunt, observatory viewings, and hands-on demonstrations, such as the classic hair-raising experiment (left inset) using the 2012 Van de Graaff generator. In addition, visitors could tour research laboratories and attend a “Professor Extraordinaire” show featuring lively demonstrations.