DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER March 2019

ARCHIBEQUE AWARDED FELLOWSHIP UPCOMING EVENTS

Benjamin Archibeque, BS in Physics While at K-State, Archibeque partici- March 25, 2019 and Psychology, 2018, was one of pated in several undergraduate re- Nichols Lecture six K-State stu- search projects, including a meta- Joanna Behrman dents and two analysis of the impact of teaching alumni among methods and other institutional vari- Johns Hopkins the National ables on student learning in intro- Science Foun- ductory physics classes that used dation’s 2018 surveys from more than 50,000 stu- Graduate Re- dents. September 10, 2019 search Fellows Ben’s research was conducted un- Neff Lecture and honorable der the mentorship of Eleanor Sayre, Daniel Kennefick mentions. associate professor, through the De- University of Arkansas The fellowship veloping Scholars Program and the supports and Ronald E. McNair Baccalaureate recognizes outstanding students Achievement Program. conducting science, technology, October 7, 2019 engineering or mathematics re- Archibeque is currently a graduate search as they undertake master's student pursuing his doctorate in Peterson Lecture or doctoral degrees at accredited physics education research at Lincoln Carr Florida International University. U.S. institutions. Colorado School of Mines

GREETINGS FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD

It is a great pleasure to be writing to you. It has are they new; however, I can’t think of a depart- been far too long since our last newsletter in 2016 ment better placed to address them. Thanks to the and I would like to update you on your Physics De- continued support of my colleagues along with YOU, partment and extend greetings to all of you on our alumni and friends, I know that we can meet behalf of myself and my colleagues. these challenges. I’ve had huge shoes to fill as head and I’d like to We hope you enjoy hearing about our department, take this opportunity to thank Amit Chakrabarti, fellow alumni, and friends in this issue. We would love current dean of the K-State College of Arts & Sci- to hear what is happening in your life, so please drop ences, for handling the department so well. us a note, send an email, or give us a call. The most rewarding aspect of K-State Physics con- Keep up to date on things here in the department by tinues to be the people that make up this commu- visiting our website, nity: inquisitive students, both undergraduate and www.phys.ksu.edu, Facebook page, graduate, staff who make the department run www.facebook.com/ksuphys, or smoothly and efficiently, faculty who provide lead- Twitter, @KSUPhysics. ership in many ways, and alumni who continue to Once again, thank you for all you do give back in so many ways. to support the department. The department is in good shape and well placed to tackle the future. The challenges we face, to Brett DePaola, Porter Professor & Head grow student numbers and increase our research [email protected] impact and funding, are not unique to K-State nor

UNDERGRADUATE HIGHLIGHTS

2017-18 Undergraduate Degrees Conferred McClain Named 2017 Cargill Global Scholar Benjamin Archibeque, Graduate Student in Physics, Florida International University Nathan McClain, computer science and physics major, Reid Brown Overland Park, was one of 10 Pauline Dredger, Graduate Student in Physics, University U.S. students selected as a of Texas-Arlington 2017 Cargill Global Scholar for Austin Jantz his potential as a leader and Margaret Lang, English Teaching Assistant, Académie researcher in the spheres of de Bordeaux food, farming and financial risk Patrick McIntyre management. James (Zach) Minton, Software Engineer Consultant McClain is an ambassador for Matthew Nixon the College of Engineering Jonathan Opila, Technician, iGurus and an event coordinator for the university's Game Development Club. He has Evan Shanelec received the Putnam Scholarship, Wabash Can- Tristan Wells Filbert, Graduate Student in Mathematics, nonball Scholarship and the A.B. Cardwell Fund Michigan State University Scholarship. Wai Ka (John) Situ, Frontend Developer, Mi Media Manzana, Peru Erdwien Receives Goldwater Honorable Mention

Reid Erdwien, senior in physics 2016-17 Undergraduate Degrees Conferred and math, Manhattan, was Maxwell Burr, IT Support, Propio Language Services one of three K-State students Kevin Carr who received honorable men- Spencer Childress tions for the 2018 Barry Goldwa- Drew Johnson, Graduate Student in Physics, University ter Scholarship. of Minnesota As an undergraduate research- Trek Keck er, Erdwien is researching the Karan Mehra, RF Design Engineer at ViaSat, Tempe, AZ 3-D momentum imaging of dis- and MS candidate, Electrical Engineering, USC sociation in flight of metastable Timothy Moore molecules with Itzik Ben-Itzhak, university distin- guished professor in physics. Steven Murray Kevin Robben, Graduate Student in Chemistry, Some of Reid’s Goldwater research resulted in a University of Iowa publication in the New Journal of Physics—“Three- dimensional momentum imaging of dissociation in Andrew Walsten, Graduate Student in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Alabama in flight of metastable molecules,” which is available Huntsville at doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aa81ab. Anthony Williams, Video Editor and Graphic Designer, He also was a teaching assistant for Advanced Bench Fly Physics Laboratory. He was named a James R. Macdonald Memorial Scholar in 2016 and 2017.

PHD AND MS DEGREE RECIPIENTS

Utuq Ablikim (PhD 2017, Advisor: Daniel Rolles) “Coulomb Explosion Imaging of Polyatomic Molecules after Photoionization with X-Rays and Strong Laser Fields“ — Following a postdoc position at Berkeley National Lab for a year, Utuq is currently a system design engineer at KLA Tencor in California Benjamin Berry (PhD 2018, Advisor: Itzik Ben-Itzhak) “Imaging Laser-Induced Fragmentation of Molecular Beams, from Positive to Negative Molecules“ — Ben is currently seeking employment Tia Camarillo (MS 2018, Advisor: Bharat Ratra) “Fundamental Parameters of the Milky Way Galaxy“ — Tia is currently employed as a STEM specialist at Bright Horizons in Seattle Neda Dadashzadeh (PhD 2017, Advisor: Kristan Corwin) “Improved Perfor- mance and Characterization of an Optically Pumped Mid-IR Acetylene- Filled Hollow-Core Fiber Laser” — Neda is employed at Coherent Laser in Connecticut Yuba Raj Dahal (PhD 2017, Advisor: Jeremy Schmit) “Equilibrium and Kinetic Factors in Growth“ — Yuba Raj is a postdoc at Northwestern University Peyman Feizollah (MS 2018, Advisor: Itzik Ben-Itzhak) “Laser Induced Fragmentation: From Dissociation of Neutrals to Three-Body Breakup” — Peyman is pursuing a PhD in at K-State Praful Gagrani (MS 2018, Advisor: Lado Samushia) “Improvements in Techniques for Understanding the Large Scale Structure of the Universe” — Praful is pursuing a PhD in High Energy Physics at University of Wisconsin, Madison Sawyer Hopkins (MS 2017, Advisor: Amit Chakrabarti) “Examination of Non-local Screening Effects on Pro- tein ” — Sawyer is in a machine learning & algorithms position at Import.io in California Sajed Hosseini (MS 2018, Advisor: Kristan Corwin) “Acetylene-filled Pressure-broadened Short Photonic Microcells” — Sajed is now pursuing a PhD in AMO Physics at K-State with Cosmin Blaga Han Hu (MS 2018, Advisor: Michael O’Shea) — Han is actively seeking employment opportunities in China Bahar Modir (PhD 2017, Advisor: Eleanor Sayre) “Problem Solving in Physics: Undergraduates' Framing, Pro- cedures, and Decision Making“ — Bahar is an assistant professor of physics at Texas A&M University in Commerce Jeffrey Powell (PhD 2017, Advisors: Chris Sorensen and Artem Rudenko) “Strong-Field Driven Dynamics of Metal and Dielectric ” — Jeff is a postdoctoral fellow at K-State Aleena Rafique (PhD 2018, Advisor: Tim Bolton) “Tests of Interaction Models with the MicroBooNE Detector” — Aleena is a postdoc at Argonne National Laboratory Hui Wei (PhD 2017, Advisor: Chii-Dong Lin) “Characterization and Appli- cations of Isolated Attosecond Pulses” — Hui is actively seeking em- ployment Derrek Wilson (PhD 2018, Advisor: Artem Rudenko) “The Scaling of Strong Field Interactions with Wavelength” — Derek is employed at Few-Cycle Inc, in Montreal, Canada Youliang Yu (PhD 2017, Advisor: Brett Esry) “Computationally Exploring Ultrafast Molecular Ionization” — Youliang is a lead data scientist at Eluvio in California Stefan Zigo (PhD 2017, Advisor: Carlos Trallero) “Photoionization of Iso- meric Molecules: From the Weak-Field to the Strong-Field Limit“ — Stefan is an optical/laser scientist at General Atomics in San Diego

FACULTY AWARDS, PROMOTIONS, AND NEWS

University distinguished professor Bharat Ratra, Cos- Assistant professor of AMO mology, received the Olin K. Petefish Award in physics, Daniel Rolles re- Basic Sciences in September 2017. The award rec- ceived a National Science ognizes the exceptional long-term research ac- Foundation Faculty Early Ca- complishments of faculty at Kansas Board of Re- reer Development (CAREER) gents universities. The award included a citation award to investigate ultrafast and a $10,000 award for his ongoing research ef- electronic and structural dy- forts. namics during light-driven chemical reactions. Professor Tim Bolton, high energy, was named one of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Stars. Glenn Horton Smith, high en- "We are pleased to recognize our arts and scienc- ergy physics, was promoted to full professor in 2017. es colleagues as Faculty Stars for their excellence Bret Flanders, soft, condensed and biological matter as educators, researchers and mentors," said Amit physics, and Yuri Maravin, High Energy Physics, were Chakrabarti, promoted to full professor in 2018. Artem Rudenko, dean of the atomic, molecular and optical physics, was promot- College of ed to associate professor last year. Arts and Sci- An-Thu Le achieved the status of research professor ences. The last year prior to joining the faculty at Missouri Univer- awards are sity of Science and Technology as a tenure-track as- funded and sistant professor of physics. supported by a gift from Osku Kemppinen and Arjun Nepal were appointed 1996 graduate and Aspera CEO and co-founder research assistant professors in 2017. They both con- Michelle Munson and her husband, Serban Simu. duct research in the soft, condensed and biological matter physics group. Chris Sorensen, Cortelyou-Rust university distin- guished professor, led a team that has patented a Artem Rudenko, Daniel Rolles, and Loren Greenman, detonation technique that can mass-produce gra- together with Robin Santra from the University of phene with three ingredients: hydrocarbon gas, Hamburg, recently received a $2.1M three-year oxygen and a spark plug. Other K-State research- grant from the Department of Energy as part of a ers involved include Arjun Nepal (PhD 2015), re- new initiative for "ultrafast" science. The project aims search assistant professor, and Gajendra Prasad at investigating charge transfer and charge migra- Singh, former visiting scientist. The group is working tion dynamics on the few-to-sub-femtosecond time- to improve the quality of the graphene and scale scale. It includes research that will be conducted at the laboratory process to an industrial level. the LCLS-II free-electron laser facility at SLAC. Kristan Corwin, Chapin Professor of Physics, had Dean Zollman celebrated his retire- been serving as interim and then Associate Dean ment in 2016. Dean, a pioneer in of Research for the College of Arts and Sciences physics education, mentored many since 2017 while maintaining her students and postdocs over the research program in the Physics years and served as head for 10 department. She has recently years. The department celebrated accepted an appointment as at a gathering at the Alumni Cen- Division Chief of the Applied ter. A highlight was a video contain- Physics Division at the National ing messages from former postdocs Institute of Standards and Tech- and students. nology (NIST) in Boulder, Colora- Larry Weaver moved to emeritus do. Corwin began her appoint- status in fall 2018. Larry has been a ment at NIST in January of 2019. faculty fave of students for many Brett DePaola was named head in 2017 after hav- years. Larry has requested that ing served as interim head for a year. DePaola there not be an over-the-top cele- follows Amit Chakrabarti, who served as interim bration. Instead, the department dean of the College of Arts and Sciences here at will host an ice cream party featur- K-State until he was named to the permanent ing Call Hall ice cream. More infor- dean position in 2017. mation will be forthcoming.

Nandana Weliweriya, PhD can- Deanna Selby,

STUDENT KUDOS didate in Physics Education Re- office specialist, re- Utuq Ablikim (PhD 2017) was search, was selected as a tired in December, awarded a 2016-17 Advanced K-State Alumni Associate 2017 2016. She is enjoy- Light Source Fellowship that pro- International Student Scholar. ing retirement in vided a stipend and the oppor- Nandana is completing his PhD Manhattan with her tunity to conduct research at the under the advisement of Eleanor husband, Ken. Sayre. frontier of synchrotron radiation Lindsay Miller, and help advance state-of-the- accountant, moved art techniques and applications. on to a campus shared services During his year in residence at position in fall of 2017 prior to start- the Lawrence Berkeley National ing a new position for the City of Lab, Utuq worked under the di- Junction City in 2018. rection of his research advisor, Daniel Rolles, in collaboration In a new shared services office with Advanced Light Source staff model with math, the department scientists. now has Peggy Matthews and an assistant, Kelsey Young, completing the human resource duties. Derrek Wilson(PhD 2018) was se- lected as the 2017 Ultrafast Op- Kim Elliott, former receptionist, has tics Conference poster award. replaced Lindsay as accountant, The conference recognized Wil- with assistants Jesse Medina and son's presentation with a certifi- Cynthia Carlyon. cate and monetary prize. The department has a new front Wilson’s work also resulted in a office specialist who joined us after PhD candidate Adam Summers funding award to former K-State Kelsey moved to the human re- was invited by Department of faculty member Carlos Trallero. source assistant position and Anya Defense Director of Basic Re- The award will be used to study Waters left for a position at the Uni- search Dr. Robin Staffin to serve the interaction of intense, long- versity of Kansas. Carrie Klusener as a featured speaker at the in- wavelength, short laser pulses came to us in the fall from Wichita augural Science, Technology, with solids and molecules and State University. and Innovation Exchange event allow for development of new Kim Coy celebrated 30 years with in 2017. techniques for the characteriza- the University in 2017; Deanna cele- tion of short pulses in this spectral Adam was also awarded the brated 40 years and her retirement; region. 2018 Laser Technology, Engineer- while Peggy celebrated 45 years. ing and Applications Scholarship Peggy indicates she will retire in fall by SPIE, the international society STAFF SPOTLIGHT 2019, but the department is trying for optics and photonics, for his to convince her to stay on. potential contributions to the The department said goodbye to field of optics, photonics or relat- Kim Elliott, accountant, celebrated two of our undergraduate advi- five years of service in 2018. ed fields. sors. Sarah Golin departed for the University of Connecticut in Al Rankin, longtime JRM lab assis- 2017. Debra Dandaneau left for tant scientist, retired in December, Colorado State University in the 2016. summer of 2018. Al is currently en- Jessy Changstrom joying his new ad- is the current advi- venture as owner sor for the depart- of SkyEye sUAS Ser- ment. She re- vices. He is oper- ceived her MS ating an un- Raiya Ebini, PhD student working from Creighton manned aerial ve- with Cortelyou-Rust Distinguished and is finishing her hicle as a certified Professor Chris Sorensen, was re- PhD under the drone pilot provid- cipient of the 2017 ASEE Midwest advisement of ing aerial photog- Section’s best poster award. Chris Sorensen. raphy and video.

DEPARTMENT RESEARCH NEWS

Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics understand biological systems, the research sheds new light on the charge and energy flow in The AMO group hosted a successful visit from the a highly energized molecule. The research could Department of Energy this past fall in relation to its prove to be important for solar energy conversion multi-million dollar funding. This grant keeps the J.R. and radiation-driven chemistry. Macdonald (JRM) Laboratory running and helps the group continue to perform experimental and Kristan Corwin, Chapin professor, is leading a theoretical research. It also enables them to go team using a $1.69 million grant from the National after developmental grants for specific projects. Science Foundation that will support the develop- ment of a new instrument created through a Chapin distinguished professor Brett Esry will suc- groundbreaking collaboration between physics ceed distinguished professor Itzik Ben-Itzhak as lab and agronomy. The team will work to adapt director this spring. Esry will be responsible for the Nobel Prize-winning technology that precisely overall viability of the lab, coordinating planning measures optical frequencies and apply it to help and execution of the lab’s research program. Esry agronomists improve crop genetics and feed the looks forward to assuming the new challenges. world. Corwin will continue to collaborate on this Itzik is stepping down after having served as JRM project while in her role as Division Chief at NIST. lab director since Lew Cocke’s tenure as director Lasers successfully recorded a chemical reaction ended in 2007. that happens as fast as a quadrillionth of a sec- New Faculty Join the Group ond. The idea for using a laser to record a few femtoseconds of a molecule's fast vibrations as it The department welcomes two rising stars to the comes apart came from C.D. Lin, distinguished faculty and AMO group. Loren Greenman and professor, and A.-T. Le, former research professor, Cosmin Blaga have joined in during an international collaborative project. The the past two years. results were published in the October 21, 2016, Cosmin Blaga, newly hired as- issue of Science. sistant professor, is an experi- Chii-Dong Lin, along with A.-T. Le, Cheng Jin (PhD mental physicist interested in 2012) and Hui Wei (PhD 2017), published a gradu- ultrafast laser technologies. ate-level textbook, a first of its kind, “Attosecond Blaga received his PhD from and Strong-Field Physics: Principles and Applica- Stony Brook in 2009. He held tions.” The book was published by Cambridge appointments as a postdoc University Press in June 2018. and research scientist at Ohio State since 2010. Uwe Thumm’s research was featured on the June Loren Greenman joined in fall of 2018 cover of Physical Review Letters with a sche- 2017. He earned his MS and matic diagram of an attosecond nanoplasmonic PhD at the University of Chica- imaging setup with spatiotemporal resolution go in 2007 and 2011, respective- based on investigations of nanoplasmonic field- ly. He was a postdoc at Berke- enhancement effects in metal nanoparticles ley National Lab prior to his ap- through detailed atomistic numerical simulations. pointment at K-State. Loren is a theoretical physicist interested in describing interactions of la- Lado Samushia has been selected for a global ser pulses with molecules. team that will explore and its effects Loren is also working with Bret Flanders on the Re- on the expansion of the uni- search Experiences for Undergraduate program. verse. He will take part in DOE’s Dark Energy Spectro- Artem Rudenko and Daniel Rolles published an scopic Instrument (DESI) pro- article in the June 1, 2017, issue of Nature that de- ject. The project will conduct a scribed how heavy atoms absorbing X-rays are survey of distant galaxies sucking electrons from their molecular neighbors through the use of a 4-meter like a black hole pulling in matter. Understanding telescope at Kitt Peak Nation- this ultrafast dynamic process is important for appli- al Observatory. DESI will meas- cations of intense X-ray lasers, including imaging of ure the spectra of tens of millions of galaxies and biomolecules. In addition to helping image and quasars in the universe over the next five years.

DEPARTMENT RESEARCH NEWS

High Energy Physics Matt Berg, associate professor, delivered a keynote address High energy physics researchers are contributing to at the 13th International IR DUNE, the world’s biggest neutrino experiment. Target and Background Mod- Tim Bolton is serving on the leadership team that is eling & Simulation Workshop in organizing the experiment and Glenn Horton-Smith June 2018 at the Oceano- is helping develop the experiment's high-voltage graphic Observatory in system. Banyuls-sur-mer, France. He Both Bolton and Horton-Smith are experts in experi- spoke about the digital holography of aerosol par- mental high energy and parti- ticles and discussed how methods used to deter- cle physics and have been in- mine the physical properties of aerosol volved since the early planning are important in a vast array of scientific and ap- phases of DUNE. “On the na- plied contexts. tional level, DUNE is the highest- In March, Berg, along with research assistant pro- priority project in the U.S. De- fessor Osku Kemppinen and Yuli Heinson (PhD partment of Energy's Office of 2016), postdoctoral research fellow at Washington High Energy Physics," said Tim University published an article on imaging aerosols Bolton, professor of physics. "It's with digital holography in Physics Today. important for us to engage with the international science community on groundbreaking projects Physics Education Research like this." J.T. Laverty joined the Physics Education group in Keti Kaadze, assistant pro- 2016. Laverty received his MS fessor, and her postdoc, and PhD from Michigan State Abdollah Mohammadi, University in 2008 and 2013, were named LPC Distin- respectively. guished Researchers for J.T. has already established 2017. They are analyzing an active research program. proton-proton collision data He has been awarded two and working to upgrade NSF grants—one with K-State the Compact Muon Sole- philosophy faculty and another collaborative noid hadronic calorimeter at CERN in Geneva, award with Michigan State University. Switzerland. Mohammadi was named a Distin- guished Researcher again in 2018. NSF awarded a $1.5M grant to Eleanor Sayre, associate professor, for her research project on The Distinguished Researcher program is a defining PhysPort, an online professional development tool feature of the LHC Physics Center (LPC) at used by physics professors internationally. The pro- Fermilab. The individuals selected are recognized ject, in collaboration with the American Associa- as accomplished individuals at different stages of tion of Physics Teachers (AAPT), investigates the their careers. The program provides resources to effect PhysPort has on the practice of teaching strengthen and expand their research programs. physics. Adrian Madsen (PhD 2010) who works for Soft, Condensed & Biological Matter Physics AAPT, is a co-PI on the grant. Grown like a snowflake and sharpened with a sew- In August, after returning ing machine, a novel device from a Fulbright Research developed by Bret Flanders, Chair at the University of Cal- professor of physics, and gary, Sayre led her second Govind Paneru (PhD 2014), PEER field school in Rwanda may benefit biomedical profes- with colleague Scott Franklin, sionals and the patients they Rochester Institute of Tech- serve during electrode and or- nology (RIT). The PEER pro- gan transplant procedures. gram fosters education re- The device uses gold nan- search expertise among graduate students and owires, which are 1,000 times smaller than a human faculty. Now in its sixth year, PEER field schools hair, to manipulate and sense characteristics of have been held at RIT; Kibungo, Rwanda; individual cells in medical procedures. Cologne, Germany; and Monterrey, Mexico.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Maia Magrakvelidze (PhD 2013) mar- Donald Burton (PhD 1970) received ried Sony Grace on October 8, 2017. one of the highest recognitions at Maia received her PhD in AMO phys- the Los Alamos National Laborato- ics under Uwe Thumm. ry after being named one of their four 2017 lab fellows. Maia has been an assistant professor at the University of Mary Washington Burton is in the Computational since fall 2016. Physics division. He invented com- putational methods that have be- Maia met up with Brett DePaola, come standards in the field and head, along with her colleague and used worldwide in hydrodynamic K-State physics alum Hai Nguyen computations. His codes have im- (PhD 2003) at a conference in Wis- pacted both the nation’s nuclear consin in the summer of 2018. stockpile stewardship program and the broader scientific commu- nity. Alicia Allbaugh (PhD 2003) returned to give the 2017 Ernest Fox Nichols Jacqueline D. Spears (MS 1972) Alumni lecture. Alicia spoke about was named acting associate dean “Curiously Roving on Mars: Overview for academic affairs at K-State of the Mars Science Laboratory Pro- Olathe this past September. ject” to a full house. She brought a Spears oversees and guides the rover wheel model and a functional undergraduate degree comple- prototype of the Mars Pathfinder rov- tion and graduate programs at er, Sojourner, which she demonstrat- the campus in addition to oversee- ed during the lecture and at a local Sara Crandall (MS 2016) has been ing enrollment and recruitment school. Alicia is the Mars Science awarded a Christine Mirzayan Sci- efforts. Laboratory Integrated Planning & ence and Technology Policy Gradu- ate Fellowship from The National Patrick Clevenger (BS 1996) was Execution Team Chief at NASA's JPL. Academies of Sciences, Engineering recently promoted to Engineering Ioannis Chatzakis (PhD 2009) was and Medicine. The fellowship pro- Manager at GAI Consultants in named an American Society for En- vides early career individuals with Export, Pennsylvania. gineering Education Postdoctoral the opportunity to learn about sci- Fellow at the US Naval Research Lab. ence and technology policy and The program provides ~40 new post- the role scientists and engineers play doctoral appointments per year. Fel- in advising the nation. lows are selected on the basis of Sara is currently pursuing her PhD in their overall qualifications and tech- at University of Califor- nical proposals addressing specific areas defined by the host Navy la- nia Santa Cruz. boratories. Bahar Modir (PhD 2017) recently be- Kevin Knabe (PhD 2010) recently be- gan a tenure-track position at the gan a new position at Vescent Pho- Texas A&M University Commerce. tonics as a staff scientist. Vescent Bahar is an assistant professor of physics conducting physics educa- develops and manufactures novel tion research. electro-optic and laser technologies. Kevin lives in Colorado with his wife, Sayer Hopkins (MS 2017) recently Dan Fry (PhD 2003) was awarded Steph Kotas, and their daughters, moved from fullstack engineer to a NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Olivia, Lucy and Cora. machine learning and algorithms Medal “for outstanding technical position at Import.io. He is also work- leadership in the field of Space Jackie Chini (PhD 2010), assistant ing as the lead JavaScript engineer Radiation protection, allowing for professor at University of Central Flori- at another startup—Radiowave.io. improved crew safety for NASA da, was awarded an NSF CAREER human exploration missions” in grant. Jackie will research the barri- 2018. Dan and wife, Erge Edgu-Fry ers and supports encountered by (PhD 2003) reside in Texas with their undergraduate and graduate stu- Please send us your news for inclu- four children. Erge is managing dents and early career physicists with sion in the next newsletter. Call us editor of Journal of Burn Care & disabilities in their learning and re- at 785-532-6786 or send e-mail to search experiences. Research. [email protected].

OUTREACH K -State partnered with the city of The department continues to draw The physics undergraduate majors Manhattan’s Flint Hills Discovery large crowds at the annual Univer- coordinated Manhattan’s Center to bring the 2017 Great sity open house. The Physics Club Marches for Science in April 2017 American Eclipse to the commu- lines Cardwell Hall corridors and and 2018. The march champions nity. the lawn with hands-on demos. robustly-funded and publicly- Chris Sorensen wows audiences communicated science as a pillar Chris Sorensen, Cortelyou-Rust with his demonstrations. The of human freedom and prosperity. distinguished professor, led as- Kansas Optical Society conducts tronomy viewing nights through- These marches unite students, fac- hands-on demos and offers tours out the region. He also gave lec- ulty, staff, and the community as of the JRM lab. tures about the eclipse in the a nonpartisan group to call for months preceding the event. Join us for this year’s open house science that upholds the com- on April 6, 2019. mon good and encourages politi- Sorensen then traveled with a cal leaders and policymakers to Bharat Ratra is a popular draw pre- K-State contingent in a caravan enact evidence-based policies senting talks worldwide on dark of buses on the day of the that are in the public interest. The energy and matter. He is involved eclipse to view what was the first physics undergraduate students’ in numerous outreach efforts, in- total eclipse of the sun visible in efforts have resulted in more than cluding DOE’s QuarkNet program the U.S. since 1979, and the first in 100 participants in both years. Kansas in nearly a century. for high school science teachers.

PHYSICS ALUMNI GIVING BACK

The Department of Physics has many alumni and friends with successful careers in academia and industry. You all play an increasingly important role in supporting the department's initiatives in areas that make signifi- cant contributions to our society. There are many ways you can help to make our programs even better ...  Help us recruit! You know what it takes to succeed in our program, so help us find graduate students who will excel in the classroom and research labs. Recruiting for our graduate program is a high priority, so if you are in academics or working with student interns in industry, please let them know about the exciting research opportunities here in Physics at K-State.  Invest time! Time is a generous offering that benefits our students. Interested in mentoring students? Want to host a student for a job shadowing experience? Have an internship or job position available? Contact the department at [email protected] or call (785) 532-6786.  Make a gift! We welcome your support in the form of a gift to either a directed fund or a general gift to the department. If you wish to direct a gift to the department, please contact the K-State Foundation Arts & Sciences Development team who will match you to programs that connect with your interests and passions. They can be reached at (800) 432-1578. You can also make a gift online by visiting our website at www.phys.ksu.edu/giving/.

DEPARTMENT LECTURE SERIES THRIVE

The James R. Neff and Peterson Public Lecture se- As part of this series, the department hosted Fred Es- ries continue to be a great draw for the depart- penak, scientist emeritus from NASA’s Goddard ment. Both series have attracted some fantastic Space Flight Center in spring of speakers in the past few years. 2017. He spoke about “The Great American Total Eclipse As part of the Peterson lecture series, the depart- of 2017.” Espenak discussed ment hosted , John Preskill and Jo the then upcoming total Dunkley. eclipse of the sun to an over- Lyman Page, Distinguished flowing room. He has wit- University Professor of Physics nessed more than 25 total at Princeton, presented a eclipses of the sun over the talk on “Observing the Birth past 45 years. of the Universe” in Spring Michael Ranney, professor of 2016. As a key member of psychology at UC-Berkeley the Wilkinson Microwave Ani- spoke on climate change in sotropy Probe space mission, fall 2017. Ranney discussed Page helped measure the how climate change ac- cosmic microwave back- ceptance can be increased ground, a backdrop of cosmic static visible every- through mini-interventions where in the sky and thought to be the afterglow such as using videos, statis- of the . tics, temperature graphs, and The 2017 spring lecture explanatory texts. His website, “Quantum Computing HowGlobalWarmingWorks.org, directly enhances and the Entanglement public climate change cognition and provides ex- Frontier” was presented by amples of the interventions discussed during his talk. John Preskill, Richard P. The department hosted physi- Feynman professor of the- cist, author, and newly-elected oretical physics at Caltech. American Physical Society vice Preskill discussed how president S. James Gates Jr. in quantum laws governing fall. Jim is Ford Foundation atoms and other tiny ob- professor of physics and affili- jects seem to defy common sense and how infor- ate professor of math at Brown mation encoded in quantum systems has weird University. He spoke about his properties that can be baffling. time in the 1980s at the Inter- Princeton scientist Jo Dunkley, a professor of phys- national Centre for Theoretical ics and astrophysical sciences who has received Physics headed by Nobel Prize winner Abdus Salam. honors for her work on the At one point, Salam made a curious comment about Big Bang model, delivered jazz. The conversation resulted in an essay on diversi- the 2018 fall lecture on ty by Gates later cited by the Supreme Court. questions surrounding the In October 2018, former LIGO origin of our universe. Collaboration spokesperson Dunkley discussed the hu- and professor at Louisiana man fascination with the State University, Gabriela Gon- night sky that gives us a win- zález, presented “Einstein, dow into space beyond our Gravitational Waves, Black home on Earth. Holes & Other Matters.” Her The Peterson lecture series is supported by an en- talk focused on the history and dowment from Chester Peterson Jr. and is aimed details of the first observations at publicizing and presenting nontechnical public of gravitational waves travel- lectures concerning cosmology or quantum me- ing through earth and the chanics. gravity-bright future of this field. The James R. Neff lecture was funded by James R. The department will host Daniel Kennefick, Univ. of Neff, in honor of Everett and Florine Neff, parents Arkansas, as Neff lecturer and Lincoln Carr, Colorado of James and Janice K. Neff Standish (his sister). School of Mines, as Peterson lecturer in fall 2019.

CAMPUS TRANSFORMATIONS

The K-State campus continues to grow and change under the leadership of President Richard Myers, who began his tenure as the fourteenth president of K-State in 2016.

Even Cardwell Hall has had a bit of a facelift this year. In an effort to make the campus ADA compliant, the area outside of Card- well’s main entrance facing the quad and heading west toward the biology and engineering buildings was revamped. The stairs were demolished and there is now a new inclined walkway that has replaced the stairs and sidewalk.

New benches were installed outside of the main entrance of Cardwell where campus smokers used to hang out. Thanks to the “Cats for Clean Air” policy that went into effect in 2018, smoking is prohibited in university vehicles and on university property, except inside personal vehicles.

The university recently completed a much welcomed and long overdue restroom renovation project of the first floor restrooms in Cardwell Hall.

The renovation project included demolition of existing bathrooms, installation of tile walls, new ceiling tiles, paint, easy-to-clean toilet partitions and accessories, automatic faucets, sinks, lighting, and countertops. A new water fountain and water bottle filling station was also installed outside of the restooms. In addition to the renova- tion of the men’s and women’s restrooms, a family bathroom was also added to the floor.

The College of Arts and Sciences moved to Calvin Hall in the winter of 2017. In addition to the dean’s office and staff, the building houses the Student Academic Success Center — advising and student resources; ac- counting offices; the history department — including security studies; and the political science department.

The Graduate School relocated to Eisenhower Hall from Fairchild Hall in the spring of 2017 .

In May 2018, an accidental fire occurred on the roof of Hale Library. Prior to the fire, the University was ready to begin a renovation of the first floor to create a collaborative, technology-enhanced space to support student success at K-State. The University plans to continue this project and expand the renovation efforts since many areas of the library had to come down to the studs following the water damage sustained in the fire.

Other campus changes in- clude renovations to the Student Union that were completed in spring 2017. The Student Union now houses more restaurant concept areas in the food court, including everyone’s favorite Call Hall ice cream. Other dining options include Radina’s Coffeehouse, Panda Express, Chick-Fil-A, Fast Track, Qdoba, Subway, Union Kitchen and Union Station by JP’s. Union Station menu items are locally sourced when possible and feature Weber Hall meats.

Other notable changes on campus include a new College of Business Administration building that opened in fall of 2016; renovations to Seaton Hall in 2017, which now houses the College of Architecture, Planning & Design; IV of the Engineering Hall in spring 2016; Memorial Stadium renovations, which now houses the campus welcome center; and a new dining center and residence hall in fall 2016—Wefald Hall, named for former President Jon Wefald, on Denison Avenue, south of Marlatt Hall.

Nonprofit organization U.S. Postage Paid 116 Cardwell Hall Permit #525 1228 N. 17th St. Manhattan, KS 66502 Manhattan, KS 66506-2601 001-504A

PHYSICS REU PROGRAM CONTINUES TO MENTOR STUDENTS

Each summer the department runs a National REU allows undergraduate students the oppor- Science Foundation-funded Research Experi- tunity to spend their summer conducting re- ence for Undergraduates (REU) program. The search on a project with faculty mentors, post- 2019 summer marks the 27th year of our depart- doctoral fellows, and students. ment’s 10-week program. To culminate their experience, the participants Prior to Kristan Corwin’s departure, Bret Flanders present their summer-long projects in oral talks had been working with her as co-director for a and poster presentations. few years following Larry Weaver’s retirement Several students are able to present their works from his active role as a co-director. at national conferences and some even publish Now, Flanders has taken the leadership role on results from their summer here at K-State. the latest funding award and Loren Greenman is We encourage alumni at other institutions to in- assisting him with the program. vite their students to consider our program. Larry Weaver is still sharing his wisdom with the The K-State Physics REU has an annual applica- students in the program via lectures and also tion deadline in February. participates in social activities.