PHYSICSUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Berkeley

Inside Neutrinos: Ghostly Particles with Exciting Implications Mapping the Infant Universe: Revelations from the Cosmic Microwave Background The Compass Project Alumni News and more!

Fall 2013 Cover: The Daya Bay Neutrino Experiment, a joint venture between China and USA, is a neutrino-oscillation experiment designed to measure the mixing angle θ13 using anti-neutrinos produced by the reactors of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant and the Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant in mainland China. Photo Physics at Berkeley 2013 documentation of construction. Published annually by the Photographer: Roy Kaltschmidt Department of Physics Steven Boggs: Chair Anil More: Director of Administration Maria Hjelm: Director of Development and Communications Devi Mathieu: Editor, Principal Writer Tom Colton, Ben Ailes and Peg Skorpinski: Photography Meg Coughlin: Design Department of Physics 366 LeConte Hall #7300 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720-7300 Copyright 2013 by The Regents of the University of California features

4 10 16 Neutrinos: Ghostly Mapping the Infant The Compass Project Particles with Exciting Universe: Revelations Berkeley students work Implications from the Cosmic together to foster community and serve each other’s Berkeley’s influential Microwave Background educational needs contributions to neutrino Berkeley astrophysicists Physics graduate students Jesse science are advancing are at the very center of Livezey and Hilary Jack describe the frontiers of particle cosmological discovery physics and cosmology. Compass, the award-winning Physics professors Adrian Lee, mentoring and academic support Experimental physicists Gabriel William Holzapfel, Uros Seljak, program that was born in Berkeley’s Orebi Gann, Yury Kolomensky, and Martin White use satellite Department of Physics, designed and Kam-Biu Luk devise cutting- data, telescope observations, and by students for students. edge experiments to wrest secrets theoretical calculations to trace from the elusive neutrino. the origins of the universe.

Departments

2 letter from the Chair

18 Department News

28 In Memory

31 Physics in the Media

35 Undergraduate Affairs

37 Graduate Affairs

42 Alumni Affairs Letter from the Chair

Dear Alumni and Friends, faculty as well as a bridge connecting to the 3rd floor of Old LeConte. Greetings from Berkeley! We look forward to many fantastic opportunities for collaboration among the entire Astrophysics/Astronomy community here at My first few months as Chair have been a whirlwind, but I am Berkeley. thrilled to have taken on the leadership of this great department. New Campbell Hall also includes basement lab space for the Our former Chair, Frances Hellman, left things in incredibly good NIST-funded Center for Integrated Precision and Quantum shape. She was a remarkable steward of the department for six Measurements. This will be our lowest noise, highest quality lab years, a few of which were financially very challenging, and I space in Physics, and will provide opportunities for new research am incredibly grateful for her accomplishments. It is my honor directions and ever more precise measurements. Many of us exper- to continue many of her efforts in making this department one imentalists have enjoyed touring the basement. New Campbell will of the best places for students to pursue a physics education and also be home to the new and exciting Kavli NanoSciences Institute for faculty to pursue research. (learn more on pg. 22). Donald A. Glaser Lab You can watch Campbell Hall being constructed at this Physics kicked off the fall semester with the dedication and celebra- website: http://berkeley.edu/webcams. tion of the Donald A. Glaser Advanced Lab, formerly known as the Promoting Diversity Physics 111 Lab. It was exciting to watch the remodeling of the lab Addressing issues of student diversity and women in physics is a and upgrading of the experimental equipment over the summer and long-term issue for this department (and the field in general), and so to have the revitalized lab ready for the students by fall semester. I am very proud of the fact that in January we are hosting the APS As many of you know from firsthand experience, the Donald Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP ‘14), A. Glaser Advanced Lab is home to the two-semester experimental organized by Assistant Professor Gabriel Orebi Gann. CUWiP is a course required for all undergraduate majors. It is the notoriously 3-day regional conference designed to provide undergraduate women challenging capstone course of our undergraduate major and with information about graduate school and career opportunities in completing it successfully is an enormous achievement. This the physical sciences in the context of a professional conference. dedication will ensure that Don Glaser, whom we sadly lost this Students will have an opportunity to present their research in past year (see p. 28), remains an inspiration to our students and talks and posters, as well as tour Lawrence Livermore National faculty for many years to come. Laboratory. We are looking forward to a huge turnout for this event. New Campbell Hall Similarly, we are increasingly looking at ways for the department New Campbell Hall construction is proceeding ahead of schedule, to address issues of retaining our students in this admittedly and with continued good luck we will move into the building in fall rigorous major. This coming spring, Physics will be joining a 2014. New Campbell sits next to LeConte Hall, on the site of the handful of other departments on campus in implementing original (and seismically-poor) Campbell Hall. The new building Berkeley Connect, a new mentoring program at Cal. Berkeley will house all of our colleagues in the Astronomy Department, and Connect offers undergraduate students a chance to connect with there are offices and shared space for many of our Astrophysics their peers, graduate students, professors, and alums based on a

2 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 This coming spring, Physics will be joining a handful of other departments on campus in implementing Berkeley Connect, a new mentoring program at Cal. Berkeley Connect offers undergraduate students a chance to connect with their peers, graduate students, professors, and alumns based on a shared love of (in our case) physics.

shared love of (in our case) physics. This program pairs a small hottest room in undergraduate group with a graduate student mentor in a semester- the department. long program that includes advising, small-group discussions, Most of the special events, and excursions. The goal of the program is to foster offices for the closer ties among our undergrad students through small group advisors and interactions, ties that will help support them throughout their student groups undergraduate careers here at Berkeley. We are eager to see how that help support this program plays out in Physics. our undergradu- ate community Career Development are scattered Our students are enterprising. This past year, a group of our graduate throughout the students formed the Career Development Initiative for the Physical different buildings in the physics complex. Sciences (CDIPS). This student-led organization aims to expose I am just starting to build a vision of how to improve this envi- graduate and postgraduate students to careers outside academia, and ronment. I would like to remodel the Reading Room and modernize to strengthen ties between academic science and industry. its infrastructure, making this a comfortable and inviting place for CDIPS is running an incredibly successful speaker series students to work and socialize. I’d also like to see the offices for that hosts Berkeley PhD alums in successful non-academic or non-traditional careers to inform PhD students about the wide student groups and undergraduate advisors located nearby, making variety of careers available in the physical sciences. I encourage a visible home for our undergraduate majors in the department. any of our alums who might be interested in sharing their career Your feedback and ideas are welcome. experiences to be in touch with us. Public Events More Improvements Just a reminder that Berkeley Physics hosts a number of public Looking to the future, I anticipate embarking on a campaign to events throughout the year, and you are welcome and encouraged improve the physical environment for our undergraduate students. to attend. Looking forward to the Spring semester, you are invited You probably remember the“Reading Room” in New Le Conte, just to attend the Regents’ Lecture by Nobel Laureate and Cal alumnus down the hall from the Donald A. Glaser Advanced Lab. It has been John Mather on February 24. Just a few weeks later, we will host the hub of undergraduate life in the department, and it has not Jim Gates for the Oppenheimer Lecture on March 17, as well as changed for decades. throw open the doors for the ever-popular Cal Day on April 12. If you stop by the Reading Room on any afternoon you will Please join us if you can! find dozens of students working together on their homework, And now, I invite you to learn more in the following pages discussing the latest physics results, or just enjoying the company about the exciting research and activities going on in Berkeley of friends. You will also find them clustered around the few Physics. I’m sure you will be as proud of the work being done electrical outlets on the walls of the room to power their laptops, here as I am. Here’s looking forward to another incredible year! and sweating profusely since aging ventilation makes this the –Steve Boggs

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 3 Neutrinos: Ghostly Particles with Exciting Implications Berkeley’s influential contributions to neutrino science are advancing the frontiers of particle physics and cosmology.

A SNO+ collaborator hand-cleans the acrylic vessel that will house the experiment’s liquid scintillator target. Also visible are many of the photomultiplier tubes that surround the vessel. ince the 1930s, when they were first Sdescribed by Wolfgang Pauli and christened by Enrico Fermi, neutrinos have

garnered quite a reputation. They’ve gone

from being considered massless and

relatively inconsequential to being

recognized as keepers of some of nature’s

most closely held secrets. Today, scientists

all over the world are devising experiments

to bring those secrets to light.

Neutrino science has the potential to

explain the dominance of matter over

antimatter in the universe, shed light on the

mechanisms by which subatomic particles Neutrinos: attain mass, help solve the puzzle of dark matter, improve understanding of processes

taking place in stars and supernovae, open

a window onto the first few seconds after

the Big Bang, and bring us closer to a Grand

Unified Theory that would unite all four

subatomic forces.

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 5 Neutrinos were created by the quadrillions during the Big reveal the mechanism behind the matter-antimatter asymmetry in Bang, and they’re still being produced in the fusion reactions of the universe. And the next step in that line of inquiry required stars, in supernova explosions, in nuclear reactors and particle measuring the third neutrino mixing angle, theta one-three (θ13). accelerators, and by bombardment of Earth’s atmosphere by cosmic Daya Bay with Kam-Biu Luk rays. They have no electric charge, so they aren’t affected by electro- Enter another Berkeley pioneer in neutrino science, physics professor magnetic forces. Neither are they influenced by the strong force Kam-Biu Luk, who plays a starring role in efforts to measure θ . The that binds protons and neutrons together in the nuclei of atoms. 13 leading θ experiment in the world is his brain child. It detects anti- Neutrinos far outnumber all the atoms in the universe, yet they 13 neutrinos streaming from nuclear power plants located at Daya Bay interact with matter particles so weakly that trillions upon trillions in southern China. Luk serves as co-spokesperson for the Daya Bay pass through Earth unimpeded every second. It takes extraordinary collaboration, heads US participation, and has been a central figure efforts to observe them at all. in its conception, design, construction, and operation. Much of what we know about neutrinos has been learned in The Daya Bay collaboration includes scientists from China, only the past couple of decades. The Berkeley Department of Physics Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, Russia, Taiwan, and the US. Luk, has played a major role in that emergent knowledge, and the along with graduate students and postdocs from his research department’s contributions to neutrino detection experiments group, helped design, build, and commission the Daya Bay detectors. continue to grow. They supplied all of the photomultiplier tubes–the devices that Flavors and Mixing Angles record photons as they emerge from the liquid scintillator–and Neutrinos come in three ‘flavors’: electron, muon, and tau, each designed and built the mounting assembly. “Another of our tasks is with its corresponding antineutrino. According to the Standard to study the attenuation length of the scintillator,” Luk adds. “This Model of particle physics, neutrinos have zero mass. But recent is important, because if the scintillator is changing with time, the experiments have proven that they transform from one flavor to performance of the experiment will be affected, and we need to another as they fly through space–a feat that can be accomplished understand that well.” In addition, they are actively involved in only by particles with nonzero mass. Although neutrino masses ongoing calibration, data collection, and data analysis. have not yet been measured, they are known to be unimaginably The first real measurements of a non-zero θ13, released by the small, at most on the order of one millionth of the mass of the elec- Daya Bay collaboration in March of last year, were hailed as one of tron. The simple fact that they aren’t zero is enough to mandate a the AAAS Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs of 2012. The results revision of the Standard Model of particle physics. were surprising enough to be reported even before the experiment Every neutrino of a given flavor is actually a mixture of states of was fully underway, after only six of the experiment’s eight detectors specific mass. A useful analogy is to think of this mixture of mass states had been installed. The surprise: θ13 is much larger than expected. as a quantum mechanical ‘musical chord’ made up of three pure “We had extraordinary success in detecting the number of tones. Each tone, or mass state, is present in a particular amount, electron anti-neutrinos that disappear as they travel from the and the relative amounts differ for each neutrino flavor. The tone mix reactors to the detectors two kilometers away,” Luk said in a press of a neutrino–the relative percentage of each mass state it contains– release. “What we didn’t expect was the sizable disappearance, is represented by a trigonometric value called a mixing angle. equal to about six percent. The number of disappeared antineutrinos As a neutrino travels through space and time, the quantum was used to determine the value of θ13.” waves associated with its three mass states travel slightly differently. Besides the three mixing angles, there is another neutrino These differences cause the tone mix of the neutrino to change, parameter called the CP (charge parity) violation phase. CP violation creating oscillations that are observed as the transformation of a is an asymmetry that could have evolved during the first seconds neutrino from one flavor to another. after the Big Bang. A non-zero value for θ13 has important bearing Now, and in the recent past, faculty from the Berkeley on investigations of CP violation. “If this phase is not zero,” Luk Department of Physics are involved in groundbreaking advances explains, “then the oscillation of the neutrino will be different from in neutrino science. They include the late Stuart Freedman, the oscillation of the antineutrino, a kind of neutrino CP violation Kam-Biu Luk, Gabriel Orebi Gann, and Yury Kolomensky. that some theorists speculate might help us understand why the universe is now dominated by matter.” Stuart Freedman and KamLAND “That’s one reason our results are so exciting,” Luk continues. Berkeley’s entry into neutrino science was in large part spearheaded “Theta one-three holds the key to future experiments for studying by the late Stuart Freedman, a world-renowned nuclear physicist CP violation in neutrino oscillation.” and member of the Berkeley physics faculty from 1991 to 2012. Late this summer, the Daya Bay collaboration reported the Freedman was a leader of the KamLAND experiment, an interna- most precise measurement of θ13 yet. As precision continues to tional collaboration that made definitive measurements of one of improve, the potential of discovering CP violation in the neutrino the three neutrino mixing angles, theta one-two (θ12), and provided sector is enhanced. conclusive proof of the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations. Even though exact mass values for the three neutrino mass KamLAND’s results also showed that θ12 is much larger than states have not yet been measured, researchers have inferred possible many theorists had postulated. Other experiments discovered that relationships among them in a scheme known as the neutrino mass a second mixing angle, theta two-three (θ23), is also larger than hierarchy. Two of the mass states are known to be similar in value, expected. These findings raised the possibility that neutrinos could while the third could be either much heavier or much lighter than the

6 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Each detector at Daya Bay is a stainless steel cylinder 5m in diameter that contains two nested acrylic vessels. The inner vessel contains about 20 tons of liquid scintillator doped with gadolinium (Gd). When an anti neutrino interacts with the nucleus of a hydrogen atom in the liquid scintillator, the event gives off photons that are captured by 192 photomultiplier tubes (not shown) that ring the detector. The outer acrylic vessel is filled with about 20 tons of undoped liq- uid scintillator, and the space between the outer vessel and the stainless steel shell are filled with mineral oil. These two outer layers help shield the experi- ment from background radiation. other two. The large value for θ13 measured at Daya Bay opens up Majorana Particles and Double Beta Decay additional experimental approaches that can further clarify the neu- Other experiments have been designed to ascertain whether or not trino mass hierarchy and place tighter constraints on the mass values. neutrinos are Majorana particles–particles that act as their own Daya Bay uses eight massive detectors in three separate antiparticles. A ‘yes’ answer to that question would definitely underground sites called the Near Halls and the Far Hall. The stretch the bounds of the Standard Model. numbers of electron antineutrinos detected in the Near Halls are Neutrinos have the potential to be their own antiparticles compared with the number reaching detectors in the Far Hall. The because they have no electric charge; antiparticles are most often number of electron neutrinos that appear to vanish–those that defined as having the opposite electrical charge from their ordinary transform into muon or tau flavors–gives a direct value for θ13. matter sibling. If neutrinos are Majorana, they could be a source Installation of all eight detectors was completed in the summer of of transitions among particles and antiparticles that are preferential 2012, and data collection has continued nonstop since October 2012. to matter over antimatter. And that could explain why we live in a This summer, by studying the oscillation pattern as a function of matter-dominated universe. the antineutrino energy, the collaboration reported the first measure- Learning whether neutrinos are Majorana is a primary aim ment of the neutrino oscillation wavelength corresponding to the of two Berkeley physicists who, like Luk, are deeply immersed in mixing angle θ13. The data offer more insight into the mechanism by neutrino research: assistant professor Gabriel Orebi Gann and which neutrinos transform. “The measured wavelength yielded an professor Yury Kolomensky. effective mass splitting which is consistent with the one determined Orebi Gann is the Analysis Coordinator for the SNO+ collabo- by other experiments observing muon neutrino disappearance,” Luk ration, a follow-on to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) reports. “This finding supports the three-flavor neutrino oscillation experiment in Ontario, Canada. SNO is the experiment that provided framework. In addition, when these effective mass splittings are the first definitive proof that neutrinos change flavors. measured precisely, they will help in resolving the mass hierarchy.” Kolomensky is US Spokesperson for CUORE, the Cryogenic The Daya Bay experiment is set to run for two more years. “By Underground Observatory for Rare Events. CUORE is currently the end of 2015,” Luk reports, “we will have such a large data sample under construction at Gran Sasso in Italy and is scheduled to that it should provide the most precise measurement of this param- begin operating late next year. eter achievable for the next couple of decades.” Both SNO+ and CUORE are attempting to detect a radioac-

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 7 tive decay process known as neutrinoless double beta decay. This SNO+ is located about process is extremely rare, if it occurs at all. It has never been con- 2km underground in a nickel mine in Ontario, vincingly observed, and extraordinarily sensitive experimental Canada. At its heart is a techniques are required to detect it. Successful detection would 12m diameter acrylic confirm that neutrinos, unlike all other known constituents of sphere filled with liquid scintillator. The sphere is matter, are indeed their own antiparticles. immersed in a water buffer In certain forms of beta decay, a neutron in the nucleus of an to provide shielding from atom changes into a proton, emitting an electron and an electron- background radiation flavored antineutrino in the process. In double beta decay, which coming from the surround- ing rock. Flashes of light occurs preferentially in a few isotopes, two neutrons are trans- caused by particle interac- formed, and two electrons and two antineutrinos are emitted. tions within the sphere will “Neutrinoless double beta decay relies on neutrinos being be monitored by about 10,000 photomultiplier Majorana,” Orebi Gann explains. “If they are, there is the possibility tubes (PMTs) that surround that the two antineutrinos released in double beta decay can anni- it. The acrylic sphere, hilate, because one can interact with the other as a particle would PMTs, and PMT support structures are being react with its antiparticle. In that case, we get only the two electrons, re-used from the SNO and no neutrinos.” experiment. Ropes have been added to keep the sphere immersed in the water once it is filled with the buoyant scintillator. SNO+ with Gabriel Orebi Gann Orebi Gann joined the Berkeley faculty at the beginning of 2012, after “The simulation includes every part of the experiment, from the participating in both the SNO and SNO+ experiments as a postdoc underlying physics interactions to the propagation of light through at the University of Pennsylvania. Her PhD thesis at Oxford was the the detector,” Orebi Gann says. “We reproduce every aspect of the basis of the most precise measurement of solar neutrinos with SNO. detector geometry–from the nuts and bolts holding things together SNO+ is housed in the same underground detector used for all the way through to photon detection on our photomultiplier SNO, but it’s a different experiment. SNO used a heavy water target tubes, plus all the electronics that actually read out the data.” to detect neutrinos produced in the sun. SNO+ will use a liquid The SNO+ collaboration includes universities in the US, scintillator target to detect the energies of electrons emitted by Canada, England, Portugal, and Germany, as well as Lawrence double beta decay in specially selected radioactive isotopes. Berkeley and Brookhaven National Laboratories. Orebi Gann is in “The SNO+ scintillator is an organic liquid that produces about charge of data analysis for the project as a whole, and her research 50 times more light when a charged particle passes through it, com- group at Berkeley is responsible for calibrating the photomultiplier pared with SNO’s heavy water target,” Orebi Gann explains. “We use tubes and other aspects of detector calibration. the light to measure the energy of the event, so using liquid scintilla- Part of the calibration effort involves designing and fabricat- tor means we can observe lower energies with better resolution.” ing an acrylic sphere to contain lithium-8, which is being used as a “If the neutrinos produced in double beta decay annihilate radioactive calibration source. The sphere has a thickness of 6cm, inside the atomic nucleus,” she adds, “they are no longer products with a hollow center about 12cm in diameter. “It’s quite difficult to of the reaction, thus the electrons have to carry all the energy of machine,” Orebi Gann points out. “A small army of undergrads is the decay.” That means the energy spectrum of electrons emitted involved in all aspects, including testing sample acrylic and different from a neutrinoless double beta decay reaction will show a specific bonding agents and conducting pressure tests to make sure we’re energy peak that differs from other beta decay processes. The differ- putting something robust into the detector.” Commissioning of the SNO+ detector is scheduled to begin ence is slight; also, similar energies can come from background this fall, with the vessel and surrounding cavity filled with water. radiation, electronic noise, and other sources that make the signal “We know very well how the detector behaves with water in it, so difficult to detect. this is a benchmarking process,” Orebi Gann explains. By next There are about 35 isotopes that naturally undergo double beta summer, the water will be displaced with liquid scintillator. “As decay and could potentially undergo the neutrinoless version. SNO+ soon as we feel we understand the scintillator-filled detector,” she will be able to search for this reaction in a variety of isotopes, one at adds, “we will load the first target isotope. We hope to be collecting a time. A single isotope can be dissolved in the liquid scintillator, physics data by this time next year.” tested, then removed and replaced with another isotope. “If we see something,” Orebi Gann notes, “we can test our own CUORE with Yury Kolomensky result with a different isotope.” Observing the signs of neutrinoless Both SNO+ and CUORE are searching for evidence of neutrinoless double beta decay in several isotopes would provide very strong double beta decay, but their experimental approaches are very evidence that neutrinos are Majorana particles. different. The SNO+ detector uses a liquid target, which weighs Also, by comparing the half-life of neutrinoless double beta about a kiloton, and measures 12 meters in diameter. The CUORE decay in different isotopes, SNO+ collaborators will be able to place detector uses solid tellurium oxide (TeO2) crystals as the target, tighter constraints on the actual mass of the Majorana neutrino. weighs about one ton, and measures about one cubic meter. Analysis of data from SNO+ will be accomplished by compar- CUORE has the advantage of much higher energy resolution ing it to a very detailed computer simulation now being designed. than experiments using a liquid target. “CUORE can focus on a

8 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 narrow energy range with very high precision,” says Kolomensky. “If this experiment sees signs of neutrinoless double beta decay, we will be very sure that’s the process we are observing. We don’t have to analyze for backgrounds in a broad window as liquid detector experiments do.” CUORE’s precision comes with an important limitation–it must be purpose-built for use with a single isotope. In this case, the isotope is Tellurium-130, formed into crystals of tellurium oxide (TeO2). In place of the liquid scintillator and photomultiplier tubes used in the Daya Bay and SNO+ experiments, CUORE uses bolometer technology. Bolometers are devices that convert energy into a change in temperature. CUORE’s TeO2 crystals themselves are bolometers: they’re both the source and the detector for the radioactive decay the experiment is searching for. When a Te atom undergoes double beta decay, it produces a tiny energy release in the crystal that raises its temperature. Each crystal is connected to a very sensitive CUORE, located about 1.5 km underground at Gran Sasso in Italy, thermistor that registers these temperature fluctuations. consists of a block-shaped array of 988 tightly packed tellurium oxide 3 (TeO2) crystals, each measuring 125cm . The crystals are stacked in 19 “This approach is very similar to the bolometer technology towers of 52 crystals apiece. Each crystal is attached to a thermistor that astrophysicists use to measure the cosmic microwave background,” senses minute temperature fluctuations resulting from the energies of Kolomensky explains. “The concept is fairly simple. If the heat radioactive decay in the Te isotope. The entire assembly is wrapped in lead shielding and housed in a cryostat that keeps everything at a temperature capacity of the target is very small, then very small energy changes of 10 milliKelvin. within the target become relatively large temperature increases. If we know the heat capacity of the target, we can use the temperature hand, must be shrouded in several tons of lead. But not just any variations to infer the total energy of an event. CUORE will be able lead. The lead used in the experiment must be free of radioactivity. to measure temperature increases on the order of 100 microKelvin.” “Ettore Fiorini, the intellectual leader of this experiment, The sensors that provide readouts of temperature fluctuations in procured several tons of ancient lead for us to use in CUORE,” CUORE’s bolometers are neutron transmutation doped germanium Kolomensky reports. “It was retrieved from the bottom of the thermistors (NTDs). They are made using a semiconductor fabrica- Mediterranean, from the wreck of a Roman galleon. So it has sat tion technique pioneered at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the bottom of the sea for about 2000 years, protected from (LBNL). The technique involves irradiating germanium (Ge) radioactivity-causing cosmic rays.” atoms, causing some of them to absorb extra neutrons and then The entire CUORE assembly, including its lead shielding, is decay into gallium (Ga) or arsenic (As) atoms. housed in a specially built cryostat that cools everything to 10 For CUORE’s NTDs, the neutron transmutation process is milliKelvin. This low temperature reduces the heat capacity of used to dope Ge with Ga and As in such a way that “the electrical the TeO2 crystals, which in turn increases detector sensitivity. resistance of the material becomes a very steep function of temper- “One of my graduate students claims that CUORE, when it begins ature,” Kolomensky says. “The material becomes a very sensitive operating, will be the coldest cubic meter in the known universe,” temperature sensor.” Kolomensky says. Members of Kolomensky’s research group, which includes Several of CUORE’s 19 towers have been assembled and personnel at LBNL and on campus, are participating in the construc- wired, and the entire detector should be complete and ready for tion of the 1200 NTDs needed for CUORE. After the Ge is irradi- operation by the end of 2014. ated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an engineer at LBNL cuts the material into pieces and deposits gold as electrodes. New Physics “My research group on campus tests them and measures their In 2004, the American Physical Society published The Neutrino characteristics in preparation for delivery to Gran Sasso, where we Matrix, a study of neutrino physics that spells out the directions mount them on the detectors,” Kolomensky notes. The Berkeley of research most likely to reveal the neutrino’s secrets. One of group is also responsible for wiring the detector. the study’s lead authors was Berkeley’s Stuart Freedman. The “All assembly is done underground in very carefully designed experiments at Daya Bay, SNO+, and CUORE are following along clean rooms,” Kolomensky adds. “Inside the clean rooms we use the lines of inquiry Freedman helped develop. glove boxes with a nitrogen atmosphere, to prevent exposure to Daya Bay will continue taking data until the end of 2015. radon in the air. Gran Sasso has a fairly high level of radon because SNO+ and CUORE both begin operation next year. These endeavors, the mountain is granite with uranium veins.” in combination with other neutrino experiments around the world, All neutrino experiments are sited underground, to shield are sure to reveal new secrets of the ‘ghost particle’. Is physics them from cosmic rays. Liquid detectors like Daya Bay and SNO+ beyond the Standard Model just around the corner? are further shielded by their sheer volume. CUORE, on the other Stay tuned.

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 9 Mapping the InfanT U n i v e r s e Revelations f rom the Cosmic Mi crowave Background

Berkeley astrophysicists are at the very center of cosmological discovery

10 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Mapping the InfanT

“The existence of the CMB is one of the pillars of the Big Bang model...Every calculation you U n i v e r s e think of starting, every experiment you think of doing, begins with these facts we know from the CMB–the numbers, the model, the initial conditions, even the way we phrase a problem.”

ver the past 20 years, observations of the Bang model,” says Berkeley theoretical astrophysicist Martin cosmic microwave background (CMB) have White. “And it’s become the bedrock of cosmological research. revealed that this remnant ‘afterglow’ of Every calculation you think of starting, every experiment you radiation, emitted about 380,000 years think of doing, begins with these facts we know from the CMB– after the Big Bang, carries abundant detail the numbers, the model, the initial conditions, even the way we about the cosmos. To date, studies of CMB phrase a problem.” radiationO indicate that the universe has a flat geometry and have CMB Research at Berkeley produced evidence that strongly supports cosmic inflation–the UC Berkeley’s Department of Physics is one of the places where theory that the universe went through a very rapid, exponential CMB exploration first began. For more than 20 years, experiments expansion in the instant after the Big Bang. based here have made critical contributions to the field, starting Measurements of the CMB enable cosmologists to assess the with pioneering efforts from experimentalists Paul Richards amount of dark matter and dark energy in the universe, to detect and George Smoot. dust-shrouded galaxies that might otherwise go unseen, and to Berkeley astrophysicist and emeritus professor Paul Richards measure the total mass of the neutrino. CMB observations could formed the very first CMB research group at Berkeley. Renowned also make it possible to peer farther back in time, into the roiling, as one of the world’s most important contributors to CMB detection densely energized instant of inflation itself, to explore energies that methodology, he pioneered the development of bolometer technolo- could never be achieved in earthbound particle accelerators. gies. Bolometers are detectors specialized for sensing extremely CMB radiation was emitted at that moment in the history of small deviations in energy. He and his research team have the universe when very hot, dense, fluid-like plasma had cooled invented, fabricated, and implemented several generations of cryo- enough for atoms to form. During the plasma phase, photons were genically cooled, composite bolometers that have proven extraordi- trapped, scattering off free electrons so frequently they could travel narily successful in making sensitive, high-resolution measurements only very short distances between encounters. Collapsing, overdense of CMB radiation. regions coupled to radiation, which resists collapse, creating acoustic Cosmologist George Smoot shared the 2006 Nobel Prize for oscillations in the plasma in much the same way sound waves his part in producing the first ‘baby picture’ of the universe – a map create compressions and rarefactions in air. of temperature anisotropies in the CMB released in 1992. The Once the plasma cooled and atoms began to form, the acoustic instrument Smoot and his colleagues developed for the COBE oscillations ceased. Photons, no longer trapped, streamed outward (Cosmic Background Explorer) project, called the differential as the universe continued to expand. CMB radiation is composed microwave radiometer, compared temperature differences across of these photons, which carry an image of the variations, or relatively large swaths of the sky. anisotropies, present at the ‘surface of last scattering’–those final Today, several Berkeley faculty members are involved in CMB moments of the ionized plasma. The denser, hotter regions of the research. Theorist Martin White is a member of the Planck satellite CMB represent cosmic ‘seeds’ which, through gravitational collaboration. Two experimentalists, Adrian Lee and William attraction, eventually grew into the stars, galaxies, and galaxy Holzapfel, lead ground-based telescope observations of the CMB. clusters of today’s universe. Uroš Seljak, Director of Berkeley’s Center for Cosmological “The existence of the CMB is one of the pillars of the Big Physics, is involved with CMB theory research.

(opposite) One of the “plug plates” used for the BOSS experiment. Each plate is an aluminum disk with holes drilled to match the precise position of a previously imaged target and placed at the telescope’s focal plane. Optical fibers are plugged into the holes every day by hand, to guide the light from each target to a spectrograph.

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 11 In addition to producing the most detailed map yet of CMB temperature anisotropies across the entire sky, the Planck satellite mapped dark matter by measuring gravi- tational lensing of CMB radiation. This image shows dark matter distribution across the history of the universe as projected on the sky. Dark areas represent regions that are denser than their surroundings. The gray area at the equator corresponds to the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, which are too bright to include in the analysis.

Planck Satellite is the same as the Higgs field that gives mass to present-day COBE’s ‘baby picture’ prompted an avalanche of new research, and particles,” he explains. “The only difference is the way in which has since been superseded by more detailed results from a number the Higgs field interacts with gravity in today’s universe versus of experiments. This past March, the most detailed temperature the early universe. That changes.” He calls the idea “radical, but map of CMB radiation yet produced was unveiled by scientists exciting.” working with the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite, using The Planck satellite was launched in 2009, and data collection the type of bolometer technology pioneered at Berkeley. “It’s was completed this summer. Analysis continues, and further designed to be the definitive word on CMB temperature anisotropies,” results will be released over the next couple of years. notes White, who has been a member of the Planck team since the Small-Scale CMB Measurements project’s inception. With Planck, large-scale structures in the CMB emission have CMB data collected by the Planck satellite increases evidential been measured to such a high precision that deeper observations support for the theory of cosmic inflation and lengthens the esti- would not improve our understanding of cosmology. However, mated age of the universe by 80 to 100 million years. It indicates experiments that focus on smaller regions of the sky can achieve that the universe contains a bit more matter than previously higher precision and detect smaller-scale structure unseen by thought, and that its rate of expansion is slower than estimates from Planck. This is the approach both Adrian Lee and William other astronomical observations. Planck’s temperature map shows Holzapfel have taken in their CMB research. larger and more numerous anisotropies in the northern hemisphere Lee and Paul Richards have been collaborating on CMB of the sky compared with the southern hemisphere, along with an experiments since 1994. Their first project together, a balloon- unexplained cool spot – findings that run counter to prevailing borne CMB experiment called MAXIMA, evolved into a succes- assumptions that the universe is largely uniform across the sky. sion of experiments that probed the CMB in increasing detail. In “One of the amazing things about the Planck data is what it 2004, when Richards retired, Lee took leadership of the research tells us about the period of exponentially rapid expansion of the group. Currently, Lee is Principle Investigator for POLARBEAR, universe that laid down all the seeds of structure that we see today an experiment designed to measure the polarization of CMB light, – the epoch of inflation,” White says. installed on the Huan Tran Telescope in Chile. The theory of cosmic inflation, initially posited by Alan Guth Holzapfel had already been working in CMB science when he in 1980, became a very active topic of theoretical speculation in the joined the Berkeley faculty in 1998 and took leadership of ACBAR, early 2000s. “That’s when we began looking back at assumptions a ground-based experiment mounted on the Viper telescope at the made in the early papers on inflation, to see if different assumptions South Pole. He too has led a succession of CMB experiments, many would be compatible with the observations,” White explains. “But of them in collaboration with Lee’s group. Holzapfel leads the group at Planck has now ruled out most of those new ideas. The only models Berkeley working on the South Pole Telescope (SPT), a 10m telescope left are in some sense very simple. That’s hard to understand, that is the largest ever deployed at the South Pole. because we try to fit theories of inflation into other theories about CMB signals are faint and easily obscured by other radiation the early universe, such as string theory and high energy particle sources. Collecting temperature data is challenging enough–the physics. Those models tend to be very complicated, yet none of temperature of the CMB is only 2.7 degrees above absolute zero, that complication leaks into inflationary theory.” requiring that detectors be shielded from all sources of heat Planck data also hint at a relationship between energies of contamination. the early universe and the energies of the Higgs boson, which was These days, Lee and Holzapfel are looking for even fainter sig- recently detected at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. “There’s a nals coming from the polarization of the CMB. Along with theory of inflation in which the energy field that drove the expansion Richards, they’ve made critical contributions to an evolution in

12 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 bolometer technology that has progressively enhanced the volume Beyond Infancy: BOSS and MS-DESI and precision of data that can be collected from CMB radiation. Is the cosmological constant really a constant? That’s one Their ideas continue to be applied in the design of CMB experiments of the big questions that interests theoretical cosmologist all over the world. Uroš Seljak, Director of the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics (BCCP), along with many of his Improved Bolometer Designs colleagues. “Because we keep looking for smaller and smaller signals,” Lee The original discovery that the expansion of the universe points out, “it’s been essential to build better and better detector is accelerating, perhaps due to the mysterious force of dark systems.” During his postdoc years, Lee’s prior experience with energy, came from observations of distant supernovae – dark matter studies led him to become the first scientist to suggest research for which Berkeley astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter using superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES) as thermom- was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize. “We think this accel- eters in the bolometers used to detect CMB photons. eration can be well explained by something like the cosmo- As a bolometer absorbs photons, its temperature fluctuates. logical constant,” Seljak says. “We are trying to take The TES detects these tiny fluctuations by measuring changes in measurements that can distinguish whether it’s really the amount of power needed to maintain the superconductor at its constant or not. Measuring baryon acoustic emissions in transition temperature. “Paul Richards and I wrote the first paper galaxy surveys is a very good example of how to do that. on that,” Lee recalls, “and now most CMB experiments use the We’re trying to patch together how the universe is evolving technique.” in time.” Over the years, Lee, Holzapfel, and Richards have incorporated photolithography and other miniaturization techniques into their BOSS bolometer designs. Today, the bolometers they produce operate at Seljak, along with fellow theorist Martin White, has been the physical limits of sensitivity, but they’re overcoming that limita- involved with the Planck satellite collaboration and with a tion by combining the bolometers into large arrays. Both the component of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey called the POLARBEAR and South Pole Telescopes already use arrays of Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). BOSS shares some science goals with CMB experiments, includ- more than 1,000 bolometers, and there are plans to go even larger. ing the aim of mapping the progression of structure forma- Lee and Holzapfel are further enhancing the precision and tion in the universe over time. BOSS was the first attempt speed of CMB measurements by increasing the number of functions to use baryon oscillation – a representation of the clumping each bolometer can perform. They’re working on a new design, of matter in the universe – as a precision tool to measure called a multichroic bolometer, which expands sensitivity from one dark energy. It’s also the first survey to use light from frequency to three. “A single multichroic bolometer will detect six bright quasars to map intergalactic hydrogen. parameters,” Holzapfel says, “two polarizations in each of three frequency bands.” “The idea behind BOSS was to map the acoustic oscillations created during inflation as they appear 10 billion years or so after the Big Bang,” White explains. “By comparing that picture to the CMB, we can look at inflation from 400,000 years after the Big Bang all the way out to 10 billion years. Those observations enable us to trace the expansion history of the universe over that entire period, measure the amount of dark matter in the universe, and begin to get at how much dark energy there is and how rapidly it’s evolving – if it’s evolving at all.” DESI Seljak and White are participating in a new collaboration, now in the planning stages, called DESI – Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. The project is a scale-up of BOSS that aims to create the largest-ever 3D map of the universe and study dark energy with unprecedented Multichroic bolometers detect multiple frequencies coming from the CMB. precision. This photograph shows a dual-frequency-band pixel from a multichroic bolometer. The pixel uses a “sinuous” antenna. Arrays of more than a “It would map millions and millions of galaxies,” Seljak thousand of these pixels are being built for use in POLARBEAR and SPT. says, “allowing us to measure dark energy to high preci- Constructed at the Berkeley Marvell Nanofabrication Lab, each pixel sion – and would yield other important scientific results as measures two linear polarizations in two frequency bands simultaneously. well, including determining neutrino mass and the number The antenna is 1mm in diameter. of neutrino families.” In 2012, UC Berkeley received, through the BCCP, a $2.1 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to fund development of the revolutionary technologies now being designed for the project. In January of this year, the Department of Energy chose Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to manage instrument design and fabrication. CMB Polarization of CMB in the world,” Lee reports. At present, the project team CMB radiation carries fluctuations in polarization as well as temper- is focusing on gravitational B-modes in the polarized CMB. ature. Now that temperature anisotropies have been well charac- “Hopefully we’ll be able to report we’re seeing that signal by the terized, many experiments, including POLARBEAR and SPT, are end of this year,” he says. focusing on CMB polarization. “The patterns of polarization in the Polar Bear will go through a series of upgrades in the next few CMB have many things to tell us about cosmology and fundamental years. “An array of more than 1,200 bolometers has been installed physics, especially high-energy particle physics,” Lee says. “The on the current phase,” Lee adds. “POLARBEAR II, with 8,000 most exciting thing we could learn is the physics of inflation.” bolometers, will come online in a couple of years. And in 2016, we The polarization pattern of the CMB has two components, move to what’s called the Simons Array – three telescopes with a called E-modes and B-modes. Both are much more challenging to total of 23,000 bolometers. So, in about three years we’ll be taking detect than the temperature anisotropies of the CMB. data a factor of 30 faster than we are now.” E-mode polarization patterns originated from the same physics that created temperature anisotropies in the CMB. Measuring them, Lee explains, “will help us understand how and when the first stars and galaxies formed.” B-mode polarization patterns are more subtle and more difficult to measure. Most B-modes – called ‘gravitational B-modes’ – were pro- duced by the distortion of E-mode polarized light as it encountered the gravitational pull of galaxies on its journey through space and time. But a second type of B-mode – called ‘inflationary B-modes’ – is more subtle yet, even more difficult to detect, and even more tantalizing to researchers. Inflationary B-modes arose from gravity waves produced during the inflationary epoch, as first proposed by Seljak in 1997. Successfully measuring inflationary B-modes, Lee says, “will not only prove that inflation occurred, but also teach us about the universe when it was very hot and at very high energy Hideki Mori (left) and Zigmund Kermish (right) installing POLARBEAR’s density. At that time, particle interactions were occurring at ener- 1284-bolometer focal plane. gies 12 orders of magnitude higher than the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.” Inflationary B-modes could reveal physics far beyond South Pole Telescope and SPTpol what can be studied in particle accelerators built on Earth. The SPT, initially deployed in 2008, was primarily designed to conduct a search of distant clusters of galaxies as a way of studying dark energy. In addition, SPT has studied gravitational lensing in the CMB. “As the CMB travels through the universe,” Holzapfel explains, “it gets distorted by gravity from intervening structures. The distor- tion creates a statistical signal that allows us to make high-fidelity maps of all the projected mass the CMB has traveled through.” “Those measurements are already being used,” he adds. “We’ve published results showing constraints on cosmological parameters and confirmation of the existence of dark energy without any appeal to supernova or other data, just the CMB itself.” In 2012 SPT was fitted with a new polarization-sensitive receiver and rechristened SPTpol. “We’ve already published preliminary constraints on neutrino mass using data from the first receiver” Holzapfel notes. “By adding polarization data from SPTpol we should be able to reach limits on neutrino mass that are POLARBEAR’s Huan Tran Telescope, located at an altitude of 17,000 ft better than terrestrial lab experiments.” (51,050 m) in Chile’s Atacama Desert. This July, the SPTpol team reported the first detection of gravitational B-mode polarization of the CMB. According to the POLARBEAR team’s press announcement, “The signals detected by SPTpol are due POLARBEAR and SPT have similar science goals, including to gravitational lensing, and a sufficiently sensitive measurement detecting inflationary B-mode polarization, placing limits on the of these signals will help us learn about neutrinos through their sum of the three neutrino masses, and exploring differences in the impact on the growth of structure in the universe. Successfully behavior of dark energy in the early universe versus present time. detecting this tiny B-mode signal also represents a major milestone POLARBEAR saw first light in January 2012. “After more along the way to using the CMB to learn about the earliest moments than a year of observations, we now have the lowest-noise map of the universe with inflationary B-modes.”

14 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 When multichroic bolometers are ready for implementation, they’ll be used to upgrade SPTpol, giving it an even larger number of detectors. “It will increase our mapping speed on the sky by an order of magnitude,” Holzapfel says. In the long term, Lee and Holzapfel report that plans are in the works for a space mission dedicated to CMB polarization science. Called Light Bird, the project is currently in the study phase, and plans call for using multichroic bolometer arrays developed and fabricated at Berkeley.

Back to the Future • Mapping dark matter • Detecting signals from gravity waves created during cosmic inflation • Measuring neutrino mass • Mapping the progression of structure formation in the universe from the beginning of time until now The South Pole Telescope (left) and the Dark Sector Laboratory, shown during the brief Antarctic summer. For the few months when it’s possible • Learning whether dark energy has changed since the beginning to reach the telescope, researchers upgrade the receivers, perform main- of time, or is indeed a cosmological constant tenance, and train operators who will keep the telescope going during six These are some of the primary aims of cosmological research months of complete darkness and temperatures below -100F. today. Achieving them requires looking back into the very beginnings of the universe. Many gifted scientists are focusing their energy and creativity on these questions, using a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches. Findings are coming in. The trickle is growing into a stream.

Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics Berkeley astrophysicist George Smoot contributed a large portion of his 2006 Nobel Prize winnings to establish the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics (BCCP). The center’s activities include a highly successful postdoctoral program designed to attract outstanding young scientists, and a visiting researcher program that invites prestigious cosmologists from other institutions for extended stays. “We recently received a major donation from the Heising- Simons Foundation that will enable us to expand these programs,” says BCCP Director Uroš Seljak. “An interesting idea Saul Perlmutter has proposed,” Seljak The South Pole Telescope takes advantage of the Antarctic’s cold, thin, adds, “is to bring Berkeley faculty from other fields to dry atmosphere and six months of darkness. come and exchange ideas with BCCP members. Maybe somebody in literature wants to write a book about cosmology, or a philosopher wants to spend time talking to cosmologists.” This program will begin once New Campbell Hall is complete and the BCCP has more space available for visitors. Perlmutter is also spearheading plans for a new computa- tional initiative within the BCCP. The aim is to find new approaches to the analysis of so-called ‘big data’ – the ever-growing volume of data created by precision experi- ments. “In all fields, including our field, there has been a lot of trial and error approach,” Seljak says. “We want to look at what has been tried and what has failed, in order to develop mechanisms that prevent us from making too many errors. This concept would apply on a broad scale, not just cosmology.”

Berkeley graduate student Liz George installing the SPTpol detector array in the South Pole Telescope cryostat at the South Pole. Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 15 Biophysics graduate student Michael Levy gets Summer Program Compass students experiment with the physics of sound during the 2013 students started on an investigation into the physics of sound. Summer Program.

The Compass Project

Berkeley students work together to foster community and serve educational needs Contributed by Physics Graduate Students Jesse Livezey and Hilary Jacks

f you walk by the UC Berkeley Department of Physics in Society’s 2012 Award for Improving Undergraduate Physics August, you might see clusters of excited students dropping Education. And Compass programs are being emulated by other Slinkies from balconies or experimenting with a gloppy corn- universities. Compass members gave an invited colloquium at starch and water suspension playfully known as oobleck. Colorado University in 2012 and Arizona State in 2013, and consulted These are scenes from the Berkeley Compass Project: incoming for a new Compass-like program at Florida International University physical science undergraduates using Slinkies to explore the that piloted in 2012. Compass members also helped develop a conceptsI of tension, force, and gravity; or concocting their own National Science Foundation grant to emulate Compass at experiments with oobleck to investigate the properties of non- University of Maryland. Newtonian fluids. Experiences like these are part of a two-week Summer Program Compass has Many Facets created by the Compass Project–a group of students who have In addition to the two-week Summer Program every August, developed an award-winning suite of courses, lectures, and men- Compass offers a number of programs for undergraduates. toring partnerships for the benefit of fellow students. The Summer Science Modeling and Measurement Program, offered to incoming freshmen at no cost, offers the chance This two-semester course helps freshmen hone their scientific to explore a physical phenomenon through authentic scientific skills in preparation for becoming involved in formal research. investigation. So, even before undergraduate coursework begins, Rather than relying on lectures, Compass teaching methods freshmen are doing real science. They’re also developing community. Students often form friendships during the Compass Summer emphasize group work, self-discovery, and collaboration. Program that last throughout their tenure at Berkeley and beyond. Frontiers of Physics Compass Wins Awards This upper division course offers an overview of active research The Compass Project was established in 2007 by a group of graduate areas in the physical sciences. Its round-table discussion format students who recognized the need for community-building and allows students to discuss a range of topics with graduate students education-enhancing activities that would welcome incoming and research faculty from the Departments of Physics and undergraduates, help them get established in the scientific community Astronomy. The course encourages undergraduates to become at Cal, and offer them academic and intellectual support. involved in research, which can help them reach informed The Compass Project’s success at implementing research- decisions about graduate school and the general trajectory of based educational methods earned it the American Physical their careers.

16 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Transitioning to Berkeley Physical Sciences envisioned creating in my own classroom. It’s inspiring to see that Students who transfer from other institutions often face a unique these seemingly lofty teaching goals are actually obtainable.” set of obstacles. The Compass Project’s Transfer Course is Undergraduates who come into Compass as freshmen often designed to give junior transfer students a chance to develop rela- go on to assume leadership roles in the organization. This year, tionships in their cohort while augmenting their technical knowl- planning and logistics for the Summer Program were spearheaded edge and study skills. by undergraduates.

Compass Mentoring Program Funding for Compass In the Mentoring Program, graduate students form long-lasting Since Compass started, the program has grown from 11 freshmen relationships with undergraduates who seek personalized, consistent in 2007 to 20 new freshman and 36 transfer students in 2013. feedback for navigating academia. Mentors and mentees meet one- Compass struggles to support itself. In 2009, 2011, and 2012, the on-one at frequent intervals and join others in the program in August Summer Program was reduced to only one week because attending professional development workshops on helpful topics of financial constraints. In the long term, Compass leaders would such as goal-setting and dealing with stress. like to see the Compass Project become an endowed program, so The Compass Project is currently consulting for Berkeley they can focus more of their time on improving education and Connect in Physics–a new campus-wide mentoring program that building community. shares many goals with Compass. The aim is to create an environ- For more information on Compass Project activities, and ment in which students can identify as scientists who have an to find out how you can help support them, visit active part in the scientific community at UC Berkeley. www.berkeleycompassproject.org.

Compass Lecture Series Compass Project Student Retention Compared to A lecture series targeted specifically at undergraduates consists of UC Berkeley and the National Average five research talks each semester, given by physical science faculty ’07-’08 Compass Students Majoring in STEM Field or PhD candidates nearing graduation. 85%

Compass Builds Community ’07-’08 Compass Students Graduated in STEM Field In a large research university like Berkeley, it’s easy for undergrad- 65% uates to feel disconnected from professors and graduate students– ’95-’97 Cal Retention in in STEM Field for Minority Students the very community of scientists they’re being trained to join. 35% Students have a lot to say about how the Compass community ’95-’97 Cal Retention in in STEM Field for Non-Minority Students influences their lives in science. 61% Undergraduate Kevin Gutowski says, “Physics can be very National Retention in STEM Field difficult, and it’s easy to let the stress get to you. Without such a strong community to keep me inspired, I think my overall experi- 38% ence with physics at Cal would have been much more frustrating.” 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 He adds that Compass programs help freshmen “build a sense of Compass Programs have a significant impact on retention rates in science, community that creates a safe place to make mistakes and learn from technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Compared to students at them.” Gutowski is now a member of the Compass design team. UC Berkeley and nationally, Compass students are much more likely to Undergraduate Alexis Williams says, “Compass has made me remain in a STEM major. feel more confident that I can successfully major in geology. I’ve been able to turn to other Compass members for support for academics and personal issues. All along the way, they have shared their love of Demographics of Compass Students Compared to Demographics of National Physics Bachelor’s Degrees science with me and made me feel more comfortable discussing scientific discoveries with other physical science majors.” Compass National “I’ve particularly been influenced by my mentor, whom I met Female 45% 21% during the Summer Program,” Williams adds. “He has been very helpful and encouraging as well as honest.” Williams is now a First Generation College 19% n/a Compass volunteer. Chicano/Latino 26% n/a African American 5% n/a Compass Benefits Its Leaders The students who lead the Compass Project give a lot to their fellow Native American 1% n/a students. They also enjoy many benefits, including opportunities Total Underrepresented 32% 7% Minority Students to develop mentorship skills and build a professional teaching portfolio by designing an entire curriculum from the ground up. Compass serves students from a broad range of racial, ethnic, and Joseph Thurakal, a Compass collaborator and physics socio-economic backgrounds. Graduate Student Instructor, observes, “the Compass classroom creates the type of collaborative, engaged environment I’ve always

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 17 Department News Physics professor Robert Birgeneau, the world, his efforts to enhance diversity while he held the post of UC Chancellor, in science and for deepening our under- had many opportunities to work with standing of magnetism and its interplay Hellman while she was Chair. “Our physics with other states of matter.” department was very good before Frances The medal, a certificate of recognition, took on the Chair’s position and it is even and a $10,000 check were presented to better now,” he says. “I was most Birgeneau at the American Physical Society’s impressed with how deeply thoughtful and March 18 meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. strategic she was. Further, she was always Also in January, the American inclusive in her administrative actions, Academy held a symposium in Birgeneau’s consulting as broadly and as thoroughly as honor. The gathering focused on the benefits

Physics Department Chair Steve Boggs possible. Not only was Frances an out- of public investment in higher education standing Chair, I suspect that we have not and included the announcement that New Chair for the Department seen the last of her in important adminis- Birgeneau will lead the American Academy’s of Physics trative positions.” new Lincoln Project for Excellence and After six years as Chair of UC Berkeley’s Access in Public Higher Education. Its Department of Physics, Frances Hellman Birgeneau Awarded 2012 purpose is to advocate for the importance is returning to full time research and Compton Medal of public colleges and universities, with teaching. She left her post as Chair in July, On June 1, goals that include assessing the implications placing the department in the capable as physicist of forces that threaten public higher educa- hands of astrophysicist Steven Boggs. A Robert tion and developing strategies to preserve Berkeley alumnus (PhD ’98), Boggs joined Birgeneau the strength and diversity of colleges and the physics faculty in 2000. He is an exper- stepped universities. Named after President imentalist whose primary research inter- down from Abraham Lincoln, it commemorates his ests include developing and operating gam- his nine-year signing of the 1862 Morrill Act, which laid ma-ray telescopes that make detailed mea- stint as UC the groundwork for the nation’s public surements of radioactive nuclei produced Berkeley’s university system. in supernova explosions. Chancellor, “Public disinvestment and escalating “I feel very fortunate to inherit the leg- he stepped up to new roles and the receipt costs are increasingly threatening our acy of Frances Hellman,” Boggs says. of new honors. He handed over the vaunted system of public higher education,” “Frances made great strides on behalf of Chancellor’s duties to his successor, Birgeneau says. “Without bold steps to the department. She navigated Berkeley anthropologist and historian Nicholas stabilize the financial model of our public Physics through the University-wide bud- Dirks. He’s returning to teaching and universities, hundreds of thousands of get crisis, while still managing to retain top research in the Department of Physics. deserving students will be denied access faculty and create world-class facilities. He received the 2012 Karl Taylor Compton to a better life and the country’s ability to Throughout her tenure, Frances focused on Medal for Leadership in Physics from the innovate, create jobs, and support a strong improving the educational experience of American Institute of Physics (AIP). And economy will be severely compromised.” our undergrads and grads–our increased he has taken the reins as leader of the During his tenure as Chancellor, enrollments demonstrate her success.” Lincoln Project, a new educational initia- Birgeneau launched initiatives at UC “Similarly, my greatest priority is to tive from the American Academy of Arts Berkeley that are models for public colleges improve the education of our students,” and Sciences. and universities elsewhere, including a Boggs continues, “while creating an environ- “I could not be more pleased once more grant-based financial aid plan for middle ment that celebrates the diversity of inter- to be back teaching and doing research full class families and scholarships and support ests and backgrounds these students bring time,” Birgeneau said recently. “I look for- for undocumented students. to our department. I also intend to keep ward to myriad interactions with my post- Berkeley Physics the best place in the world docs, students, and colleagues in physics. Obama Honors Rosenfeld for our faculty to pursue their research.” It will also be sheer pleasure to attend as At a White House ceremony on February 1, One of Hellman’s most important con- many as I want of the varied, stimulating President Barack Obama awarded UC tributions was her participation in the talks that are given in the physics depart- Berkeley emeritus physics professor Academic Program Review, which ment every single week.” Arthur Rosenfeld a National Medal of included development of a strategic plan In January, the AIP honored Birgeneau Technology and Innovation for 2011. for the future of the Department of Physics. for his “exceptional statesmanship in sci- Rosenfeld received the award for his The review outlines recent departmental ence” by awarding him the 2012 Compton extraordinary leadership in the develop- accomplishments, spells out specific goals Medal. Birgeneau was cited “for his leader- ment of energy-efficient building technolo- for the next ten years, and proposes ave- ship in improving the situation for women gies and related standards and policies. nues for accomplishing those goals. in science in the United States and around “I am proud to honor these inspiring

18 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Department News

BrunoFest Celebrates was gathering these amazing speakers. Zumino’s 90th Everyone wanted to come to honor Bruno BrunoFest–a symposium convened to because Supersymmetry, his ‘invention’ honor Berkeley emeritus physics professor together with Julius Wess, is the next Holy and world-renowned theoretical physicist Grail at the LHC. Not to mention the fact Bruno Zumino on the occasion of his 90th that Bruno is beloved for being a truly kind birthday–brought together some of the and wonderful person.” world’s most distinguished physicists. In addition to Zumino’s groundbreaking Hosted by the Berkeley Center for work on supersymmetric theory, he is well Theoretical Physics (BCTP), the known for his proof of the CPT theorem, done symposium took place May 2-4, 2013. in collaboration with German physicist Gerhart Luders. Zumino joined the Berkeley faculty in 1982 and has been professor emeritus since 1994. “For health reasons Bruno was able to attend only part of BrunoFest,” said Maria Hjelm, Director of Development and Communications for the Department of Arthur Rosenfeld with President Barack Obama Physics. “He came to his birthday banquet and greeted every single attendee, including American innovators,” President Obama physics professor John David Jackson and said. “They represent the ingenuity and several Berkeley alumni.” Those alumni imagination that has long made this Nation included Chryssomalis Chryssomalakos great–and they remind us of the enormous (PhD ’94), Oren Cheyette (PhD ’87), David impact a few good ideas can have when Brahm (PhD ’90), Pei-Ming Ho (PhD ’96), these creative qualities are unleashed in and Ling-Lie Chau (PhD ’66). an entrepreneurial environment.” Bruno Zumino and Fabiola Gianotti With a decades-long career in energy Fellowship and Symposium to analysis and research, Rosenfeld is often Honor Stuart Freedman credited with billions of dollars in energy The weekend included a public lecture The late nuclear savings and is viewed by many as “the god- from Fabiola Gianotti, former spokesperson physicist Stuart J. father of energy efficiency.” He served as a for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Freedman is being Senior Advisor at the US Department of Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Gianotti remembered with Energy and as a member of the California was runner-up to President Obama for the creation of a new Energy Commission. He co-founded the Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for graduate fellowship American Council for an Energy Efficiency 2012, and a sellout crowd came to hear her in his name and a Economy (ACEEE), and the University of speak on “The Higgs Boson and Our Life” scientific symposium California’s Institute for Energy and the at International House. She explained the to be held in his honor. Freedman, a nuclear Environment (CIEE). His many honors relevance of the 2012 discovery of the Higgs physicist and world-renowned investigator include the 2006 Enrico Fermi Award boson and described the unprecedented of fundamental physical laws, served on the “for a lifetime of achievement ranging instruments and challenges involved. Berkeley physics faculty from 1991 until from pioneering scientific discoveries in Gianotti played a major role in the design his unexpected death in 2012. He had held experimental nuclear and particle physics and construction of the electromagnetic the Luis W. Alvarez Memorial Chair in to innovations in science, technology, and calorimeter that was central to the ATLAS Experimental Physics since 1999. A devoted public policy for energy conservation that observations of the Higgs. Her talk can be teacher, Freedman supervised 15 graduate continue to benefit humanity.” viewed online at http://www.youtube.com/ students, 40 undergraduate research The National Medal for Technology watch?v=QJQfmsHSoeY students, and 18 post-doctoral fellows and Innovation, first awarded in 1985, BrunoFest speakers also featured Nobel during his time at Berkeley. is the United States’ highest honor for laureate Steven Weinberg and 16 other The Stuart J. Freedman Memorial technological achievement. It recognizes physicists, including Berkeley alumni Fellowship Fund in Physics was established individuals who have made lasting contri- Nima Arkani-Hamed (PhD’97) and last year by Freedman’s wife, Joyce, a butions to America’s competitiveness, John H. Schwarz (PhD ’66), along with longtime UC Berkeley staff member, their standard of living, and quality of life Edward Witten, Savas Dimopoulos, John son Paul and his wife Emily. The Freedman through technological innovation, as well Ellis, and Luciano Maiani. Fellowship will be used to support graduate as those who have made substantial contri- Physics professor Petr Horava, students enrolled in physics at UC Berkeley butions to strengthening our nation’s Director of the BCTP, said, “The easiest who demonstrate high academic distinc- technological workforce. part of putting this conference together

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 19 Department News tion as well as financial need. Because physical sciences. For over 20 years, the stories about the other nominees,” Antler Freedman felt deeply about furthering the organization has provided resources, added, “and getting a chance to mingle with role of women in physics, preference will mentorship and leadership development. those who had come out to support them.” be given to female students of nuclear Each year, SWPS works to strengthen com- Keynote speaker at the awards dinner physics, particle physics, or atomic, molec- munity within UC Berkeley and beyond in was Carla Peterman, a PhD candidate at UC ular, and optical (AMO) physics, with the order to build the next generation of female Berkeley, a Rhodes Scholar, an energy mar- expectation that recipients will hold the scientists. ket researcher, and the first African fellowship for up to two years, until they American woman to be appointed to the find a position in a research group. California Public Utilities Commission. The scientific symposium to be held in Freedman’s honor, “Measuring ‘Nothing’ Berkeley Hosts Conference for and Getting it Right,” is set for January UG Women in Physics 11-12, 2014. January 13 would have been UC Berkeley will host the 2014 West Coast Freedman’s 70th birthday. Festivities will Conference for Undergraduate Women in include a reception to honor Freedman Physics (CUWiP) January 18-19. CUWiP Fellowship donors, hosted by the Department at Berkeley is one of eight conferences to of Physics. The symposium is being orga- be held at US universities that weekend. nized by more than 14 faculty members and Created by the American Physical Society scientists from the physics department and (APS), the conferences aim to help women Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. continue careers in physics following grad- Contributions to the Stuart J. uation. CUWiP gatherings are open to Freedman Memorial Fellowship are wel- undergraduate physics majors and have come. “This Fellowship has received a been held annually since 2010. tremendous outpouring of support from Outgoing SWPS head coordinator Natania Antler According to the APS, CUWiP is colleagues and friends from around the (C) and Kacey Meaker (R), a previous head designed to provide students “with the world,” said Maria Hjelm, Director of coordinator, hold the plaque awarded to SWPS opportunity to experience a professional by California Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (L). Development and Communications for the conference, information about graduate Department of Physics. “It’s a true testament “The East Bay is home to many distin- school and professions in physics, and to Stuart’s science and his friendships.” guished women who have shattered the glass access to other women in physics of all ages Anyone interested in making a contribution ceiling in the fields of science, technology, with whom they can share experiences, is invited to contact Maria at 510.642.5979, engineering, and math,” Skinner said. “The advice, and ideas.” [email protected]. Gifts can also be women and organizations honored are The 2014 West Coast conference made using the envelope provided in the fueling new innovations and technologies will feature research talks by UC Berkeley center of this magazine. Or go to that are changing our world for the better. physics faculty, scientists from Lawrence www.givetocal.berkeley.edu and search Honoring these role models, we pave the Berkeley National Lab and Lawrence “Stuart Freedman Fellowship.” way for many more women and girls to Livermore National Lab, and industry excel and change the faces of STEM.” professionals from around the Bay Area. Women of the Year Award Goes Conference attendees will have the oppor- to SWPS Natania Antler, outgoing SWPS coordinator, attended the dinner and tunity to tour laboratories on campus and Berkeley’s Society for Women in the accepted the award. “We were honored at both national laboratories. Physical Sciences (SWPS) was one of 16 to accept this award on behalf of all the A career fair and panel discussions recipients of the 2013 Women of the Year hard work that SWPS has done over the will introduce attendees to the wide range Awards from California Assembly District last 20 odd years,” she said, “and we’re of opportunities in physics that exist beyond 15. The awards recognize individual women very optimistic about the work that SWPS undergraduate work. Students who are and women’s organizations who serve as will continue to do in the future. Next year involved in original research will be role models and leaders for women and girls will prove to be an exciting one for SWPS, invited to make presentations about their in science, technology, engineering, and with Berkeley hosting the Conference for work. Attendees will have the chance to math (STEM). Recipients were honored at Undergraduate Women in Physics. As well, interact with fellow students and engage in a June 27 dinner hosted by California we are establishing a SWPS undergraduate discussion with women now working in Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner and held organization in close collaboration with physics-related careers. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Emeryville. Compass, to greatly increase activity in our Interested students can find further The award announcement reads: mentoring program. We are also working information and registration details at: http://cuwip.physics.berkeley.edu. The Society of Women in the Physical to augment our community building, Sciences is a volunteer student-run organi- career development, and outreach efforts.” zation at UC Berkeley for women in the “I enjoyed listening to heartening

20 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Department News

ICOLS 2013 ICOLS 2013 featured a public talk by Students and faculty from campus Nobel laureate Eric Cornell titled “Lazy and Lawrence Berkeley Lab also brought vs. Sloppy: The Epic Story of Energy, their own well-worn copies for Jackson to Entropy, Temperature, the Ultimate Fate sign. They stood in a line that extended out of the Universe and the Role of Divine the door of the A. Carl Helmholz Room (375 Intervention.” Cornell shared the 2001 Le Conte) and on down the hall. Nobel Prize with Carl Wieman and Bob Cahn, Senior Scientist at Wolfgang Ketterle for their work combining Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory laser cooling and evaporative cooling to (LBNL), is a Berkeley physics alumnus synthesize a Bose-Einstein condensate. (phD ’72) and former student of Jackson’s. Cornell is currently a professor in the “For half a century,” Cahn said, “‘Jackson,’ Department of Physics at University of as his text is universally known, has tested Colorado and a Fellow at the National the mettle of physics graduate students Institute of Standards and Technology. around the world and made Dave legendary.

Nobel laureates Eric Cornell, Steve Chu, Charles In addition to Hänsch and Cornell, At Berkeley, ‘Jackson’ meant much more Townes, and Theodor Hänsch (back row, L to R) three other Nobel laureates were invited than a textbook. Dave was devoted to the attend a reception in the Physics Department to give talks, including Serge Haroche and Department of Physics, where he served as hosted by outgoing Department Chair Frances Berkeley alumni Steven Chu (PhD ‘76) Chair, and to the LBNL Physics Division, Hellman (front row, far left). Also pictured are physics professors Hartmutt Häffner (front row, and David Wineland (BA ’65). A reception where he served as Division Director.” second from left), Holger Müller, and Dmitry held on the final evening included remarks “A particular goal of Dave’s was to Budker (front row, far right). from Berkeley emeritus physics professors increase the number of women in physics,” Erwin Hahn, Y. Ron Shen, and Nobel Cahn continued. “In recognition of his laureate Charles Townes. efforts, the women graduate students Department Chair Frances Hellman declared him ‘an honorary woman,’ perhaps hosted a reception for all of the ICOLS the most unusual of the many awards he speakers prior to the public lecture. received, which include membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the Farewell to Dave Jackson Berkeley campus Distinguished Teaching Award. Since 2010, the American Association of Physics Teachers has presented The John David Jackson Award Eric Cornell speaks to a full auditorium. for Excellence in Graduate Physics In June, representatives from industry Education, whose first recipient was emer- and academia worldwide gathered at the itus physics professor Eugene Commins.” Claremont Hotel in Berkeley to attend the Toasts in Jackson’s honor were given 2013 International Conference on Laser by Chancellor Bob Birgeneau, Chair Frances Spectroscopy (ICOLS). ICOLS focuses on Hellman, and emeritus physics professor the latest developments in laser physics Bruno Zumino, among many others. and spectroscopy and is held every other Murayama Wins Honors year. At this year’s gathering, organized Dave Jackson signs one of his books. by Berkeley physics professors Dmitry On January 23, physics department Chair Budker, Roger Falcone, Hartmut Frances Hellman and Robert Cahn, senior Häffner, Holger Müller, and Dan scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Stamper-Kurn, 350 participants enjoyed Laboratory, hosted a goodbye and book- 30 invited talks. signing party for emeritus physics professor “ICOLS is perhaps the most respectable John David Jackson. After 45 years on the and representative meeting series in our Berkeley faculty, Jackson was preparing field,” Budker said. “The Berkeley connec- to move to Michigan. While packing up tion is strong, both because of the research his home, he realized he had many foreign- currently being done here, and because of Hitoshi Murayama language editions of his classic textbook, the history of laser physics and the ICOLS Classical Electrodynamics. Jackson brought Last year, Berkeley physics professor conference. For instance, one of the early the books to the party, and attendees who Hitoshi Murayama was recognized by meetings was co-organized by Theodore were able to read from them aloud–in the Cabinet Office of the Japanese govern- Hänsch, the Nobel-prize winning German Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, etc.–were ment as one of 63 Japanese citizens “who physicist who also spoke at this year’s given a signed copy. carried out notable activities into the conference, and Berkeley’s own Y. R. Shen.”

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 21 Department News international community and thereby million endowment, with the Kavli Cohen Gives 2013 contributed to spreading the image of Foundation providing $10 million and Oppenheimer Lecture Japan to a global audience.” UC Berkeley raising equivalent matching “I’m greatly honored to be recognized funds. The Kavli ENSI will explore funda- by the Japanese government on my work mental issues in energy science, using cut- in physics, its community, and helping its ting-edge tools and techniques developed cause,” Murayama said. “I’m committed to to study and manipulate nanomaterials building bridges between countries around – stuff with dimensions a thousand times the world and pushing the physics forward.” smaller than the width of a human hair – to Murayama is shouldering a number of understand how solar, heat, and vibrational distinguished positions in the international energy are captured and converted into physics community. A member of the useful work by plants and animals or novel Berkeley physics faculty since 1995, he is materials. also Director of the Kavli Institute for the Kavli ENSI researchers include Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Berkeley physics professors Carlos which is part of the Todai Institutes for Bustamante and Alex Zettl. Bustamante Advanced Study at the University of Tokyo. uses advanced measurement equipment to In addition, Murayama recently became study the physical properties of molecules Deputy Director of the Linear Collider in cells. Cells, he says, are seen as “small Collaboration (LCC), which promotes the factories filled with molecular machines International Linear Collider (ILC), a next- that use chemical energy to perform generation collider project that will be able mechanical tasks. These nanodevices have to follow up on discoveries made at the evolved over eons into precise, highly coor- The 2013 Oppenheimer Lecture was Large Hadron Collider at CERN. dinated machines. It is impossible to think delivered by emeritus physics professor Marvin At a February press conference about about how energy flows at the nanoscopic L. Cohen, who noted that his field, condensed the ILC, organizers described it this way: level without thinking about how nature matter physics, is in the ‘Goldilocks zone’– roughly in the middle of the energies, sizes, “Truly global from the start. With some solved this problem in cells.” and time scales of interest to physicists. 1000 people from around the world working Zettl has built the world’s smallest on its design, it can be built in stages–first, synthetic motor, consisting of a paddle that On March 11, the J. Robert Oppenheimer at half its design energy, as a so-called drives one perfectly smooth nanotube inside Distinguished Lecture for 2013 was given Higgs factory for the precision studies of another. He has also built a radio from a by Marvin L. Cohen, who has been the the new particle, second, at its design energy nanotube. Zettl is excited to learn about organizer of this annual lectureship since of 500 GeV, and third, at double this energy, biomolecular motors from Bustamante. its inception in 1998. Physics chair Frances which opens further possibilities for as yet “But we’re not going to take our ideas and Hellman, in her introduction to Cohen, undiscovered physics phenomena. Japan is just bolt them together,” Zettl says. “We’re noted that, “Like Oppenheimer, who is cred- signaling interest to host the ILC.” going to want to design something elegant ited with making the tradition of theoretical Murayama adds, “LCC is led by that will behave the way we want. I can’t physics flourish at Berkeley, Marvin has done Director Lyn Evans, the man who built the begin to think about this myself, I don’t the same for condensed matter theory, par- Large Hadron Collider. He is tremendously know enough biology. But Carlos does.” ticularly in the area of materials physics.” capable, but wanted to have somebody next “The nano world is not just smaller, Cohen titled his lecture ‘Condensed to him who’s familiar with the science of but fundamentally different,” Zettl adds. Matter Physics: The Goldilocks Science’ ILC and can communicate its excitement. “The principles of physics we discovered because, he said, “…the focus in condensed I was honored that he picked me!” in the laboratory still apply, but they apply matter physics is on energies, sizes, and very differently. It is not obvious to one time scales that are not extremely big or New Kavli Energy NanoSciences person in one narrow field how to take Institute extremely small, but somewhere we loosely advantage of this. That’s why the institute call the ‘middle’, it is an area of science that The Kavli Foundation has endowed a new is so important. It brings ideas together… reminds us of Goldilocks, who said, ‘Ahhh, institute at UC Berkeley and Lawrence now we can work together and take advan- this porridge is just right.’ It can be argued Berkeley National Laboratory to explore the tage of these new ideas to do new things at that because of its Goldilocks nature, con- basic science of how to capture and channel this size scale.” densed matter physics has many links to energy on the molecular or nanoscale, with Kavli ENSI has already received other branches of physics and more gener- the potential for discovering new ways of matching fund gifts from the Heising- ally other areas of science and engineering.” generating energy for human use. Simons Foundation, establishing a He pointed out that condensed matter The Kavli Energy NanoSciences Heising-Simons Energy Nanoscience physics (CMP) “has one foot in theory and Institute (Kavli ENSI), announced on Fellows program. one foot in experiment” and has reaped 25 October 3, will be supported by a $20 Nobel Prizes.

22 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Department News

In his remarks, Cohen gave an over- by bringing some of the brightest minds in whom gave generously to the funding cam- view of the field of CMP, including its theoretical physics to the Berkeley campus. paign. Also in attendance were alumnus accomplishments and contributions as It was established in 1998 with support Steve Krieger (BS ’59, PhD ’63) and well as the problems and challenges CMP from Berkeley alumnus Steve Krieger, Arlene Krieger, who kicked off the Cohen researchers are seeking to solve. He Arlene Krieger, the Jane and Robert Interaction Area giving campaign a few described some of the field’s history, Wilson Endowment in Physics, and other years ago. Alumni and friends Garrett including Alfred Einstein’s work with Friends of Physics. Gruener (MA ’77), Amy Slater, and molecular dimensions and Brownian Marianne Friedman (ATU ’59) also took motion as well as special relativity. He Marvin L. Cohen CMP part in the festivities. The many toasts discussed differences between what he Interaction Area given in Marv’s honor struck two common termed the Interacting Atoms Model of themes–the importance of his physics solids, which focuses on electromagnetic research and the friendships he has made interactions among atoms, and the along the way. Elementary Excitation Model, which Architectural plans have been created emphasizes the emergent properties of and refined, and further funding is being materials under varying conditions. He sought for an expanded interaction area. summarized results of research on carbon Contributed by Maria Hjelm, Director of nanotubes, fullerenes, and boron nitride Development and Communications for the tubes conducted in Berkeley’s Department Department of Physics of Physics and elsewhere. And he described the state of knowledge of the mechanisms Peter Jenni Gives 2012 Segrè Lecture behind superconductivity. At the conclusion of his talk, Cohen Since his retirement in 2011, a funding On Nov 5, 2012 returned to his Goldilocks theme. “As a campaign has been underway to honor Dr. Peter Jenni, theorist,” he said, “I want to consider a emeritus physics professor Marvin Cohen CERN Scientist more general solution to all those problems, by creating the Marvin L. Cohen and former and all future problems in physics: My sug- Condensed Matter Physics Interaction spokesperson gestion is to ask Goldilocks to convince her Area. On March 11, 2013, the same evening for the ATLAS girlfriends to consider physics and science Cohen presented the 2013 Oppenheimer experiment at in general as a career. We need more diver- lecture, it was announced that the cam- CERN’s Large sity in physics, and I wish young girls and paign’s goal of $300,000 had been reached Hadron Collider young women would take the Goldilocks and that the creation of architectural plans (LHC), gave the approach when dreaming about and plan- would begin immediately. The interaction 2012 Emilio Segrè lecture. The talk was ning for a career. They may conclude that area, to be located on the fifth floor of Birge titled “Hunting for the Higgs Boson and being a Hollywood star is too hot, being an Hall, will help fulfill Cohen’s dream for More at the LHC.” investment banker is too cold, but being a both condensed matter theorists and Jenni was a leader in the making of woman scientist may be just right.” experimentalists: to have a place where ATLAS, one of the two experiments at the A webcast of the lecture can be viewed faculty, postdocs, and grad students can LHC that in July 2012 announced the dis- online in the Physics Webcasts Archive come together to share ideas, collaborate, covery of a new particle consistent with on the Department of Physics home page, and further their research. the Higgs boson. Jenni’s involvement with www.physics.berkeley.edu. The dinner, which took place immedi- CERN dates back to the 1970s, during his Cohen is University Professor of ately following Cohen’s lecture, was student days, and he became a CERN staff Physics at Berkeley and Senior Faculty attended by a number of his closest col- member in 1980. He has been a part of the Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National leagues and friends, all of whom wanted ATLAS project since its inception, serving Laboratory. He has been awarded the to pay him tribute. Among them were as the experiment’s spokesperson from National Medal of Science, the APS Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and his 1995 to 2009. Though he retired this past Oliver E. Buckley Prize for Solid State wife Mary Catherine Birgeneau, as well July, he continues to be involved in the Physics, the APS Julius Edgar Lilienfeld as physics professors Frances Hellman, operation and physics of ATLAS as a guest Prize, the Foresight Institute Richard P. Steve Louie, and Alex Zettl. scientist with Albert-Ludwigs-University Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, and Several of Cohen’s former students Freiburg. the Technology Pioneer Award from the attended, including John Northrup (PhD In his remarks, Jenni discussed the World Economic Forum, along with many ’83), a scientist at PARC (a Xerox company), history of the LHC project, the technical other honors. and Jisoon Ihm (PhD ‘80), a professor of challenges involved in designing and build- Berkeley’s Robert J. Oppenheimer Physics at Seoul National University in ing the largest particle accelerator ever Lectureship, awarded annually, celebrates Korea. Ihm represented a group of Korean made, and the scientific observations behind Oppenheimer’s contributions to science students and colleagues of Cohen, all of the discovery of the Higgs. He described

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 23 Department News how the data are consistent with the Higgs the educational opportunities afforded by horizontal and vertical post-tension boson predicted by the Standard Model, and UC Berkeley’s Department of Physics. cables. Usually, only one or the other is pointed out that much more data is needed Premiered at the March 2013 meeting of used, but this building has both. One wall before a final conclusion is reached. the American Physical Society, the video has more than 3 million pounds of tension. Jenni also described how scientists not only puts a human face on the depart- This means a more seismically fit building, working at both the ATLAS and CMS ment, but also helps recruit new students. as well as less vibration for all the labs.” experiments at the LHC are looking for It features lab footage and brief statements In addition, the use of fiberglass rebar in physics beyond the Standard Model. These from a number of faculty members and about one-third of the laboratory floors efforts include searches for supersymmetric students, along with narration by physics will cut down on electromagnetic frequency particles, which could help solve the mystery professor and former department chair (EMF) interference that can affect labora- of dark matter, as well as the search for the Frances Hellman. Mentoring and peer tory experiments. graviton and for evidence of the existence support offered by the department’s The high-stability low-noise research of extra dimensions. He explained that the Compass Project are also highlighted. laboratories located in the basement of LHC would be shut down to upgrade it from The video can be viewed online in the new building have been funded by 8 TeV to its design energy of 14 TeV, with the Physics Webcasts Archive on the the National Institute of Science and operation to resume late in 2014. Department of Physics home page, Technology (NIST). “NIST has been part Luminosity–the intensity of the particle www.physics.berkeley.edu. of the construction process all along,” Wert beams–will gradually be increased from says, “and they are very pleased. They’ve 2014 until about the year 2020. New Campbell Hall made three site visits and we’ve also been “We are only at the beginning of the Construction Update having monthly phone meetings.” lifetime of the LHC,” he said. “We have New Campbell Hall is being con- exciting discoveries ahead of us. Almost structed in accordance with UC Berkeley’s 20 years of working with the Berkeley green building practices and is registered colleagues and friends in ATLAS was a to receive a silver LEED rating from the US real pleasure and we are looking forward Green Building Council. to a bright future for this enterprise for at least another 15 years.” Donald A. Glaser Advanced Lab A webcast of Jenni’s talk can be Friends, colleagues, and family of the late viewed online in the Physics Webcasts Nobel laureate Donald A. Glaser gathered Archive on the Department of Physics on Monday, September 16 to christen the home page, www.physics.berkeley.edu. newly renovated Physics 111 Lab in his name. The Emilio Segrè lectureship enables Glaser was not only an emeritus professor the Department of Physics to bring some of physics at Berkeley, but also a professor of the world’s most important and influen- of molecular and cell biology, and a professor tial experimental physicists to the Berkeley of neuroscience. (See In Memory, p. 28) campus. It was established by an endow- UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks ment from the Raymond and Beverly officiated at the dedication. “Naming this Sackler Foudnation to honor Segrè, who student laboratory after Don Glaser is shared with Owen Chamberlain the 1959 fitting for so many reasons,” Dirks said. Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery of “Clearly, Don was the ultimate scientist the antiproton. and the ultimate experimentalist.” New Campbell Hall–a replacement building “One of my greatest pleasures as a Berkeley Physics featured in that will house physics and astronomy new Chancellor,” he continued, “is learning APS Video research–is well on its way to completion. about the remarkable people who have The Physics Department at the University A great deal has been accomplished since made this university great. Donald Glaser of California at Berkeley is full of distin- May 2012, when the old building was was one of these people–a man with the guished professors, exciting research, and demolished. According to Jim Wert, kind of mind that could invent the bubble scientific breakthroughs. As discoveries in Project Manager and Site Coordinator, the chamber, play concert viola, take part in physics propel the world into the future, this outside of the building is complete, windows the invention of cutting-edge medical department has embraced its students as will be installed this winter, and many of therapies, and find new insights into the key collaborators in research and experi- the electrical, mechanical, and pumping way the human brain works.” mentation. …the Berkeley Department of systems are already in place. The new Dirks expressed special thanks to Physics is opening doors for aspiring physi- building is expected to be ready for occu- Glaser’s family, many of whom were present, cists and the great discoveries of tomorrow. pancy by the end of 2014. for their generous help in making the reno- These statements are from the “An interesting and unique part of the vation possible. Two of the family members YouTube description of a short video about project,” Wert reports, “is the use of both who were present at the dedication added

24 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Department News

• Raphael Bousso offered “The World as a Hologram: Black Holes, Information, and the Quest for a Unified Theory of Nature.” • Eliot Quataert described how the universe evolved in his talk, “The Modern Origins Story: From the Big Bang to Life on Earth.” A constant stream of potential physics majors and their parents were invited to meet with Undergraduate Advisor Claudia Trujillo, who answered questions about the physics program, academic requirements and opportunities, and life as an under- graduate. Tables for Physical Science Majors Chancellor Dirks dedicates The Donald A. Professor Bob Jacobsen amazes Cal Day Glaser Advanced Lab. audiences with awesome physics demos. were set up in the Information Marketplace on Sproul Plaza, along with a Society their remarks to the festivities. Glaser’s of Physics Students table that featured son, Will Glaser, talked about his father’s startling physics demonstrations. love of teaching and his inexhaustible Cal Day 2014 is set for April 12! curiosity. Glaser’s granddaughter, Kate Schreiner, who just entered UC Berkeley Faculty Awards and Honors as an undergraduate, talked about her Robert Birgeneau received the 2012 Karl grandfather’s questions and how every Taylor Compton Medal for Leadership conversation ended with the ultimate in Physics. He was also selected to lead question: “What’s next?’” American Academy’s New Lincoln Project: Donors to the Donald A. Glaser Excellence and Access in Public Higher Advanced Lab also include Douglas (’64) Education. and Marion Lee, who established the Young Cal Day visitors enjoy a Hands-On Chester Archie Lee and Clara Ying Fong Physics exhibit. Raphael Bousso was named a Fellow of Lee Fund were also present at the dedica- the American Physical Society. physics to guided tours of research labs tion. The fund was created in honor of to demonstrations and lab experiments. Douglas Lee’s parents who, as emigrants Several thousand visitors got to explore from China, owned a grocery store in the department and experience the fun of Oakland’s Chinatown. “They worked tire- being a physicist. lessly to send their children to college in “Hands-On Physics” offered interac- the University of California system,” Dirks tive exhibits and demonstrations for all said. “This endowed fund benefits the ages and was hosted by physics graduate Glaser Advanced Lab and will help make and undergraduate students in the second- this course sustainable over time.” Other floor labs of LeConte Hall. Professor Bob donors thanked at the dedication included Jacobsen offered two sessions of the peren- Stanford Research Systems, Arlene and Physics Professor Marvin Cohen, this year’s nially popular “Fun with Physics: Why Douglas Giancoli, Christina Anderson Oppenheimer lecturer. Should Students Have all the Fun?” com- McKinley and Bill and Luisa Hansen. plete with jaw-dropping demonstrations. Marvin Cohen gave the 2013 Robert J. Maria Hjelm, Director of A guided tour of the Quantum Oppenheimer Lecture at UC Berkeley. Communications and Development for the Nanoelectrics Lab taught observers about Department of Physics, reported that physics Frances Hellman was named a Fellow experiments conducted at temperatures professor John Clarke “gave a lovely toast of the American Association for the near absolute zero, and tours of the Donald to Don, the lab, and to the fact that Don’s Advancement of Science (AAAS). A. Glaser Advanced Lab were held through- other great love was music. In his honor, out the day. The Dark Matter Search Open Bill Holzapfel was named a Fellow of the Ethan Filner of the Cypress String Quartet Laboratory Tour offered opportunities to American Physical Society (APS). played the prelude and gigue from Bach’s learn about weakly interacting massive Suite No. 3. It was a fitting tribute.” Edgar Knobloch was elected a Fellow particles (WIMPS) from graduate physics of the Society for Industrial and Applied Cal Day 2013 students. Mathematics (SIAM) for contributions Visitors were treated to a number of This year’s Cal Day, UC Berkeley’s annual made to pattern formation and nonlinear lectures from Berkeley physics professors: open house, took place Saturday, April 20. dynamics, bifurcation theory and fluid The Department of Physics offered a variety • Adrian Lee talked about “The Microwave dynamics. He also delivered the Dan Hertog of events, from lectures on cutting-edge Background: a Cosmic Time Machine.” Lecture in Mechanics at MIT on April 12.

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 25 Department News

Arthur Rosenfeld was presented with a National Medal of Technology and Innovation at White House ceremony held on December 21, 2012. Dan Stamper-Kurn was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).

New Faculty Oskar Hallatschek Oskar Hallatschek joined the Berkeley faculty in July of this Kam-Biu Luk will share the 2014 W.K.H. year as Assistant Panofsky Prize with Yifang Wang of Professor in the China’s Institute of High Energy Physics Department of “for their leadership of the Daya Bay Physics. He holds the Reactor Neutrino Experiment, which pro- Williams H. McAdams duced the first definitive measurement of Chair on campus, and is also associated θ13 angle of the neutrino mixing matrix.” with the Physical Biosciences Division at The 2014 Panofsky Prize is awarded annu- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. ally by the American Physical Society to He applies methods from statistical physics In his research on evolutionary processes, assis- recognize outstanding achievements in tant professor Oskar Hallatschek combines and soft matter physics to problems in bio- biological experiment with physics theory. The experimental particle physics. physics and evolutionary biology. bacterial colony on the top grew from a mixture of Joel Moore was Hallatschek studied physics at the red- and green-labeled E. coli raised in the lab. University of Heidelberg and ETH Zürich, Random effects led to spontaneous separation named a Simons of the two colors as they migrated out from the Investigator for 2013. and obtained his doctoral degree in theo- center–a behavior comparable to phase separa- Support from the retical biophysics in 2004 from the Freie tion in non-equilibrium statistical physics. The computer simulation on the bottom shows that Simons Investigators Universität Berlin. In 2005 he began post- similar patterns can be expected for species with Program enables out- doctoral work on experimental and theo- higher rates of migration. (Image credit: standing scientists retical evolution at Harvard University, Hallatschek, et al. PNAS, 104(50), 19926– to undertake long- and in 2009 returned to Germany to 19930, 2007) term study of fundamental questions. start an independent research group on predict the accumulation of random muta- The citation describes him as Biophysics and Evolutionary Dynamics tions in finite populations, which was an at the Max-Planck-Institut for Dynamics open problem for half a century.” To test “one of the leaders in the study of the topologi- and Self-Organization in Göttingen. their theoretical models in the lab, cal aspects of electronic physics, particularly Hallatschek combines methods from Hallatschek and his colleagues use known for this work with Balents on strong experimental biology and theoretical physics microbes grown in liquid media, on agar topological insulators and his work with to study evolutionary dynamics in microbial plates, and in micro-fluidic devices. Their Orenstein and Vanderbilt on magnetoelectric populations. “Much of the biological complex- research has revealed novel patterns of couplings and optical responses induced by ity we see today is the result of chance,” he chance and adaptation that also are found in geometric and topological terms in various says, “since biological evolution happens natural populations of multicellular species. material classes. He has also obtained signifi- through at least partially random events, “Our evolutionary experiments also cant results on nonequilibrium dynamics of such as mutations, birth, and death. fuel biophysical research questions,” he adds, interacting quantum systems, significantly Predicting the evolutionary consequences “such as ‘What forces can be generated by elucidating the role of quantum entangle- of the vicissitudes of life is at the heart of microbial populations when they grow in ment in these phenomena.” our theoretical research efforts. We are confined geometries?’. We want to under- Hitoshi Murayama was named a Fellow driven by basic evolutionary puzzles such stand how the organization of microbial of the American Association for the as ‘How fast is evolution?’’ or ‘Under which colonies relates to the physics of the Advancement of Science (AAAS). circumstances is evolution driven by sur- surrounding matrix, particularly hydro- vival of the luckiest rather than the fittest?’.” Ramamoorty Ramesh has been awarded dynamics and viscoelasticity. Ultimately, Finding the answers involves analyzing the 2014 TMS John Bardeen Award. The this interdisciplinary approach might help complex systems that exhibit stochastic, or award is given by The Minerals, Metals, and control the formation and adaptation of random, behavior. “These analyses some- Materials Society to recognize “individuals biofilms, which are microbial communities times require inventing novel statistical who have made outstanding contributions involved in numerous infectious diseases physics methods,” he adds. “For instance, and is a leader in the field of electronic and responsible for significant industrial we recently developed an exact method to materials.” costs.”

26 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Department News

Noisy Waves According to Hallatschek, Amin Jazaeri, New Director of leads efforts to incorporate research-based the wave-like spread of discrete entities Instructional Support instructional strategies into the lower pervades everyday life. For example, the Dr. Amin Jazaeri joined the Department division physics course series and supports spread of ions controls the human heart- of Physics in July as the new Director of faculty, GSIs, and staff in using new tools beat, the spread of pathogens affects the Instructional Support, succeeding Dr. Tom and materials to enhance student learning. yearly threat of influenza, and the spread Colton. Jazaeri comes to the department of mutations leads to evolutionary progress. from George Mason University in Fairfax, Staff Retirements “Despite intensive research in the past, VA, where he was an Assistant Professor these traveling waves could be analyzed with the School of Physics, Astronomy and only within deterministic limits or uncon- Computational Sciences (SPACS). trolled approximations,” Hallatschek In addition to teaching undergraduate explains. “However, through stochastic and graduate courses at Mason, Jazaeri simulations, many labs have now shown served as the STEM (Science, Technology, that inevitable number fluctuations have Engineering, and Math) Coordinator, a strong impact on wave dynamics.” representing SPACS in the Accelerator “Simple models of biological evolution Program. He was responsible for the reten- are the prime example of this drastic sensi- tion, recruitment, and advising of students, tivity to noise, because they are dominated along with the creation of innovative Carol Dudley basks in the glow of her retirement by the few most fit individuals in a popula- teaching pedagogy in the classrooms. celebration. tion,” he continues, “and these models break Jazaeri’s achievements include the Carol Dudley, Human Resources and down if number fluctuations–a phenomenon design and implementation of a blended Administrative Manager, retired in also known as genetic drift–are neglected. learning environment he calls LOGIC January. She had been working in the We recently described an exact theoretical (Lectures Online, Group-work In Class). physics department since 1993. She began framework to account for number fluctua- He has extensive experience teaching her career at Berkeley in the Department tions in noisy traveling waves and related online courses. His undergraduate and of Physics, working here from 1984 to problems. The framework was subsequently graduate studies were in physics and elec- 1990, then moved to the Department of used to predict how fast well-mixed popu- trical engineering, and he earned his PhD Chemistry for three years before returning lations adapt in the course of an evolution in Computational Sciences from George to physics. “Carol was an invaluable source experiment, along with the statistical prop- Mason University in 2007. of knowledge about the department and erties of the resulting genealogical trees.” campus,” said Frances Hellman, outgoing Benjamin Spike, New Department Chair. “She was regularly my Staff News Academic Coordinator go-to person when I needed to brainstorm In August, the Department of Physics Welcome to Anil More, New about a new idea or how to approach some Director of Administration welcomed Benjamin Spike to the post of difficult project.” The Department of Academic Coordinator and Lecturer. He Physics is pleased to received a Bachelor’s degree from the welcome its new University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007 Director, Anil More, and most recently attended the University who took up the post of Colorado-Boulder, where he received his this summer. Anil MSci in Physics in 2010 and will be award- comes to physics ed a PhD this fall. from Lawrence During his time at CU-Boulder, Spike Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) conducted research on the pedagogical where he most recently held the post of development of physics teaching assistants. Operations Manager for the Office of the He also co-directed programs designed to Tom Colton, Claudia Lopez and Marco Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that, More foster community among graduate students Ambrosini enjoy their retirement send-off. directed the Administrative Services and enhance their ongoing professional Department at LBNL. development. From 2008 to 2013 he served Claudia Lopez, Director and Administrative Physics Chair Steve Boggs commented as Lead Graduate Teacher for the Manager, retired on July 1. She had been that, “The physics department will grow CU-Boulder physics department. working at the Department of Physics even stronger with More’s 30-plus years In his new role at Cal, Spike serves since 2005. She began her career in the of diverse operational experience that as a mentor and consultant for physics Chancellor’s Office, and spent 25 years in includes strategic planning, financial and Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs). He the College of Letters and Science prior to human resource management, and leader- is working to improve GSI preparation coming to physics. “Claudia Lopez under- ship at all levels.” Anil holds an MBA in through weekly course meetings and the stood all the financial complexities of Finance from Golden Gate University. Physics 375 pedagogy seminar. He also running this large department with its

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 27 Department News many sources and needs for funds,” said In Memory “He was a great human being and outgoing Department Chair Frances Donald A. Glaser (1926-2013) a close friend who was incredibly kind,” Hellman. “She was the person I give all the Poggio said. “He was always able to see the Donald Arthur credit to for getting us through the state world in a different way, and make remarks Glaser, a Nobel- and campus financial crisis in the middle that were refreshing, original and very prize winning of my term as chair of the department.” often witty.” physicist who rein- Glaser was born in Cleveland, Ohio, Thomas Colton, Lab Instruction vented himself as on Sept. 21, 1926, the son of Russian immi- Supervisor, retired on July 1. A member of a biotech pioneer grant parents William J. Glaser, a business the Department of Physics staff since and later dove into man, and his wife Lena. He received his 2000, he came to physics after ten years in the field of neuro- early education in the public schools of Berkeley’s Integrative Biology Department. biology, died in his Cleveland Heights, and completed his Prior to that, he spent eight years at the sleep on the morning of February 28, 2013 Bachelor of Science degree in physics and University of Chicago. “Tom brought a at his home in Berkeley. He was 86. mathematics at the Case Institute of biologist’s eye for patterns and communi- Glaser, a professor emeritus of physics Technology in 1946. During this time ties to Physics, and made us a better place,” and of molecular and cell biology at the he also pursued his lifelong passion for said physics professor Bob Jacobsen. University of California, Berkeley, won the music, playing viola with the Cleveland “Tom kept making things happen, even 1960 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing Philharmonic Orchestra. After serving as when nobody else was sure they were the bubble chamber, a device to allow a teacher of mathematics at the Institute, even possible.” scientists to track the paths of electrons, he began his graduate studies at the protons and other charged particles after Marco Ambrosini, Machine Shop and California Institute of Technology in fall collisions, which led to the discovery of Engineering Tech Supervisor, retired on 1946. He obtained his PhD in physics and whole families of new particles. July 1. Marco, a native of Italy who served mathematics from Cal Tech in 1950 with a In 1961 he began to explore the new two years in the Italian navy, came to the thesis on the momentum spectrum of high field of molecular biology. As with the United States in 1977. He worked in the energy cosmic ray and mesons at sea level. Department of Physics from 1985 to 1993, bubble chamber, he used his experience when he moved to the Physiology designing equipment to improve the exper- Department at University of California imental process, automating and acceler- “He was always able to see the world San Francisco. He returned to Berkeley’s ating essential phases of the work, leading in a different way, and make physics department in 1996, where he to new discoveries in the field. In 1971 he remarks that were refreshing, remained until retirement. Marco’s joined two friends, Ronald E. Cape and successor, Warner Carlisle, said of him, Peter Farley, to found the first biotechnology original and very often witty.” “He was well-liked by the faculty and staff company, Cetus Corp., to exploit these because of his personable approach, not new discoveries for the benefit of medicine In 1949, Glaser began teaching in the to mention the excellent work performed and agriculture. The company developed physics department of the University of by the Machine Shop.” interleukin and interferon as cancer thera- Michigan, where he examined various pies, and was also known for producing a experimental techniques, including diffu- powerful genetic tool, the polymerase sion cloud chambers and parallel-plate chain reaction, to amplify DNA. In 1991, spark counters, for visualizing elementary Cetus was sold to Chiron Corp., now part particles. He finally hit on the idea of a of Novartis. bubble chamber – “a pressure cooker with In the 1980s, Glaser turned his atten- windows,” in his words – and built the first tion to the field of neurobiology and spent one-inch prototype in 1952. The device a semester at The Roland Institute for worked by superheating a liquid – for Science in Cambridge, Mass., where he example, xenon – above its boiling point began psychophysics experiments in so that a particle moving through it left human vision, investigating the way that a trail of boiling bubbles that could be the brain processes what it sees. Based on tracked and photographed. these experiments, he developed mathe- “The bubble chamber was a major matical models that he simulated on a breakthrough and led to the discovery of a computer, said neurobiologist Tomaso zoo of new particles,” said particle physicist Poggio, a professor in the McGovern Herbert Steiner, UC Berkeley professor Institute for Brain Research at the emeritus of physics. “It was the dominant Massachusetts Institute of Technology, particle detector in the 1960s and ‘70s, and who first met Glaser as he was changing had an enormous impact on the field of fields in the 1980s. particle physics.”

28 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Department News

Among Glaser’s associates in research “He was a man of wide-ranging inter- These instruments enabled scientists were J. Brown, H. Bryant, R. Burnstein, J. ests, very inventive, always thinking outside to remotely measure the surface magnetic Cronin, C. Graves, R. Hartung, J. Kadyk, D. the box,” his colleague Herbert Steiner said. fields and reconstruct the geologic history of Meyer, M. Perl, D. Rahm, B. Roe, L. Roellig, “I think all his life he had the mind, Mars and the moon. That technique contrib- D. Sinclair, G. Trilling, J. van der Velde, J. the curiosity, the freshness of a kid,” uted to the development of a full instrument van Putten and T. Zipf. Tomaso Poggio said. “He was fun. That is suite being readied for launch next year Glaser came from an accomplished something I will really miss a lot.” aboard NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and academic lineage. His advisor, Carl This remembrance is from the Academic Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) mission. Anderson, was the student of Robert Senates’ In Memoriam publication. RHESSI Satellite Millikan, both Nobel Laureates from Cal Contributors include: Lin was the principal investigator for the Tech. According to Glaser, his students Lynn Glaser, Maria Hjelm, Tomaso Poggio, 11-year-old Reuven Ramaty High Energy used to wonder who might continue this Bob Sanders, Margaret Thow, George Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), distinguished tradition. In 1993, Kary Trilling, and Herbert Steiner which is still using X-ray and gamma-ray Mullis, one of Glaser’s colleagues at Cetus detectors to explore the basic physics of Corp., received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry Robert Lin (1942-2012) particle acceleration and explosive energy for his invention of the polymerase chain Physicist Robert release in solar flares. reaction (PCR) method. Just two years Peichung Lin, a “Bob Lin’s greatest achievement was later in 1995, Martin Perl, another colleague, former director of RHESSI,” said astrophysicist Brian Dennis also received the Nobel Prize in Physics the Space of the Solar Physics Laboratory at NASA for the discovery of the tau lepton. Sciences Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Glaser received many honors for his Laboratory at the “It most probably would not have happened work, including the1953 Henry Russel University of at all without his energetic support and Award at the University of Michigan for California, leadership; it certainly would not have distinction and promise in teaching and Berkeley, who been nearly so successful.” research; the 1958 Charles Vernon Boys designed and built dozens of instruments Lin’s team also built instruments for Prize of the Physical Society, London, for to study solar flares, the magnetic fields on the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory distinction in experimental physics; the the surface of the moon and Mars and the (STEREO) and, most recently, the innova- 1959 American Physical Society Prize for plasma environment of Earth, died sud- tive modular minisatellite called CubeSat his contributions to experimental physics; denly of a stroke on Saturday, Nov. 17. for Ions, Neutrals, Electrons, & MAgnetic the honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Lin, 70, professor emeritus of physics, fields (CINEMA), as well as European the Case Institute of Technology, and in 1966 was working on at least four upcoming satel- spacecraft such as Giotto, a 1986 mission the Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award. lite and balloon experiments at the time of to Halley’s Comet. That experiment led to Glaser was also a consultant and adviser his death. He passed away at Alta Bates the first report of a large molecule – a poly- to many governmental organizations, indus- Medical Center in Berkeley. mer of formaldehyde – on a comet, probably trial boards of directors, non-profit groups, According to Stuart Bale, UC Berkeley dating back to the origin of the solar sys- and a member of the editorial boards of sev- professor of physics and current director tem more than 4 billion years ago. eral scientific publications. He also was a of the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL), Most recently, he was working with member of the Life Sciences Division at Lin essentially invented the field of high graduate and undergraduate students on Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. energy space physics after he and the late two other CubeSats and conducting balloon Glaser is survived by his wife, Lynn UC Berkeley physicist Kinsey Anderson tests of a new Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Glaser (nee Bercovitz), a musician, painter accidentally discovered that solar flares Imager (FOXSI), which successfully and Cal alumna; two children, pediatrician emit high-velocity charged particles that observed the sun for six minutes on Nov. 2 Louise Ferris Glaser of Sacramento and can be observed from Earth. during a flight in the New Mexico desert. high-tech leader William Thompson Glaser “Much of what we know about astro- When SSL celebrated its 50th anniver- of Berkeley, from his first marriage to Ruth physical particle acceleration comes from sary in 2009, Lin remarked that “It’s fortu- Bonnie Thompson; and four granddaughters. X-ray and gamma-ray measurements that nate that, once our missions are up there, In September 2013, the Donald A. are based on underlying physics discovered they work great and last forever,” a point of Glaser Advanced Lab, an undergraduate by studying solar flares, much of it Bob’s pride many colleagues largely credit to Lin. experimental teaching lab in Physics, was work,” Bale said. “His late advisor, Kinsey Anderson, dedicated in his memory. A required course Bale said that it is hard to pigeonhole described him once as a juggler who could for all Physics majors, Physics 111 is a Lin’s field of study, since he excelled in many. keep many items in the air at one time and notoriously difficult class, but it is where Lin built satellite instruments to detect the who would sometimes just voluntarily add students experience the basics–the pitfalls energy of electrons and then put these elec- another one,” recalled astrophysicist Hugh and the triumphs–of experimental tron reflectometers/magnetometers aboard S. Hudson of SSL and the University of research which was at the heart of Glaser’s the NASA missions Mars Global Surveyor Glasgow in Scotland. “In all of his fields, entire career. in 1997 and Lunar Prospector in 1998. he was fully supportive of the students

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 29 and postdocs involved, and all of them will In 2001, in recognition of his work with Kunkel authored a textbook, Plasma miss his invariably helpful and intelligent young science and engineering students, UC Physics in Theory and Application, published inputs keenly now.” Berkeley’s College of Letters and Science by McGraw-Hill in 1966, and co-authored gave Lin its Distinguished Research a technical pamphlet, Formative Time for From China to Berkeley Mentoring of Undergraduates award. Breakdown in Crossed Fields, with Arthur Lin was born in Kwangsi, China, on Jan. 24, Lin is survived by his wife, Lily Lin, Sherwood, published by the Journal of 1942, but moved with his parents to London of Berkeley; and a stepson, Linus Sun, of Applied Physics in 1968. at a young age, and thence to Michigan. New York City. Kunkel loved Berkeley, but when not He obtained his B.S. from Caltech in 1962 A graduate scholarship in Lin’s honor is in Berkeley, he and his family enjoyed and his PhD in physics in 1967 from UC being established at SSL. More information spending time in Sea Ranch and Pt. Reyes. Berkeley. He continued his research at SSL, is available at the SSL web site, He is survived by his wife Erika, three and in 1980 he was appointed a senior fellow http://ssl.berkeley.edu. children, Laurence, Barbara, and Maya, his at the laboratory. In 1988 he became an sister Mia and brother Bill, grandchildren adjunct professor of astronomy at UC Wulf Kunkel (1923-2013) Katia and Timothy Nonet, and son-in-law Berkeley, and in 1991 he was named a Wulf B. Kunkel, emeritus professor of Michael Nonet. He was preceded in death professor of physics. He served as SSL physics at the University of California at by his brothers Peter and John. director from 1998 until 2008. Berkeley, died in his sleep on September 3, Hudson noted that one of Lin’s balloon 2013 at his home at the Lake Park Retirement experiments in 1984 discovered solar micro- Residence in Oakland. He was 90. flares, which inaugurated a large literature Kunkel was born in Germany on of research that quickly led to theoretical February 6, 1923. He spent his formative proposals that solar flares are made up of years at the Quaker school Eerde in Holland many micro- and nanoflares that heat up the where he fell in love with writing, directing, sun’s atmosphere to several million degrees. and acting in plays, to the point that it was During Lin’s 40-year tenure at SSL, he difficult for him to decide between theater was a member of the lab teams involved in and another interest, physics. During World many satellite missions , including IMP 4, War II, he studied physics at the University 5 & 6; Explorer 33 & 35; Apollo 15 & 16 of Amsterdam. Subsatellites; ISEE 1, 2 and 3; Wind; After the war, Kunkel came to Berkeley Cluster CODIF and THEMIS. to study at the University of California “He really defined what SSL was,” Bale where he received his BA and PhD in Physics said. “People around the country called it in 1948 and 1951. He stayed on, first at the Bob’s lab.” Institute of Engineering Research, and then Bale also noted that more than 40 years joined the Lawrence Berkeley National ago, Lin began hosting his research group Laboratory (LBNL) in 1956. During that for lunch on Mondays at a local Chinese year he also became Professor of Physics restaurant, a tradition that spawned similar at UC Berkeley. From 1971 to 1991 he served Chinese lunch outings at places like the as leader of the Fusion Research Program University of Minnesota. at LBNL. He was a Fellow of the American Lin was a member of the National Physical Society and was a Guggenheim Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the Fellow twice. In 1982 he received the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Alexander von Humboldt Award. He became and the American Geophysical Union, and Professor Emeritus in 1991 and continued a recipient of the George Ellery Hale Prize as a Participating Scientist in LBNL’s from the Solar Physics Division of the Accelerator and Fusion Research Division. American Astronomical Society. He also “Wulf specialized in the development received a Docteur Honoris Causa de of ion beams for plasma heating,” said his l’Universite de Toulouse in France. colleague, Alan Kaufman. “He regularly taught the undergraduate plasma course, and was an outstanding teacher.”

30 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 PHysics in the Media stage designed to study dark energy with unprecedented precision. BigBOSS is Physics in the News based at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Excerpts from news coverage of (Berkeley Lab). UC Berkeley physicists “BigBOSS is the next big thing in cos- Quantum Measurements Leave mology,” says Uroš Seljak, Director of the Schrödinger’s Cat Alive BCCP, who is a professor of physics and From NewScientist, October 3, 2012, by astronomy at UC Berkeley and a member Lisa Grossman of Berkeley Lab’s Physics Division. “It would …By making constant but weak measure- map millions and millions of galaxies, ments of a quantum system, physicists allowing us to measure dark energy to high have managed to probe a delicate quantum precision–and would yield other important state without destroying it–the equivalent scientific results as well, including deter- of taking a peek at Schrödinger’s metaphor- mining neutrino mass and the number ical cat without killing it. The result should of neutrino families.” make it easier to handle systems such as [Editor’s note: In January 2013, BigBOSS quantum computers that exploit the exotic was renamed DESI–Dark Energy properties of the quantum world. Spectroscopic Instrument.] Researchers had suggested it should be Nobel laureate Saul Perlmutter is shown with possible, in principle, to make measurements The Farthest Supernova Yet for the new sign for the road at Lawrence Berkeley Measuring Cosmic History National Laboratory that was named after him that are “gentle” enough not to destroy the last year. (Photo: Majed Abolfazli) superposition. The idea was to measure From Astronomy, Jan 10, 2013 by something less direct than whether the bit Paul Preuss said Rubin. “We also have to be able to is a 1 or a 0–the equivalent of looking at …”This is the most distant supernova anyone compare the brightness of the different Schrödinger’s cat through blurry glasses. has ever found for doing dependable cosmol- colors during this process in order to cali- This wouldn’t allow you to gain a “strong” ogy,” said [David] Rubin [of Lawrence brate the supernova.” piece of information–whether the cat was Berkeley National Laboratory and the Perlmutter remarks that such calibra- alive or dead–but you might be able to Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP)]. “The tion “can be a lot like trying to match a detect other properties. most important unanswered question we particular shade of house paint when Now, R. Vijay of the University of have about the nature of dark energy is you’ve got a thousand color chips to California, Berkeley, and colleagues have whether it varies over time–whether it compare, maybe more.” In this case, calibra- managed to create a working equivalent of affects the expansion of the universe differ- tion meant finding exactly the right shade those blurry glasses. “We only partially open ently in different eras. With SN SCP-0401, of red. the box,” says Vijay. we have the first example of a well-measured A Rock is a Clock: Physicist uses Even though the measurement was supernova sufficiently far away to study Matter to Tell Time gentle enough not to destroy the quantum the expansion history of the universe from From ScienceNewsline, January 10, 2013, superposition, the measurement did ran- almost 10 billion years ago.” by Robert Sanders domly change the oscillation rate. This “Imagine you’re channel surfing, and couldn’t be predicted, but the team was you come across live news coverage of an Ever since he was a kid growing up in able to make the measurement very exploding star–and then you see the date- Germany, Holger Müller has been asking quickly, allowing the researchers to inject line that says it’s July 22, 9,947,989,219 himself a fundamental question: What is an equal but opposite change into the sys- BCE,” said Saul Perlmutter of Berkeley time? That question has now led Müller, tem that returned the qubit’s frequency to Lab’s Physics Division [who is also a professor today an assistant professor of physics at the value it would have had if it had not in UC Berkeley’s Department of Physics]. the University of California, Berkeley, to a been measured at all. “By August 9, the supernova is at its bright- fundamentally new way of measuring time. est and starts to fade, but you get to watch Taking advantage of the fact that, in Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation the whole thing–even though before the nature, matter can be both a particle and Gives a Big Boost to Big BOSS news could ever reach your TV our solar a wave, he has discovered a way to tell time From Phys.org December 4, 2012 system had to form, and then our planet, by counting the oscillations of a matter A $2.1 million grant from the Gordon and and intelligent life had to evolve wave. A matter wave’s frequency is 10 billion Betty Moore Foundation to the University on Earth.” times higher than that of visible light. “A of California at Berkeley, through the “To be able to directly compare differ- rock is a clock, so to speak,” Müller said. In Berkeley Center for Cosmological ent type Ia supernovae, we have to fit their a paper appearing in the Jan. 11 issue of Physics (BCCP), will fund the develop- light curves–the time it takes the super- Science, Müller and his UC Berkeley col- ment of revolutionary technologies for nova to reach maximum brightness and the leagues describe how to tell time using BigBOSS, a project now in the proposal time it takes that brightness to fall off,” only the matter wave of a cesium atom.

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 31 Physics in the Media

Physicists Seek Cosmic Domain California, Berkeley, huddle over an audio Walls speaker that is covered in a layer of myste- From Physics World, January 17, 2013, by rious, sticky liquid called oobleck. One of Edwin Cartlidge the students flips a switch, and suddenly Exotic structures known as cosmic domain the liquid begins to dance, forming intricate, walls could be observed from Earth by mea- finger-like extensions that reach up from suring the subtle effect of their magnetic-like the speaker’s surface before abruptly col- fields as they pass through our galaxy. That lapsing back onto it. The students jump is the conclusion of a team of physicists in back, surprised by what they see. They the US, Canada and Poland that has proposed haven’t even attended their first lecture, a new way of probing the nature of the mys- but they are already hard at work studying terious dark matter and dark energy thought exotic physical phenomena as part of a to permeate the universe. week-long program sponsored by the Most direct searches assume that dark Compass Project. An artificial atomic nucleus made up of five matter consists of some kind of particle, … In 2006 three Berkeley physics charged calcium dimers is centered in an atom- while dark energy is often taken to exist in graduate students–Angie Little, Hal ic-collapse electron cloud. (Credit: Michael the form of a “cosmological constant” that Haggard, and Badr Albanna–began a Crommie, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) is added to the field equation for general series of conversations. All three were have imaged the “atomic collapse” states relativity. A number of other possibilities troubled by some of the things they noticed theorized to occur around super-large have been put forward, however. One is the in the physics department, including a atomic nuclei. idea that dark matter and dark energy are significant lack of women and minorities instead contained within objects known as among the students and faculty. … Many “Atomic collapse is one of the holy “domain walls”. students, it seemed, found their introduc- grails of graphene research, as well as a In the latest work, a collaboration tory physics courses to be demoralizing holy grail of atomic and nuclear physics,” headed by theorist Maxim Pospelov of the experiences that drove them away from says Michael Crommie, a physicist who University of Victoria in British Columbia physics, and often that effect was stronger holds joint appointments with Berkeley and experimentalist Dmitry Budker of the for women and other traditionally under- Lab’s Materials Sciences Division and UC University of California, Berkeley, set out represented students. Berkeley’s Physics Department. “While to establish whether or not such walls could …Inspiration struck when Badr and this work represents a very nice confirma- be detected using instruments on Earth. Hal spent several weeks as co-instructors tion of basic relativistic quantum mechanics The researchers’ idea is to use magnetome- for Berkeley’s Pre-Engineering Program, an predictions made many decades ago, it is ters, devices made up of atoms whose spins intensive program that focuses on preparing also highly relevant for future nanoscale are initially lined up and can then be incoming engineering students for their devices where electrical charge is concen- rotated by an external magnetic field. introductory calculus, chemistry, and trated into very small areas.” Budker concedes that the idea of physics courses. The program is academi- Women @ Energy: Gabriel domain walls is “a little bit exotic” and cally rigorous, but the part Badr and Hal Orebi Gann outside the mainstream when it comes to found most worthy of emulation was its From Energy.gov, Office of Economic searching for dark matter and dark energy. community-building aspect. According to Impact and Diversity, March 12 He also acknowledges that the theoretical Hal, “This was what we got really excited Gabriel Orebi Gann uncertainties make it hard to know what about. This was something that we really is an Assistant the chances of detection might be. But he wanted to bring to the physics department.” Professor at U.C. maintains that detection should not be taken as the only measure of success. “It is Long Predicted Atomic Collapse Berkeley, and does very important to realize in the search for State Observed in Graphene research in Particle exotic physics that not seeing something is From Science Daily, March 7, 2013 Physics at Lawrence not a failure,” he says. “If instead you rule The first experimental observation of a Berkeley National out a whole class of possible models then quantum mechanical phenomenon that Laboratory. that is a success.” was predicted nearly 70 years ago holds How can our country engage more women, important implications for the future of girls, and other underrepresented groups in The Compass Project: Charting a graphene-based electronic devices. Working STEM? The most important aspect in my new course in physics education with microscopic artificial atomic nuclei mind is support and mentorship. …It is also From Physics Today, January 18, 2013 by fabricated on graphene, a collaboration of important to recognize that we are not all Nathaniel Roth, Punit Gandhi, Gloria Lee, researchers led by scientists with the U.S. the same: there are gender differences, just Joel Corbo Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley as there are differences between people of It’s the middle of August 2011, and a group National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the same gender, but these do not affect of incoming students at the University of the University of California (UC) Berkeley how good a scientist you can be. …The

32 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Physics in the Media change we need to make is in attitude: Perpetual Motion Test Could But they’re also willing to consider there is no typical personality type that Amend Theory of Time the possibility that the ideas were wrong succeeds as a physicist, if you are motivated From Wired, April 30, 2013 by Natalie in the first place, said Joel Fajans, a and interested in the field then you should Wolchover professor of physics at UC Berkeley and pursue that interest. What we need to do is a member of the ALPHA team. “…People to offer people the support, and the oppor- have dreamed of doing these experiments: tunity, to enable them to make their own Is it possible that antimatter falls upward informed decision. That involves educating instead of downward?” Fajans said. people as to what it really means to be a According to Fajans and Jonathan physicist, and the earlier we start that the Wurtele, another Berkeley physicist work- better. Public lectures, talks in schools, ing on the project, no one had planned to workshops aimed at high-school students– measure gravitational effects with the outreach is a critical part of our work, both current version of the experiment. But the for education and recruitment. scientists figured out a way to use mea- Physicists plan to create a “time crystal”–a surements of 434 antihydrogen atoms and theoretical object that moves in a repeating Universe as an Infant: Fatter than computer simulations to tease out some of Expected and Kind of Lumpy pattern without using energy–inside a device called an ion trap. gravity’s very subtle effects. From The New York Times, March 21, 2013 They can’t yet tell if the particles fall by Dennis Overbye ...“For a physicist, this is really a crazy up or down, said Fajans and Wurtele, but Astronomers released the latest and most concept to think of a ground state which is they were able to establish a range for anti- exquisite baby picture yet of the universe time-dependent,” said Hartmut Häffner, hydrogen’s gravitational mass (that is, its on Thursday, one that showed it to be 80 a quantum physicist at the University of mass measured by its gravitational attrac- million to 100 million years older and a little California, Berkeley. “The definition of a tion for other bodies). fatter than previously thought, with more ground state is that this is energy-zero. But Imaging Breakthrough: See matter in it and perhaps ever so slightly if the state is time-dependent, that implies lopsided. Recorded by the European Space Atomic Bonds Before and After that the energy changes or something is Molecular Reaction Agency’s Planck satellite, the image is a changing. Something is moving around.” … From Wired, May 30, 2013, by Nadia Drake heat map of the cosmos as it appeared only An international team led by Berkeley For the first time, scientists have visually 370,000 years after the Big Bang, showing scientists is preparing an elaborate lab captured a molecule at single-atom resolu- space speckled with faint spots from which experiment, although it may take “anywhere tion in the act of rearranging its bonds. … galaxies would grow over billions of years. between three and infinity years” to com- The team initially set out to precisely Within the standard cosmological plete, depending on funding or unforeseen assemble nanostructures made from framework, though, the new satellite data technical difficulties, said Häffner, who is graphene, a single-layer material in which underscored the existence of puzzling co-principal investigator with Zhang. The carbon atoms are arranged in repeating, anomalies that may lead theorists back to hope is that time crystals will push physics hexagonal patterns. Building the carbon the drawing board. …The biggest surprise beyond the precise but seemingly imperfect honeycombs required rearranging atoms here is that the universe is expanding more laws of quantum mechanics and lead the from a linear chain into the six-sided slowly than previous measurements had way to a grander theory. indicated. …Pressed for a possible explana- shapes; the reaction can produce several tion for the discrepancy, Martin White, a Would an antimatter apple fall different molecules. UC Berkeley chemist Planck team member from the University upward from the earth? Felix Fischer and his colleagues wanted to of California, Berkeley, said it represents From the Los Angeles Times, April 30, by visualize the molecules to make sure a mismatch between measurements made Eryn Brown they’d done it right. of the beginning of time and those made …Theorists think that ordinary matter and To document the graphene recipe, more recently. And that it could mean that antimatter, which annihilate when they Fischer needed a powerful imaging dark energy, which is speeding up the come into contact with each other, were device, and he turned to the atomic force expansion of the universe, is more compli- generated in equal quantities during the microscope housed in physicist Michael cated than cosmologists thought. Big Bang. But there must be some differ- Crommie’s UC Berkeley lab. … With it, the ences between the two types of matter, team managed to visualize not only the they also think, because otherwise matter carbon atoms but the bonds between them, and antimatter would have canceled each created by shared electrons. other out completely and there would be no universe.

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 33 Physics in the Media

A Black Hole Mystery Wrapped in a Ultracold Bosonic and Firewall Paradox Fermionic Gases from The New York Times, August 13, 2013, Edited by K. Levin, A. Fetter and D.M. by Dennis Overbye Stamper-Kurn, Volume 5 in the Contemporary Concepts of Condensed- Matter Science, series edited by C. Burstein, M.L. Cohen, D.L. Mills and P.J. Stiles. Elsevier, Oxford UK, July 2012. ISBN 9780444538574 Berkeley physics pro- Science for Future Presidents fessor Dan Debuts on Japanese Television Stamper- Earlier this year, Nippon Hoso Kyokai, the Kurn has Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, aired co-edited a This time, they say, Einstein might really “Physics for Future Presidents”, the lecture book that be wrong. … A high-octane debate has series created and presented by UC Berkeley offers an broken out among the world’s physicists emeritus physics professor Richard A. accessible about what would happen if you jumped Muller. The series consisted of five broad- introduction into a black hole … Crushed smaller than a casts, overdubbed in Japanese, broadcast to the many dust mote by monstrous gravity, as astron- in April and May. actual and omers and science fiction writers have potential Physics in Print been telling us for decades? Or flash-fried applications by a firewall of energy, as an alarming new Books and articles authored or edited by of ultra-cold atoms for condensed matter calculation seems to indicate? UC Berkeley physicists science. The book introduces ultracold Bose and Fermi quantum gases at a level Raphael Bousso, a theorist at the Optical Magnetometry appropriate for first-year graduate students University of California, Berkeley, said, Dmitry Budker, UC Berkeley, and Derek and non-specialists, and discusses “I’ve never been so surprised. I don’t know F. Jackson Kimball, California State landmark experiments and their fruitful what to expect.” University East Bay, Editors. Cambridge interplay with basic theoretical ideas. You might wonder who cares, especially University Press, April 2013. I if encountering a black hole is not on your SBN 9781107010352 calendar. But some of the basic tenets of Berkeley modern science and of Einstein’s theory physics are at stake in the “firewall paradox,” as it professor is known. Dmitry …The existence of a firewall would Budker and mean that the horizon, which according to physics general relativity is just empty space, is a alumnus special place, pulling the rug out from under Derek Einstein’s principle, his theory of gravity, Kimball and modern cosmology, which is based on (PhD ’05) general relativity. This presented the scien- have co- tists with what Dr. Bousso calls the “menu edited a new from hell.” If the firewall argument was book that right, one of three ideas that lie at the heart provides comprehensive coverage of and soul of modern physics, had to be wrong. principles, technology, and applications Either information can be lost after all; of optical magnetometry. The book also Einstein’s principle of equivalence is wrong; includes an original survey of the history or quantum field theory, which describes of optical magnetometry and a chapter on how elementary particles and forces inter- the commercial use of these technologies. act, is wrong and needs fixing. Abandoning Featuring chapters written by leading any one of these would be revolutionary or experts, it not only introduces graduate appalling or both. …which of the items on students to this field, but also serves a Dr. Bousso’s “menu from hell” might have useful reference for researchers in to go depends on who is speaking. atomic physics.

34 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 Undergraduate Affairs Thamine Dalichaouch, Shane Cybart, SPS Noontime Career Seminars Stephen Wu, and Steven Anton– At each noontime career seminar, under- Society for Physics Students Modeling Mutual Inductances in 2D Arrays graduate students are treated to pizza Berkeley’s Society for Physics Students of SQUIDs (Professor Robert Dynes) and a presentation about how a physics (SPS), founded and operated by physics Joe DeRose–On the Negative Correlation education can lead to a wide variety of students, was established to foster a sense between Max Intrinsic Luminosity and successful careers. Offerings from the of community in the Departments of Silicon II Ratio of Type Ia Supernovae fall 2012 semester featured presentations from two Berkeley alumni and a Cornell Physics and Astronomy. SPS sponsors Alexey Drobizhev–Low-Temperature University alumnus. monthly barbecues, helps out with annual Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Cal Day activities, manages hands-on Marc Peters (BA ’72) is a partner in the Al2O3 Ceramic for Use in Bolometric Particle activities at the Bay Area Science Festival Detector (Professor Yury Kolomensky) Intellectual Property Group and the in ATT Park, organizes tutoring sessions Litigation Department at Morrison Foerster Nitin Kitchley Egbert–Linear Behavior for lower division students, sponsors an LLP. He represents clients involving semi- and Long-Term Constraints with Spring- annual Undergraduate Student Poster conductor, electronics, and computer-relat- Coupled Masses in Otherwise Keplerian Session, and presents a series of noontime ed technologies, such as virtual machine Orbit (Professor Edgar Knobloch) seminars that give students an opportunity software, semiconductor fabrication equip- to learn about the careers of physics alumni. Kelsey Oliver-Mallory, Maurice Garcia- ment, gallium-nitride based laser diodes Sciveres, John Kadyk, and Mayra Lopez- and LEDs, hyperthreaded processors, Thibodeaux–Directional Dark Matter optoelectronic transceivers, surgical Detector: Time Projection Chamber lasers, and video-on-demand servers. Abhimat Gautam–Automated Pipeline Hal Zarem (BA ‘84) is President and CEO to Search for Radio Transients in the of Seeo, a company that is using technology Kepler Field developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Joel Grebel and Maria Simanovskaia– Laboratory and UC Berkeley to create a Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in Diamond new class of high-energy rechargeable lithium ion battery. A technology executive Ayman Kamruddin–A Geometric with extensive experience at leading semi- Crescent Model for Black Hole Images conductor, optical component, and MEMS Tanner Kaptanoglu–SNO+ Research companies, Zarem was CEO of Silicon Kimia Haghighi (far center) presented posters at this year’s Undergraduate Poster Session. During the (Professor Gabriel Orebi Gann, Post-Doc Light Machines when that company devel- session, physics professor Gabriel Orebi Gann (front Freia Descamp) oped the OvationONSTM optical sensor, left) talked with physics graduate student Matt Jaffe. Dong Won Kim–Search for Strong and commercialized Grating Light Valve Undergraduate Poster Session Gravity Signature in Same-Sign Dimuon technology for computer-to-plate printing This year’s Undergraduate Poster Session Final States Using the ATLAS Detector and direct-write lithography. took place on April 17 in the Carl A Helmholz (Professor Marjorie Shapiro) Will Glaser, recognized as an innovative Room (375 Le Conte). Student researchers Gloria Lee–Base Catalyzed Synthesis of leader in Silicon Valley for more than two and the topics they presented included: Graphene Aerogels (Professor Alex Zettl, decades, was named one of the 100 Most Loic Anderegg, Francisco Monsalve, Mentor Anna Goldstein) Influential People in High Technology by Microtimes. Most recently, he co-founded Michael Hohensee–Precision Test of Matt Noakes–Determination of Flavor Pandora Media, the leading provider of Lorentz Invariance with a High Finesse Fractions in Conjunction with a Search for online radio. Glaser currently operates a Optical Cavity (Professor Holger Müller) a 4th Generation b’Quark consulting practice specializing in business Maris Asatryan–Electrostatic Ion Trap Darius Roohani–The Research and startups, new product architectures, and for Trapping Radioactive Isotopes & Beta- Development for Cherenkov Light Sources high technology turnarounds. Neutrino Correlation Andrew Vanderburg–Improving Radial Maryrose Barrios–A 2D-MOT as a New Course Aids Physics Velocity Precision for Faint Star Extra- Transfer Students Source of Cold Rubidium Atoms Solar Planet Surveys (Professor Dan Stamper-Kurn) A new course designed to smooth the tran- William Walker –Development of Helium3 sition for transfer students entering the Max Baugh and Kimia Haghighi– Sorption Fridge for Millimeter Wave physics department is being offered for the SNO+ Particle Decay Simulation Experiment (Grad Student Aritoki Suzuki, first time this fall. The Compass Physics Shawn Tang and Byung Choi–Search Professor Adrian Lee) Transfer Course gives incoming transfer - for a 4th Generation Bottom like Quark Rui Zou–Investigation of Alkali-Wall students an array of opportunities, including at the Large Hadron Collider (Professor Interactions in Antirelaxation-Coated the chance to meet each other early in the Marjorie Shapiro) Vapor Cells semester. “They have only two years to

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 35 UNDERGRADUATE AFFAIRS complete the program,” said Claudia research groups of interest. “Research is one plumbers, and electricians renewed the Trujillo, Student Affairs Officer. “Getting of the most valuable experiences one can get facilities, the interns renewed the experi- to know their peers earlier and knowing out of Berkeley,” the instructors note, “and it ments. They also completed a changeover what to expect in their courses is critical. is a great service to help students make the to new computers, which required revising This course will facilitate that.” research connections they want.” many of the programs that interface The course was made possible through “Our student-centered classroom is between computers and experimental the efforts of the physics department’s fun,” they add, “and will provide a wealth of apparatus. As the new space opened up, Compass Project, the campus-wide Cal opportunities to interact with classmates as fourteen experiments were set up in new NERDS program (New Experiences for they build the skills and knowledge neces- locations and configurations. Research and Diversity in Science), the sary for real research. We want to keep that All three interns enjoyed the chance Department of Physics, and visiting flame of excitement about science alive, to delve into many experiments beyond the researcher Dr. Melvin Pomerantz, who even through a challenging first semester.” four they each conducted when they took endowed the Isidore Pomerantz fund to the course. “Setting up an experiment, benefit undergraduates in physics. Segré Summer Interns 2013 tuning a laser, getting it to work is something The two-unit, weekly class was, accord- I didn’t actually do before when I worked ing to the course description “inspired by in a research lab,” said Nesterenko. Each conversations with graduating transfer intern took on several projects, yet they students, which made it clear that the first frequently pitched in to help each other. semester is a particularly challenging time When an experiment was finished, another for transfer students. They need to navigate intern would test the setup and instruc- unfamiliar academic expectations, develop tions and suggest further improvements. new study groups and friendships, learn to Meanwhile, 111 Lab engineer Don get around Berkeley, and deal with culture Orlando coordinated the construction shock. This class is designed to help project, all the student projects, and the students coming from a Community complicated move back into the newly College or Junior College have an easier renovated space. The transformation of transition into science at Cal, and more the lab over the last two years culminated quickly feel like a contributing member of Segré summer interns Cliff Chen, Sergiy this fall with the dedication of the facility their new scientific community, all while Nesterenko and Anthony Ransford. as the Donald A. Glaser Physics Advanced remembering the enthusiasm and joy that Lab (see p 24). they find in science.” Cliff Chen, one of this year’s Segré Summer This fall, Chen is applying to graduate The class is taught by undergraduate Interns, took on the task of moving the school while working as a lab technician physics major and transfer student Derrek pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in southern California. Ransford is a Coleman, along with physics graduate experiment into the recently remodeled researcher in atomic physics in physics student John Haberstroh. The faculty Donald A. Glaser Advanced Lab. But after professor Hartmut Häffner’s lab, while he sponsor is physics professor Holger Müller. assembling the experiment in its brand writes up his previous research and applies The class is designed to help students new home, he found it just didn’t work. “I to graduate school. develop community, science skills, and spent 2 days reading papers, troubleshooting Nesterenko is finishing his degree this research connections. “Community happens connections, learning the physics and the fall as he continues research in Professor naturally when students with similar chal- equipment,” Chen said, “and finally I got Bernard Sadoulet’s lab, simulating charge lenges are brought together in a safe space results that made sense. This was a great transport through Germanium in dark where they can talk through their difficul- feeling!” matter detectors. His ambition is to start ties,” the instructors point out. “Community This kind of experience is typical of the a small company to build sensors such as the is further fostered by a focus on healthy Emilio Segré Internship, a program that prototype 3D position sensor he designed for scientific discourse, where members of the provides three undergraduate students the his Physics 111 BSC final project. “Think of class have opportunities to discuss science opportunity to spend eight weeks during it as indoor GPS,” he says with excitement. without the need for a facade of ‘knowing the summer to hone their research and The Emilio Segré Internships are it all’ that so many other classrooms technical skills by making improvements made possible through the generosity of encourage.” to the Physics 111 Advanced Laboratory. Arlene and Doug Giancoli. As part of the The course also teaches science skills Recipients of this summer’s internships renovation of the Advanced Lab, a plaque students need to productively immerse were Anthony Ransford and Cliff Chen, commemorating every Segré intern is themselves in a body of scientific literature both of whom graduated in May, and continu- being placed in the corridor outside the lab. ing student Sergiy Nesterenko. and offers opportunities for exploring Contributed by Tom Colton, Instructional The Segré interns began their work important, cutting edge physics research. Support Manager Each student is paired with a mentor and as demolition began on phase 2 of the offered help in making connections with Physics 111 lab renovation. As carpenters,

36 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 graduate Affairs

Professor John Clarke hoods student Sang Choi. Nobel laureate Robert Laughlin gives the 2013 Professor Ori Ganor congratulates Dr. Shannon commencement address. McCurdy (with a smile and a hug!).

The Class of 2013

he UC Berkeley the Department of Physics; and Eliot self-organization. In this area, he recently Departments of Quataert, Faculty Undergraduate Advisor proposed that all Mott insulators–including Physics, Astronomy, in the Department of Astronomy. the notorious doped ones that exhibit high- and the Physical For the 2012-2013 academic year, temperature superconductivity–are Sciences celebrated the bachelor degrees were awarded to 99 plagued by a new kind of subsidiary order 2013 Commencement students in Physics, and 45 students in called ‘orbital anti-ferromagnetism.’ in Zellerbach Astrophysics, Engineering Physics, and Laughlin is the author of several books Auditorium on May 21. Physical Sciences. Master degrees were for lay audiences, including Powering the Nobel laureate and UC awarded to eight students in Astrophysics Future, about solving the energy crisis, and Berkeley alumnus and 12 students in Physics. PhD degrees A Different Universe, an accessible explana- Robert B. Laughlin were awarded to 12 students in Astrophysics tion of emergent law. In his words: “As our (’72), Professor of and 36 students in Physics. experimental understanding of nature has Physics at Stanford matured, we have come to realize just how University, delivered Commencement Address artificial the distinction is between funda- the commencement Commencement speaker Robert Laughlin mental physical law­–something that ‘just address. Peter Kelly Blanchard was is the Ann T. and Robert M. Bass Professor is’–and other kinds of physical law that Student Speaker for Astronomy, and of Physics at Stanford University. He is a ‘emerge’ through self-organization.” AndrewT Michael Vanderburg was theorist with interests ranging from hard- Laughlin received his AB degree from Student Speaker for Physics. core engineering to cosmology. He received UC Berkeley in 1972, and his PhD in 1979 the Nobel Prize in 1998, along with Horst from the Massachusetts Institute of Commencement Ceremonies Stormer and Daniel Tsui, for their explana- Technology. He has been a Research Officiating at the commencement were tion of the fractional quantum Hall effect. Physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Mark Richards, Dean of Physical Sciences Laughlin has also worked on plasma and Laboratory since 1982. His numerous in the College of Letters and Science; nuclear physics issues related to fusion and awards include the E. O. Lawrence Award Imke de Pater, Chair of the Department nuclear-pumped X-ray lasers. for Physics in 1984, and the Oliver E. of Astronomy; Frances Hellman, Chair His technical work at the moment Buckley Prize in 1986. He is a fellow of the of the Department of Physics; Robert G. focuses on ‘correlated electron’ phenome- American Academy of Arts and Sciences Jacobsen, Vice-Chair of the Department nology–working backward from experi- and the American Association for the of Physics; Michael R. DeWeese, Acting mental properties of materials to infer the Advancement of Science, and is a member Head Faculty Undergraduate Advisor in presence (or not) of new kinds of quantum of the National Academy of Sciences.

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 37 Astronomy Prizes and Awards Christopher Smallwood, Student As a member of Lanzara’s research Department Citation of Distinction group, Smallwood works with high-tem- Peter Kelly Blanchard perature superconductors. “There’s a lot of Dorothea Klumke Roberts Prize interesting fundamental physics going on Jonathan Charles Pober in these materials,” he says, “but at the same time it isn’t difficult to explain why Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award they have real-world applications.” The Katherine Rebecca de Kleer group uses an experimental approach Ryan Clayton Turner known as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the Physics Prizes and Awards behavior of electrons in a material. “It’s a Department Citation bit like a microscope,” Smallwood explains, Andrew Michael Vanderburg “but a microscope allows us to look only at Lars Commins Memorial Award in the positions of electrons. ARPES allows Experimental Physics Christopher Smallwood (L) with professor Eugene Commins. us to look carefully at their momentum. Christopher Lee Smallwood Graduate students in Berkeley’s Department The relationship of energy versus momen- Jackson C. Koo Award in Condensed tum of the electrons can tell you a lot about Matter of Physics often wear many hats, and why a material is a conductor, insulator, Gil Young Cho Christopher Smallwood is no exception. A talented young scientist who specializes semiconductor, or superconductor. Student Service Award in condensed matter physics and won this Essentially, we shine ultraviolet light on Steven Matthew Anton year’s Lars Commins Award in Experimental a material, electrons come out and we Joel Christopher Corbo Physics, he is also a teacher and a science measure them, and then we use those Dimitri Robert Dounas-Frazer writer. He arrived at Berkeley in 2007 and measurements to calculate what the elec- Gabriel Purvin Dunn currently works in Professor Alessandra trons were doing in the material.” Jessica Ann Kirkpatrick Lanzara’s research group on campus and As an example, ARPES enables Joseph Philip Thurakal at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers to tease out information about Outstanding Graduate (LBNL). how electrons pair up in superconductors. Student Instructor awards Smallwood received a bachelor’s Superconductivity arises when electrons Shuokai Chang degree in physics from Harvard in 2005. bind together to form Cooper pairs–pairs Philipp Dumitrescu With plans for graduate studies at Berkeley of electrons that act coherently. “With Michael Galczynski already in hand, he took a two-year defer- ARPES, we can see a band gap emerging in David Gee ment to join Teach for America (TFA), a the data that roughly corresponds to the John Richard Haberstroth nonprofit organization aimed at bringing binding energy of pairs of electrons. This Nathan Charles Haouzi excellent education to students in low- gives us fundamental information about Katayun J. Kamdin income communities. “I looked forward to how Cooper pairs are forming.” Jesse Livezey meeting the kids and getting some first- Most of Smallwood’s work is done in Benjamin Charles Ponedel hand teaching experience,” he says. “I had a laboratory in the Materials Science Aaron Miklos Strimlin Szasz expected my assignment to be math or Building at LBNL. There, Lanzara’s group Steven Chan Wong physics at the high school level, so it was a has built their own experimental apparatus Recipients of the Outstanding surprise to find myself teaching fifth that augments ARPES data by adding a Graduate Students Instructor (OGSI) graders. I made the adjustment, though, time component. “The technology allows us Awards are recognized for their and ended up loving it.” to make movies of non-equilibrium electron dedication and skill in teaching physics More recently, Smallwood volunteered dynamics in solids,” Smallwood explains. undergraduates. Each recipient with the Prison University Project, where “One of the most impressive aspects of the receives a certificate of commendation he helped San Quentin inmates master experiment is the incredibly short time from the Graduate Division, a cash basic math and science skills as they worked scales we are able to resolve–on the order award of $250, membership in the toward Associate Degrees. “For one semes- of a trillionth of a second.” American Association of Physics ter,” Smallwood notes, “I co-taught the San As a science writer, Smallwood has Teachers (AAPT), and a subscription Quentin version of Rich Muller’s ‘Physics been a contributor to the Quest science blog to the AAPT journal from the Friends for Future Presidents.’ It was a great course (science.kqed.org/quest/). He authored a of Physics fund. Professor Robert for students with a diverse set of academic substantial article on the recent discovery Karplus established the tradition of backgrounds. It’s conceptual physics, so of the Higgs boson, titled ‘Hunting Down the AAPT memberships, which the students with a weak background in math the Higgs’, which appeared in the Spring Department of Physics continues in could still benefit from the course, but the 2013 issue of the Berkeley Science Review. his honor. content and potential topics of discussion He expects to receive his PhD by the spring rose to a very high level.” of 2014.

38 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 GRADUATE AFFAIRS

Lars Commins Award in after receiving his AB in physics from (FOXSI) sounding rocket experiment. Experimental Physics Korea Advanced Institute of Science and “Lindsay was in charge of the design of the Graduate student Christopher Smallwood Technology. front-end electronics, FPGA programming, has been awarded the 2013 Lars Commins As a member of physics professor Joel and the detector calibration,” Bale reports. Award in Experimental Physics. The award Moore’s research group, Cho co-authored a “She also led the integration of the spectrom- is given annually to the most deserving number of papers on topological insulators eter into the payload. She commanded the graduate research student in experimental and a variety of related topics. Cho received spectrometer, in real-time, during the brief physics. his PhD this spring, and moved to a post- but exciting rocket flight, and is now analyz- Smallwood’s research advisor, physics doctoral fellowship at University of Illinois ing the science data. professor Alessandra Lanzara, nominated Urbana-Champaign this fall. During his According to the RAS, the award is him for the award because of his “pioneering graduate career at Berkeley, he was awarded given annually to encourage student interest work on the study of transient electronic a fellowship from the Kavli Institute for in instrumentation science for astronomy properties of high-temperature supercon- Theoretical Physics, a Samsung prize, and and geophysics. Glesener has been invited ductivity,” she says. “His work constitutes a partial scholarship from Berkeley’s to present her work and receive the award, a milestone in the field of superconductivity, International House. which comes with a $1000 cash prize, at an and he is one of the pioneers of time–and The Jackson C. Koo Award was created upcoming RAS General Meeting. in 2009 by Mrs. Rose Koo in honor of her angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy Watanabe Wins Japanese Prize experiments.” One of Smallwood’s research husband Jackson Koo, a bright and hard- papers, published in Science (Smallwood working alumnus who received BS and Graduate Student et.al, 2012), “represents the first time that MS degrees in electrical engineering and Haruki Watanabe anyone has directly measured the transient a PhD in physics from UC Berkeley, under has won the Eighth dynamics of a superconducting gap in any the guidance of physics professor Erwin Annual Makoto material,” Lanzara adds. Hahn. Koo was a member of Phi Beta Nakamura Taro Lars Commins, the son of Berkeley Cappa and the Honor Students Society of Award from the emeritus physics professor Eugene Commins UC Berkeley. After graduating, he worked Physical Society of and his wife Ulla, was an accomplished at AT&T Bell Laboratories, then moved to Japan. Watanabe engineer with a deep interest in experimen- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. works with Berkeley physics professors tal physics. The Lars Commins Award was During his career he published numerous Ashvin Vishwanath and Hitoshi Murayama. created in 2004 as a lasting tribute to Lars, papers and was listed as an inventor on He was recognized for his paper “Unified and to help perpetuate the strong tradition eight patents. Description of Nambu-Goldstone Bosons without Lorentz Invariance”, co-authored of experimental physics that has always Tomkins Thesis Prize existed at UC Berkeley. with Murayama and published in Physics Review Letters in 2012. Jackson C. Koo Award An award ceremony will be held in March, 2014, during the 69th annual meeting of the Physical Society of Japan at Tokai University.

Helmholz Award at International House The Carl and Betty Helmholz Gateway Fellowship has been granted to Sean In June, the Department of Physics received Ressler for 2013-2014. Ressler is interested word that Lindsay Glesener, who received in theoretical astrophysics and came to her PhD in Astrophysics in 2012, was Berkeley this fall from North Carolina selected to receive the Patricia Tomkins State University at Raleigh. As a Gateway Thesis Prize for 2013 by Britain’s Royal Fellow he will receive full room and board Astronomical Society. The announcement at International House. The award also pays was made by Professor David Smallwood, tuition, fees, and a $5,000 stipend through a special matching program established Graduate student Gil Young Cho received President of the RAS. with UC Berkeley’s Graduate Division. the 2012-2013 Jackson C. Koo Award in Glesener, whose thesis advisor was Over thirty donors stepped forward Condensed Matter Physics. The award is Robert Lin, was nominated for the award jointly to establish this $250,000 endowment given annually to a high-achieving physics by physics professor Stuart Bale. Glesener in the name of Carl and Betty Helmholz. It graduate student in condensed matter who works in high energy solar physics and led provides an International House room and has advanced to PhD candidacy. Cho came the detector development effort for the board award each year for an entering UC to Berkeley as a graduate student in 2009, NASA Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 39 GRADUATE AFFAIRS

Berkeley first-year doctoral student, pref- Student Service Awards for 2013 Allan and Kathleen Rosevear Gateway Fellowship erably in physics. Six students in the Department of Physics Zhenglu Li Carl Helmholz was a nuclear physicist were honored with Student Service and former Chair of the UC Berkeley Awards for 2013. Adrian Hao Yin U Gateway Fellowship Department of Physics. His wife, Betty, Steven Anton, Gabriel Dunn, and Joseph Hoi Chun Po has provided distinguished service to both Thurakal were recognized for their service Betty and Carl Helmholz International House and the Department to the Department with the creation of Gateway Fellowship of Physics. Career Development Initiative for the Sean Ressler Physical Sciences (CDIPS). Their program Graduate Student Poster Session NASA Graduate Student fills a niche for students to explore various Thirty-five graduate students shared their Research Fellowship career paths. It connects alumni with research at the Department of Physics Nicole Duncan current graduate students, and the CDIPS Annual Graduate Student Poster Session, newsletter keeps students informed about Hertz Foundation Fellowship held Friday November 16, 2012 in the campus and Bay Area events pertaining to Mollie Schwartz Helmholz room, 375 LeConte. The session science careers. Honjo International Scholarship was organized by graduate students Matt Joel Corbo and Dmitri Dounas- Foundation (Japan) Jaffe and Jesse Livezey. This year’s judges Frazer received the Student Service award Haruki Watanabe were physics professors Beate Heinemann in recognition of their service to the and Hitoshi Murayama. LAM Research Corporation Fellowship Department in the leadership roles they Poster exhibits covered a wide variety S. Matthew Gilbert took with Compass. Compass would not be of topics in physics and astrophysics. Best Gregory Affeldt where it is today without their continuous in Show honor went to four graduate Steven Drapcho involvement and dedication, especially at students: its inception. Compass has become one of National Defense Science and • Gheorghe Chistol, a member of Carlos Engineering Graduate Fellowship the Department’s successfully student-run Bustamante’s research group, whose Aaron Bradley programs. poster was titled “High degree of coordi- Jonathan Kohler Jessica Kirkpatrick received the nation and division of labor among sub- Derek Vigil-Fowler Student Service award in recognition of units in a homomeric ring ATPase” Dillon Wong her service as a leader of SWPS (Society • Mia Ihm, from James Siegrist’s group, of Women in the Physical Sciences). SWPS Natural Sciences and Engineering for her poster titled “Direct Dark Matter would not be the successful program it Research Council of Canada Detection with the LUX Experiment” has grown into without her involvement. Scholarship We are grateful for the enthusiasm Kyle Boone • Samuel Penwell, a member of Naomi and spirit these students have brought to the Eric Thewalt Ginsberg’s group, for his poster, “Beneath Department of Physics, and the department the Bulk: Domain-Specific Efficiency National Science Foundation acknowledges their many contributions to Graduate Research Fellowship and Degradation in Organic Photovoltaic the physics community with the Student Yasaman Bahri Daniel Lecoanet Thin Films” Service Award. Halleh Balch Eli Levenson-Falk • Henoch Wong, from Kam-Biu Luk’s Jackie Brosamer Nityan Nair group, for “Measurement of Neutrino Graduate Student Fellowships Nathan Carruth Diana Qiu 2013-2014 Mixing Angle Theta13” Kayleigh Cassella Vinay Ramasesh In addition to sharing their research Chilean Scholarship Parker Fagrelius Tess Smidt CONICYT-BECAS CHILE at the annual poster session, held each fall Tova Holmes Kelly Swanson Dan Mainemer-Katz semester, graduate students also have an Hilary Jacks Dayton Thorpe opportunity to talk about their work and Department of Energy Computational Trinity Joshi Nesty Torres Chicon practice for oral exams at student-only Fellowship Kate Kamdin David Yu seminars held throughout the academic Hannes Roberts Thai Scholarship year. These seminars are open only to Sydney Schleppler Chayut Thanipirom physics graduate students. Ford Foundation Dissertation University of California Fellowship Fellowship Emily Duffield Caroline Sofiatti Nunes Miguel Daal Anthony Lo Jessie Otradovec Leigh Martin Alejandro Ruiz Sarah Marzen

40 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 GRADUATE AFFAIRS

PHd degrees Fall 2012 Erin E. Quealy Aditya A. Joshi Advisor: Adrian Lee Advisor: Richard Packard Andre M Bach The POLARBEAR Cosmic Microwave Superfluid 4He interferometers: Advisor: Marjorie Shapiro Background Polarization Experiment and construction and experiments Search for Pair Production of a New b’Quark Anti-Reflection Coatings for Millimeter that Decays into a Z Boson and a Bottom Hsien-Ching Kao Wave Observations Quark with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC Advisor: Edgar Knobloch, William R. Regan Spatially Modulated Structures in Steven J.F. Byrnes Advisor: Alex Zettl Convective Systems Advisors: Feng Wang and Yuen Ron Shen Screening-engineered Field-effect Studies in Optics and Optoelectronics Nathan A Leefer . Photovoltaics and Synthesis, Advisor: Dmitry Budker Kevin Timothy Chan Characterization, and Applications of Search for variation of the fine-structure Advisor: Marvin L Cohen Carbon-based and Related Nanomaterials constant and violation of Lorentz First-principles studies of carbon nano- Louise A. Skinnari symmetry using atomic dysprosium structures and spin-phonon and electron- Advisor: Beate Heinemann phonon coupling in solids Peter V. Loscutoff A Search for Physics Beyond the Standard Advisor: Marjorie Shapiro Dmitri R. Dounas-Frazer Model using Like-Sign Muon Pairs in pp Search for resonant WZ to three lepton Advisor: Dmitry Budker Collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the production using the ATLAS detector Atomic Parity Violation and Related ATLAS Detector at the LHC Physics in Ytterbium David A. Strubbe Shannon R. McCurdy William J. Gannett Advisor: Steven Louie Advisor: Bruno Zumino Advisor: Alex Zettl Optical and Transport Properties of Organic Variations on Quantum Geometry Electronic Transport in Novel Graphene Molecules: Methods and Applications Nanostructures Keith G. Ray Anthony J. Tagliaferro Advisors: Steve Louie, and Mark Asta Lindsay E. Glesener Advisor: Bruno Zumino van der Waals Corrected Density Advisors: Stuart Bale and Samuel Krucker On Freudenthal Duality and Gauge Theories Functional Theory Calculations on Zeolitic Faint Coronal Hard X-rays from Stephen M Wu Imidazolate Frameworks Accelerated Electrons in Solar Flares Advisor: Robert Dynes David A. Rubin Jennie S. Guzman Properties of Jets Electronic and Advisor: Saul Perlmutter Advisor: Dan Stamper-Kurn Magnetic Properties of Multiferroic Based E. Pluribus Unum: Cosmological Analysis Explorations of Magnetic Phases in F=1 Magnetoelectric Field Effect Devices of Heterogenous Supernova Ia Datasets 87Rb Spinor Condensates Anna M. Zaniewski John G. Sample Jedediah E.J. Johnson Advisor: Alex Zettl Advisors: Robert Lin, Steven Boggs and Advisor: John Clarke Probing Nanostructures for Photovoltaics: David Smith Optimization of Superconducting Flux Qubit Using atomic force microscopy and other The MINIS Balloon Campaign: Duskside Readout Using Near-Quantum-Limited tools to characterize nanoscale materials Relativistic Electron Precipitation Amplifiers for harvesting solar energy Kevin A. Schaeffer Kwanpyo Kim Xiaowei Zhang Advisor: Mina Aganagic Advisor: Alex Zettl Advisor: Mike Crommie Black Holes, Branes, and Knots in Structural Characterization, Manipulation, Probing Atomic-Scale Properties of String Theory and Properties of Graphene Membranes Magnetic and Optoelectronic Nanostructures Alexander Selem Jessica A. Kirkpatrick Joel L. Zylberberg Advisors: Joel Moore and Birgitta H. Advisors: Saul Perlmutter and Advisor: Michael DeWeese Whaley. David Schlegel From Scenes to Spikes: Understanding Topics in Topologically Ordered Phases Searching for Quasars and Beyond Vision from the Outside In of Matter Jonas A. Kjall Hai Siong Tan Advisor: Joel Moore PHd degrees Spring 2013 Advisor: Ori Ganor Low Dimensional Magnetism Thierry C.M. Botter Advisor: Dan Stamper-Kurn Quantum Gravity in Three Dimensions Joshua E. Meyers Cavity Optomechanics in the Quantum from Higher-Spin Holography Advisor: Saul Perlmutter Regime Luyi Yang Improving Type Ia Supernova Standard Advisor: Joseph Orenstein Candle Cosmology Measurements Using Gheorghe Chistol Doppler Velocimetry of Current Driven Observations of Early-Type Host Galaxies Advisor: Carlos Bustamante Dissecting the Operating Mechanism of a Spin Helices in a Two-Dimensional Biological Motor One Molecule at a Time Electron Gas Gilly Elor Advisor: Lawrence Hall Journeys Beyond the Standard Model

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 41 ALUMNI Affairs hear information contained in studying theoretical physics. Andre Luis De Gouvea (PhD specially designed graphics, Chau was one of the earliest ’99), Northwestern University Alumni News and such as the Periodic Table. The female graduate students in For exceptional service to the Awards user can feel the Braille imprint Berkeley’s Department of field of neutrino physics through Physics, and the only female innovative studies of possible Joshua A. Miele (BA ‘97, of each element on the table, PhD ‘03 Psychology) and with each tap of the pen student in her graduate physics neutrino properties and their With innovative technologies access additional information classes. She established the experimental implications Ling-Lie Chau Excellence that range from talking pens about that element. The system Robert W. Carpick (PhD ’97), Award Fund as a way of giving to virtual Braille keyboards, makes it possible to include far University of Pennsylvania back to the department, she Dr. Josh Miele is making a more information than would For his outstanding contribu- said. She wants to help women difference in the lives of the fit on a typical Braille version tions to developing atomic-level specifically because she visually impaired. A feature of the Periodic Table. understanding of the tribologi- received so much support article about Miele and his He is also developing cal phenomena of friction, herself. childhood story, published in Wearabraille, a wireless device adhesion, and wear The number of female the March 2 NY Times, that functions like a virtual physicists has increased over Heidi Jo Newberg (PhD ’92), prompted the Department of Braille keyboard input for a the past several decades but, Rensselaer Polytechnic Physics to follow up on the computer or smartphone. The Chau notes, “the number of Institute valuable work he’s doing today. user wears a device that places female theoretical physicists For her contributions to our Here’s what we learned. a small accelerometer on each understanding of the structure finger. Tapping the fingers on remains extremely low world- of the Milky Way galaxy a table or other surface sends wide. Efforts should be made to and the universe and for the out a wireless signal. Different encourage more women to enter development of software and combinations of finger taps the intellectually exciting field hardware infrastructure for signal different letters or of theoretical physics and add measuring and extracting commands. Users can not only diversity in making progress.” meaningful information from type text, but also move the Chau received her PhD large astronomical survey cursor and perform other from Berkeley in 1966, under data sets system functions. the guidance of Geoffrey Chew. Perhaps the most exciting She received a two-year IBM Max Tegmark (PhD ’94), challenge Miele has taken on is Fellowship when she arrived Massachusetts institute of the creation of new cloud-based, on campus, which she credits Technology crowd-sourced software called for a good start as a graduate For his contributions to cos- Dr. Josh Miele demonstrates a student. She subsequently prototype of the WearaBraille the Descriptive Video Exchange mology, including precision virtual keyboard he is developing. (DVX). It allows anyone to joined the Institute for measurements from cosmic Users tap their fingers to send narrate a description of the Advanced Study, where she microwave background and wireless commands to a computer did research in theoretical or smartphone. visuals from video content for galaxy clustering data, tests physics from 1967-1969, then the benefit of those who can’t of inflation and gravitation went to Brookhaven National theories, and the development Miele has been blind since see. The DVX automatically Laboratory, where she stayed records and synchronizes the of a new technology for low- the age of 4. He began develop- until 1986. She was a professor verbal descriptions and plays frequency radio interferometry ing accessibility software and in the Department of Physics them back along with the video. devices during his undergrad- and the Graduate Group of Xiaowei Zhuang (PhD ’96), There is no need to modify the uate years at UC Berkeley. Applied of Applied Mathematics Harvard University video itself. An initial version Today, he is Principle at UC Davis from 1986 through For her seminal contributions was released earlier this year. Investigator of the Miele Lab at 2006, and is now professor to the development of biophysi- More information on Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research emeritus there. cal techniques involving super- Institute in San Francisco, Miele’s innovative technologies resolution fluorescence micros- California, where he leads can be found at Alumni Named New copy and single molecule fluo- the design and development www.mielelab.org. APS Fellows rescence resonance energy transfer, and her successful of accessible technology for Ling Lie Chau (PhD ’66) Congratulations to five alumni the blind. applications of these techniques Ling-Lie Chau, physics profes- who recently became Fellows Among Miele’s innova- to many critical biological sor emeritus at University of of the American Physical tions is the Livescribe Pulse problems California Davis, has created a Society. Here they are, with Pen, the heart of an audio tactile new fellowship at Berkeley for their citations: system that enables users to female graduate students

42 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 ALUMNI AFFAIRS

In Memory contributions to the funda- has been established at Don R. Swanson, mental understanding of the Foothill College by a group of (1924-2012) magnetic and electronic prop- his friends, who describe it as Don R. Swanson (PhD ’52), erties of transition, rare earth, a combination of “his love of died November 12, 2012, at the and actinide metals. He also physics, his appreciation of age of 88. A trailblazing infor- contributed to early efforts to learning, and his fondness for mation scientist, he pioneered accurately calculate and pre- Foothill College. It honors him the field of literature-based dict the properties of materials in a way he would have discovery, which uses existing using first-principles methods. approved of.” Contributions to research to create new knowl- Barry was born on the David A. Pripstein edge, particularly in biomedical April 15, 1936 in Everett, Memorial Scholarship Fund fields. Three times dean of the Massachusetts. He received can be sent to FHDA University of Chicago’s his BS degree in Physics from Foundation, 12345 El Monte Graduate Library School and MIT in 1957 and his PhD from Road, Los Altos Hills, CA the University of California, 94022, with the notation ‘Prip professor emeritus in that uni- David Pripstein versity’s Humanities Division, Berkeley in 1961 where he Award.’ David Pripstein, he believed that unearthing worked with Charles Kittel. (1964-2012) unseen links between two After completing his PhD, he David Pripstein (PhD ’97) distinct areas of study could held positions at the Atomic died of heart failure last yield new discoveries–what he Energy Research December. After receiving his called “undiscovered public Establishment in Harwell, PhD in high energy physics knowledge.” England, Harvard University, under the guidance of physics Swanson received a and the General Electric professor Kam-Biu Luk, he bachelor’s degree in physics Research Laboratory (GE). went to CalTech as a postdoc- from California Institute of During this time his research toral fellow. He subsequently Technology in 1945, his MA in focused on the magnetic prop- worked for JDS Uniphase physics from Rice University erties of transition and rare Corporation and Harmonic in 1947, and his PhD in physics earth metals. While at GE he Inc., both Silicon Valley from UC Berkeley in 1952. He developed a band parameter- companies. worked as a computer systems ization scheme using a Green’s Physicist Peter analyst at Hughes Research function method that allowed Mastromarino, in his 2004 & Development and as a an efficient calculation of band PhD thesis, wrote: “A special research scientist at Ramo- structures of transition metals. acknowledgement must go to Wooldridge Corp & TRW, Inc., He also developed models that David Pripstein, the postdoc- before joining the University explain the unusual magnetic toral scholar in our group at of Chicago faculty as Dean of behavior of antiferromagnets, the time, and the person who the Graduate Library School many of them containing was no doubt largely responsi- in 1963. At the time of his cerium, that have strong mag- ble for my decision to come to appointment, it was believed netic anisotropies CalTech in the first place. Dave that Swanson was the first In 1974 he left GE to is one of the most unique char- physical scientists to head a become the Claude W. acters I have ever known, with professional library school in Benedum Professor of Physics enough catch-phrases and the US. at West Virginia University (WVU). At WVU his research idiosyncrasies to fill a notebook, Bernard R. Cooper focused on magnetic ordering and he is also one of the most (1936-2013) and associated properties of dedicated, intelligent, and Bernard (Barry) R. Cooper, correlated electron systems as genuine people I am ever likely Claude W. Benedum professor well as the thermo-mechanical to meet.” emeritus at West Virginia properties, phase separation, Pripstein, also known as University, passed away at age and interfacial behavior of ‘Prip’, was a racecar enthusiast. 77 on June 10, 2013 in structural and magnetic Also, for several years he Morgantown, West Virginia. metallic systems. helped produce annual, com- A fellow of the American munity-wide physics outreach –excerpted from West Virginia Physical Society, Barry was a programs at Foothill College University’s In Memoriam by theoretical condensed matter in Los Altos, California. A David Lederman physicist best known for his scholarship fund in his name

Fall 2013 | Physics at Berkeley 43 ALUMNI AFFAIRS Class Notes 2013 ’90 ’96 ’09 Class Notes are a great way to Fred Kral reports that he and Xiaowei Zhuang, a Lydia Wilson is finishing up keep in touch with old friends. his wife Audrey have moved student of Professor Ron Shen, her Master’s in Medical Physics Please update us about your to Mill Valley. After teaching was elected to the American at Louisiana State University. activities, both professional and math for 10 years in indepen- Association for the She was awarded a Fulbright personal. Write to us when you dent high schools, Fred is Advancement of Science. She Fellowship and will spend a have interesting news or just teaching Physics at the Marin is a Howard Hughes Medical year in Croatia studying dispar- when you want to update us on School in San Rafael, CA. Investigator, Professor of ities in radiotherapy cancer what you’ve been doing for the Physics, Chemistry and treatment. Lydia is a Chicago David Piehler has been Chief past few years. We will include Chemical Biology at Harvard native, but her family has Scientist at NeoPhotonics your message to fellow alums University. In her lab, Xiaowei many relatives on the Croatian Corporation in San Jose, CA in the next Physics at Berkeley develops advanced optical island of Korcula. She since 2010. Newsletter. Email updates imaging techniques, in particu- maintains that she is Cal Bear may be sent to alumni@physics. lar single-molecule and super- and always will be! berkeley.edu or by US mail to: ’94 resolution imaging methods, to Maria Hjelm, Department of Vijay S. Iyer, a New York- study problems of biomedical ’12 Physics, UC Berkeley, 366 based jazz pianist, composer, interest. Some of these prob- LeConte #7300, Berkeley, CA After completing her disserta- bandleader, and producer, was lems include gene expression 94720-7300 tion work on Bose-Einstein recently awarded a MacArthur regulation and virus-cell inter- condensates in the group of Genius Grant from the John D. actions. More recently, she Dan Stamper-Kurn, Jennie ’88 and Catherine T. MacArthur has extended her interest into Guzman applied her atomic Foundation. A self-taught neurobiology. Renata Wentzcovitch was physics skills at a postdoctoral pianist who earned a Masters elected to the American research position at Sandia in Physics and a PhD in the ’03 Association for the National Laboratories. While cognitive science of music at Advancement of Science. She Jenny Hoffman is an there from November Berkeley, Iyer is known for is a Professor of Chemical Associate Professor of Physics 2012-August 2013, she built an his fascinating musical collab- Engineering and Materials at Harvard University. The experiment aimed at using orations including the recent, Science at the University of research in her laboratory cold trapped atoms as remote “Holding It Down: The Minnesota, as well as a revolves around scanning sensors. In September, Jennie Veterans’ Dream Project.” Principal Investigator with the probe microscopies of exotic will become the newest member In January, Vijay will join Minnesota Supercomputing correlated electron materials. of the physics faculty at Cal Harvard University as its first Institute. Renita was a graduate State University East Bay Franklin D. and Florence student of Professor Marvin (joining Derek Kimball ’05), Rosenblatt Professor of the ’06 Cohen. teaching modern physics and Arts. “A life in the arts is a life Toyoko Orimoto is an assis- Steven Wilkinson is a Senior physics for non-majors, and of service, Yo-Yo Ma once told tant professor of physics at Engineering Fellow and Chief recruiting undergraduates to me,” Iyer says. “That sits well Northeastern University in scientist for Precision build her lab. with me.” Boston. She recently gave a Communication, Navigation, TEDx talk titled, “The Art of Joshua Evan Meyers has and Timing Systems at the Higgs Boson.” In her talk, started a postdoctoral Raytheon Corp. In 1997, he Toyoko explains to a lay audi- research position at Stanford joined Hughes Aircraft, which ence why the discovery of the where he now studies weak became Raytheon later that Higgs boson is both useful and gravitational lensing. He is year. Steve recently won beautiful. She was a fellow at currently working to charac- “Technical Honors” for out- CERN from 2009-2012 and a terize wavelength dependence standing technical contribu- Robert A. Millikan fellow at of atmospheric point spread tions and was granted a patent the California Institute of functions and to propagate this for precision frequency distri- Technology from 2006-2009. dependence into uncertainties bution and time synchroniza- Yury Kolomensky was her on cosmological parameters tion. In his spare time, he is an research advisor here at Cal. inferred from large ground- International Measurer for the based imaging surveys. Saul J80, which is an international, Perlmutter was Josh’s PhD one-design sailboat. advisor.

44 Physics at Berkeley | Fall 2013 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Start of Fall Semester 2013 Thursday, August 29 First Department Tea Monday, September 9, 4:00 pm 1 LeConte Hall Annex The Bay Area Science Festival Thursday, October 24– Saturday, November 2 www.bayreascience.org The 116th Big Game Saturday, November 23 Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA Emilio Segrè Distinguished Lecture David Wineland (’73), 2012 Nobel Laureate, NIST, University of Colorado, Boulder Monday, November 4, 5:00 pm Chevron Auditorium at IHouse Graduate Student Poster Session Friday, November 15 at 3:00 pm A. Carl Helmholz Room, 375 LeConte Hall Berkeley Campus Stuart J. Freedman Symposium: “Measuring ‘Nothing’ and Getting It Right” Friday, January 10 – Sunday, January 12 Stanley Hall Berkeley Campus The 2014 West Coast Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CuWIPS) Friday, January 17–Sunday, January 19 Berkeley Campus cuwip.physics.berkeley.edu Start of Spring Semester 2014 Tuesday, January 21 The Regents Lecture John Mather, Nobel Laureate and Senior Astrophysicist, NASA Monday, February 24 at 5:00 pm Chevron Auditorium at IHouse J. Robert Oppenheimer Lecture in Physics S. James Gates, Jr., John S. Toll Professor of Physics and Director, Center for String & Particle Theory University of Maryland Monday, March 17 at 5:00 pm Chevron Auditorium at IHouse Undergraduate Poster Session April 2014 375 LeConte Hall Cal Day Saturday, April 12, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Berkeley.edu/calday Commencement 2014 Monday, May 19 Zellerbach Auditorium Start of Summer Session Monday, May 19 summer.berkeley.edu University of California, Berkeley Non-Profit Org. Department of Physics U.S. Postage 366 LeConte Hall, #7300 P A I D Berkeley, CA 94720-7300 University of California, Address Service Requested Berkeley

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