Researchers talk about quantum physics, renewable energy, morphing materials into different shapes, interior of stars
BENJAMIN MICHAELIS
The WSU physics and astronomy department is located in Webster Hall. Brian Saam, physics and astronomy department chair, said the department was created by Paul Anderson, William Band and George Duvall.
Since the WSU physics and astronomy departments founding 100 years ago, researchers have made developments that make the program known worldwide.
Brian Saam, physics and astronomy department chair, said the history of the department started with three men that helped lift the department off its feet.
Saam said these three men were Paul Anderson, William Band and George Duvall. Anderson helped develop ultra-high vacuum technology, Band was an influential theoretical physicist and Duvall helped build the shock physics program to be one of the leading programs in the world.
Along with being chair of the department, Saam researches atomic physics. He works with lasers, as well as leads a research group with graduate students and post-doctoral students.
The WSU physics and astronomy department is one of the smallest in the Pac-12 conference, Saam said. Other universities in the conference are double in size.
We punch above our weight, Saam said.
To celebrate 100 years, the department held a colloquium guest speaker series. The series started in January.
Some of the past speakers included research engineer Sarah Kaiser, who spoke about The science isnt magic, but we are, and physicist Marc Weber, who spoke about Antimatter in our daily world.
Peter Engels, an experimental atomic physicist, works with samples of atoms that assemble at low temperatures which are close to absolute zero, Saam said.
Engels work tells scientists a lot about the quantum physics world, he said.
This type of physics has a variety of applications, such as renewable energy technology, electronics and understanding the interior of stars, Saam said.
This type of physics tries to explain what happens when a material is compressed at a high level. Some objects vibrate or liquify when they are squeezed. The research is applied to when stars explode.
Researchers in this department set up cannons to blast materials into each other to simulate these conditions of extreme pressures and extreme temperatures, he said.
It has applications for fundamental science, Saam said. It got its start here at WSU. This is the home of that whole area of exploration in physics.
Mark Kuzyk, WSU regents professor, said he came to WSU in the 1990s.
His research focuses on materials that change shape when light hits it.
The most exciting application for his research is Kuzyk can morph material into whatever shape he wants with the light beams, he said.
You say paper and it turns into paper or you say iPhone and it turns into an iPhone, he said. Thats really far off, but thats kind of the general idea.
Kuzyk started this research in the 90s and WSU researchers were the only ones in the field, he said. The type of research just recently started to become popular in the science realm.
WSU received grants to study this area in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts, Kent State University and California Institute of Technology. The project will end this summer but they are looking to the future to further their research.
The material samples, which are plastic, sit in a chamber. The contraption is computer controlled. Then lasers direct the light to the sample.
If the length of the material changes microscopically, then it will not work, Kuzyk said.
Saam said when he came to the department he noticed the faculty is almost entirely made up of men. One of his goals this year is to hire more women.
One of the things wed like to do is as we move forward with new [faculty searches] is wed like to address gender inequity and have better representation from women and other underrepresented groups, Saam said.
Kuzyk said one of the more notable moments he has had at WSU was working with a female doctorate student from Greece during the 90s.
Kuzyk left for a conference for two weeks and his student was given work to complete by the time he got back.
She tried and tried, but it was not working. The student was about to quit and thought about going home, so she decided to call her mother.
Her mother said to her, Good, because no women should be doing science, Kuzyk said.
Her mothers words gave the student more motivation to keep working on the problems and she finished them two days before he returned to Pullman, Kuzyk said.
Three years after graduating, the student went to work with IBM and other research labs, he said. The person she worked for at IBM ended up winning a Nobel Peace Prize.
Now she is the senior director of a pharmaceutical company.
When I was a grad student, there might have been one or two [women] in the department, he said. Whereas now weve had certain years where weve had lots of women in an incoming class.
Here is the original post:
100 years later, where is the physics department now? - The Daily Evergreen
- The application of three-axis low energy spectroscopy in quantum physics research - Phys.Org - May 3rd, 2017 [May 3rd, 2017]
- Physicists breed Schrdinger's cats to find boundaries of the | Cosmos - Cosmos - May 3rd, 2017 [May 3rd, 2017]
- Scientists 'BREED' Schrodinger's Cat in massive quantum physics breakthrough - Express.co.uk - May 3rd, 2017 [May 3rd, 2017]
- Quantum Physics: Are Entangled Particles Connected Via An Undetected Dimension? - Forbes - May 3rd, 2017 [May 3rd, 2017]
- Quantum physics is oppressive - Patheos - Patheos (blog) - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- It's widely abused as a buzzword. But can quantum mechanics explain how we think? - National Post - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Quantum Physics and Love are Super Weird and Confusing, but This Play Makes Sense of Them Both - LA Magazine - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- One step closer to the quantum internet by distillation - Phys.Org - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- UW Grad Student from Star Valley Earns Quantum Mechanics Fellowship - SweetwaterNOW.com - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Solving systems of linear equations with quantum mechanics - Phys.Org - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Quantum Computing Might Be Here Sooner Than You Think ... - Bloomberg - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- Quantum Physics News - Phys.org - News and Articles on ... - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- Chinese satellite breaks a quantum physics record, beams entangled photons from space to Earth - Los Angeles Times - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Popular Quantum Physics Books - Goodreads - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Cybersecurity Attacks Are a Global Threat. Chinese Scientists Have the Answer: Quantum Mechanics - Newsweek - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- A quantum step to a great wall for encryption - The Hindu - June 18th, 2017 [June 18th, 2017]
- What Is Quantum Mechanics? - livescience.com - June 18th, 2017 [June 18th, 2017]
- Physicists Demonstrate Record Breaking Long-Distance Quantum Entanglement in Space - Futurism - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Viewpoint: A Roadmap for a Scalable Topological Quantum Computer - Physics - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- How Schrdinger's Cat Helps Explain the New Findings About the Quantum Zeno Effect - Futurism - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- BMW and Volkswagen Try to Beat Apple and Google at Their Own Game - New York Times - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- How quantum physics could revolutionize casinos and betting if you can understand it - Casinopedia - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- Quantum thermometer or optical refrigerator? - Phys.Org - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- Physicists settle debate over how exotic quantum particles form - Phys.Org - June 23rd, 2017 [June 23rd, 2017]
- In 1928, One Physicist Accidentally Predicted Antimatter - Popular Mechanics - June 23rd, 2017 [June 23rd, 2017]
- Atomic imperfections move quantum communication network closer ... - Phys.Org - June 24th, 2017 [June 24th, 2017]
- DOE Launches Chicago Quantum Exchange - HPCwire (blog) - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Google to Achieve "Supremacy" in Quantum Computing by the End of 2017 - Big Think - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Physicists make quantum leap in understanding life's nanoscale ... - Phys.Org - June 27th, 2017 [June 27th, 2017]
- Berkeley Lab Intern Finds Her Way in Particle Physics - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - June 27th, 2017 [June 27th, 2017]
- Payments Innovation - A Quantum World Of Payments - Finextra (blog) - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Why can't quantum theory and relativity get along? - Brantford Expositor - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- How quantum trickery can scramble cause and effect - Nature.com - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Telecommunications, Meet Quantum Physics - Electronics360 - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Stephen Colbert Gets a Lesson on Quantum Physics from Brian ... - Patheos (blog) - July 2nd, 2017 [July 2nd, 2017]
- Quantum physics for babies a different bedtime story - CBC.ca - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- How quantum mechanics can change computing - San Francisco ... - San Francisco Chronicle - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- Physicists Use Lasers to Set Up First Underwater Quantum Communications Link - Gizmodo - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- Notable Quotes on Quantum Physics Quantum Enigma - February 15th, 2018 [February 15th, 2018]
- Nothing Is Solid & Everything Is Energy Scientists Explain The World ... - April 11th, 2018 [April 11th, 2018]
- The World Of Quantum Physics: EVERYTHING Is Energy - In5D ... - April 22nd, 2018 [April 22nd, 2018]
- Nothing Is Solid & Everything Is Energy Scientists ... - May 1st, 2018 [May 1st, 2018]
- Black Holes Bolster Case For Quantum Physics' Spooky Action ... - August 29th, 2018 [August 29th, 2018]
- Physics4Kids.com: Modern Physics: Quantum Mechanics - September 29th, 2018 [September 29th, 2018]
- Quantum Theory - Full Documentary HD - November 6th, 2018 [November 6th, 2018]
- Quantum mind - Wikipedia - February 6th, 2019 [February 6th, 2019]
- What is quantum theory? - Definition from WhatIs.com - May 5th, 2019 [May 5th, 2019]
- The Ultimate Mystery? Consciousness May Exist in the Absence of Matter (Weekend Feature) - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Faculty Opening, Quantum Information and Condensed Matter Experiment - Physics - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Become the physicists the world needs with the help of a physics degree - Study International News - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Imec and NUS working on chip-based quantum cryptography - Optics.org - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Strong LightMatter Coupling in Molecular and Material Engineering - Advanced Science News - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- The key to bigger quantum computers could be to build them like Legos - MIT Technology Review - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Australian universities are accused of trading free speech for cash - The Economist - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- APS Physics Career Center - Physics - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Assistant Professor of Physics, Employment - Physics - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- A new approach to quantum gravity - Tech Explorist - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- A Huge Experiment Has 'Weighed' the Tiny Neutrino, a Particle That Passes Right Through Matter - Gizmodo - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Many Worlds, But Too Much Metaphor - Forbes - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Iran to open 1st quantum physics lab in a year: AEOI head - Mehr News Agency - English Version - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Quantum Computing Breakthrough: New Detection Tool Uncovers Noise That Can Kill Qubits - SciTechDaily - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- A quantum computing startup that spun out of a Harvard lab just came out of stealth mode with $2.7 million in seed funding from investors like Samsung... - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Important Quantum Algorithm May Be a Property of Nature - Technology Networks - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- A New Perspective On Grover's Search Algorithm -- Quantum Physics & DNA - Analytics India Magazine - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Iran to open first quantum physics lab in a year: AEOI head - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Sean Carroll: Universe a 'tiny sliver' of all there is - PBS NewsHour - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- IBM cuts ribbon on quantum computing centre wherein a 53-qubit monster lurks - The Register - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- In 'Something Deeply Hidden,' Sean Carroll Argues There Are Infinite Copies Of You - NPR - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Physicists race to develop room-temperature quantum chips - The Next Web - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- This One Experiment Reveals More About Reality Than Any Quantum Interpretation Ever Will - Forbes - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Our world is in need of the Mahatmas teachings: Dalai Lama - Livemint - October 2nd, 2019 [October 2nd, 2019]
- Quantum-inspired Beckman Institute celebration will be anything but small - Central Illinois Buzz - October 2nd, 2019 [October 2nd, 2019]
- Is It a Wave or a Particle? It's Both, Sort Of. - Space.com - October 2nd, 2019 [October 2nd, 2019]
- Princeton announces initiative to propel innovations in quantum science and technology - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source - October 2nd, 2019 [October 2nd, 2019]
- Precision physics with 'tabletop' experiments - Stanford University News - October 2nd, 2019 [October 2nd, 2019]
- Andrea Young uncovers the strange physics of 2-D materials - Science News - October 2nd, 2019 [October 2nd, 2019]
- A Scientific Explainer of What Terrence Howard Was Talking About at the Emmys - VICE - October 2nd, 2019 [October 2nd, 2019]
- China's Silicon Valley aims to become the country's top research center - Abacus - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]
- New Quantum-Mechanical Dissipation Mechanism Observed for the First Time - SciTechDaily - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]
- Physicists have found quasiparticles that mimic hypothetical dark matter axions - Science News - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]