Research Areas Actively Recruiting Graduate Students

Astrophysics & Cosmology (Experimental and Theoretical)

Buckley: Dark matter experiment and phenomenology including work on the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) developing cryogenic, superconducting quantum electronics; MeV-TeV gamma-ray astrophysics with ADAPT (an Antarctic balloon experiment), VERITAS and CTA.

Daylan: Discovery and characterization of exoplanets using TESS; search for exomoons; exoplanet demographics and habitability; search for interstellar objects using LSST; gravitational imaging of strong lenses as a test of LCDM at small scales; searches for high energy signatures of dark matter decay and annihilation.

Errando: X-ray and gamma-ray emission from relativistic jets (observations), new deformable X-ray optics using polymer actuators (instrumentation).

Krawczynski: Hard X-ray spectral, timing and polarimetry observations of black holes and magnetars (experiment and theory), a new 511 keV gamma-ray camera based Transition Edge Sensor arrays operated at 100 mK (experiment).

Rauch: Ultra-heavy cosmic-ray observations probing their source and sources of nucleosynthesis (CALET, SuperTIGER/TIGERISS), ultra-high energy neutrino observations with radio interferometry and simulations (PUEO).

Yuan: Multimessenger emission from active galactic nuclei; mechanisms of fast radio bursts (theoretical and computational).

Biophysics

Mukherji: Systems-level design principles of the cell.

Tikhonov: Statistical physics of complex evolving systems.

Condensed Matter (Experimental)

Kelton: Fundamental investigations of nucleation in metallic and silicate glasses and in supercooled metallic liquids, some on the International Space Station, x-ray and neutron scattering studies of structure evolution in metallic liquids and the relation of this to liquid dynamics, and glass structure and formation.

Condensed Matter/Quantum Materials (Experimental)

Henriksen: Correlated electron physics in atomically thin materials: experiments on graphene and quantum spin liquid systems by electronic, optical, and thermodynamic probes at cryogenic temperatures and high magnetic fields.

Ran: Discovery, synthesis and characterization of exotic quantum materials under extreme temperature, pressure and magnetic field conditions. Current interests include topological superconductor, strongly correlated topological semimetals, quantum spin liquid, 2D magnetics, etc. 

Wang: Design, innovate and investigate two-dimensional (2D) and mixed-dimensional quantum materials and heterostructures with tunable Hamiltonian, for studying both fermionic and bosonic phases.

Condensed Matter (Theory)

Yang: First-principles simulations of novel electronic, optical, and magnetic properties of emerging nanostructures, including nanowires, graphene, and two-dimensional semiconductors and topological materials.

Extraterrestrial Materials  (Analytical and Experimental)

Gillis-Davis:  Experiments and remote sensing observations related to space weathering, and volatile origins evolution on airless bodies.

Ogliore: Using experiments and micro-analytics with extraterrestrial and analog materials to investigate the interaction between surfaces of airless bodies and the space environment.

Nuclear Physics (Theoretical and Experimental)

Dickhoff: Study of the behavior of nucleons in rare isotopes with relevance for neutron-star physics. Ab initio methods applied to describe properties of nucleons in infinite nuclear matter.

Pastore and Piarulli (Quantum Monte Carlo Group): Electroweak structure and reactions of atomic nuclei, equation of state of infinite nucleonic matter.

Sobotka and Charity: The continuum structure of light nuclei, open quantum systems, nuclear reactions and decay, advanced techniques for the detection of ionizing radiation, and applications of nuclear physics. 

Particle and Astroparticle Physics (Theoretical)

Dev: Beyond Standard Model Physics, Neutrino Physics, Dark Matter, Gravitational Waves, Connection to Multimessenger Astrophysics. 

Quantum Information (Experimental)

Murch: Superconducting circuits, open quantum systems, quantum thermodynamics, quantum sensing, microwave quantum optics.