General News

University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering astronomers Robert Gehrz and Charles Woodward are part of an international team that have, for the first time, discovered buckyballs in a solid form in space. The discovery of these carbon molecules in space may provide clues about the origins of the Universe and if life could exist on other planets. More »

Tate Laboratory of Physics has been selected by the American Physical Society (APS) as a historically significant site for physics. This designation honors the pioneering work of the late Regents Professor Alfred O.C. Nier and his colleagues in the development and application of mass spectrometry, including the first-ever separation of the Uranium-235 isotope. More »

The Physics Force performed a series of shows at the Minneapolis Convention Center for more than 21,000 people. The bulk of the audience were elementary school children bused in for the shows. There was an evening show open to the general public attended by about 3,000 people.

Mike Brown, astronomer from the California Institute of Technology will deliver the Kaufmanis Public Lecture on the topic of "How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming" The lecture will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 12 in Room 150 Tate Lab. More »

David Weitz, Harvard University will deliver a public lecture on "The Physics of Cooking." The lecture will take place at 7:00 p.m., in Room 150 of the Tate Laboratory of Physics. It will be preceded by a reception at 6:45 p.m. in the foyer of the building. The lecture will also be webcast and available online after the fact. More »

Ke-Jun Chen a graduate student in the School of Physics and Astronomy has received the Stanwood Johnston Fellowship for 2012-2013. Mr. Chen is currently working on Multi-Dimensional Simulations of Pair-Instability Supernovae with his adviser Professor Alexander Heger. Chen plans to use his stipend to support this research. He is originally from Taiwan. More »

Professor Mikahil Shifman of the School of Physics and Astronomy School of Physics and Astronomy has written a book with Alexei Yung, called "Supersymmetric Solitons." The book has been published by Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics. More »

School of Astronomy Professor Robert Gehrz participated in a series of short films for NBC Sports called "The Science of NHL Hockey." Gehrz contributes to segments on Kinematics, Force, Impulse, & Collision, Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, and Projectile Motion. More »

Construction continues on the new Physics and Nanotechnology building which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. The $83 million facility will house 125 new offices and 40 new state-of-the-art laboratories. It will feature a 5,000 square foot clean room and a "high bay" for assembling large experimental equipment. The site is located at the corner of Beacon and Union Streets, just north of the Scholar's Walk. More »

School of Physics and Astronomy Professor Keith Olive was interviewed by popular science author, Gary Taubes. Taubes discusses some of Olive's research on Supersymmetry and the impetus behind some of his most heavily cited papers. More »