The Physics Department invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position, with teaching duties starting September 2019. We seek an energetic individual eager to teach throughout the undergraduate curriculum and to involve undergraduates in research, in any physics subfield (theory or experiment). For more information, click here. Continue reading »
Two recent graduates have been awarded prestigious scholarships for advanced studies. Bing-Yi Wang ’18 was recently awarded the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship to support her graduate studies in physics at Stanford University (news here). At Williams, she pursued a senior thesis with Professor Tiku Majumder, and was a co-author on… Continue reading »
Recent research from the department: Assistant Professor Kate Jensen co-authored a perspective article: “The contact mechanics challenge: tribology meets soft matter”, Robert W. Style, Brandon A. Krick, Katharine E. Jensen, and W. Gregory Sawyer, Soft Matter 2018. Paper here. Also from Prof. Jensen: “Strain-Dependent Solid Surface Stress and the… Continue reading »
Nine physics majors received their Williams diplomas on June 3, 2018. All of the physics departments in the United States, including those at large universities, awarded an average of 9.7 bachelor’s degrees per department; for four-year institutions the average was 6.1 (see here). Our relatively large number… Continue reading »
We are excited to welcome our newest assistant professor to the Department of Physics. Prof. Katharine (Kate) Jensen earned her A.B. from Princeton University and her Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University. She joins us from a postdoctoral research position at the ETH Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich), where… Continue reading »
Professor Swati Singh recent published the design of a new, tunable, narrow-band, gravitational wave detector using the acoustic oscillations of superfluid helium. Such a detector would complement, and has the potentially compete with, detectors such as LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), at a fraction of the cost. This… Continue reading »
Professor Charlie Doret has been awarded two grants for his work with trapped calcium ions. The Research Corporation for Science Advancement selected Doret for a Cottrell Scholar Award. This three-year, $100,000 award, will be used to address fundamental questions about the quantum-to-classical transition for heat transport using chains… Continue reading »
Fourteen physics majors and three astrophysics majors received their Williams diplomas on June 4, 2017. All of the physics departments in the United States, including those at large universities, awarded an average of 10.8 bachelor’s degrees per department in 2015,* the most recent year for which data is… Continue reading »
The American Physical Society has chosen Prof. Protik “Tiku” Majumder as the 2017 recipient of its Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution. The APS cited Majumder “for contributions to the precision measurement of atomic properties, and sustained, inspirational mentorship of undergraduate researchers.” In addition to… Continue reading »
We are excited to welcome two new assistant professors to the Department of Physics. Prof. Catherine Kealhofer earned her A.B. from Princeton University and her Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University. She joins us from a postdoctoral research position at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany,… Continue reading »
Professor of Physics Sarah Bolton began her career in this department in 1995. She quickly became a talented and respected teacher, while building a research laboratory using an ultrafast laser to study the properties of nanostructured materials. Over the years she advised a dozen honors thesis students… Continue reading »
Last year 11 Ephs, this year 19 Ephs…! Nineteen Williams physicists attended the 2016 American Physical Society Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Meeting (DAMOP) in Providence, RI. DAMOP is one of the largest and most important annual physics conferences. Pictured left to right: Ariel Silbert ’16 (researcher, e4sciences), Josh… Continue reading »
Joe Iafrate ’14 The American Society for Engineering Education selected physics alumnus Joseph Iafrate ’14 for a 2016 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. This highly competitive national fellowship covers the cost of three years of graduate study. Joe is a Ph.D. candidate in applied physics at the University… Continue reading »
Will Kirby ’17 Congratulations to physics major Will Kirby ’17 who was named a 2016 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. The U.S. Congress established this highly competitive national scholarship “to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering and to foster excellence in those fields.” It… Continue reading »
Ben Augenbraun ’15 Julia Cline ’15 Ilya Amburg ’14 Joe Iafrate ’14 Cole Meisenhelder ’15 Ashwin Narayan ’16 The National Science Foundation awarded 2016 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships to two physics alumni, Benjamin Augenbraun ’15 and Julia Cline ’15. Ben is pursuing graduate study in physics at Harvard University. At Williams… Continue reading »
The American Physical Society selected Ben Augenbraun ’15 as winner of the 2015 LeRoy Apker Award. This national award is the highest honor for physics research by an undergraduate student in the United States. Only two winners are chosen each year. Ben worked with Prof. Tiku Majumder at Williams… Continue reading »
Eleven Williams physicists attended the 2015 American Physical Society Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Meeting (DAMOP) in Columbus, OH. DAMOP is one of the largest and most important annual physics conferences. Pictured left to right: Ben Augenbraun ’15 (Harvard U.), Justin Brown ’05 (Draper Lab), Paul Hess ’08 (U. Continue reading »
Alice Sady ’13 Gabe Lewis ’13 Cristina Knapp ’13 Allen Davis ’14 The National Science Foundation awarded Graduate Research Fellowships to four recent Williams College physics majors or astrophysics majors. Allen Davis ’14 is studying astronomy at Yale University. Cristina Knapp ’13 is studying condensed… Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Williams College physics professor Protik Majumder a 3-year, $347,000 grant to continue his precise spectroscopic studies of atoms aimed ultimately at testing the Standard Model of particle physics. Majumder’s project, “High-Precision Atomic Structure Measurements and Tests of Fundamental Physics in Group IIIA Atoms”,… Continue reading »
The National Institutes of Health has awarded Williams College physics professor Daniel Aalberts a three-year, $255,304 grant to study how to obtain sufficient yields of proteins. “Understanding the 3D structure of the protein a gene encodes can help biologists understand its function,” explains Aalberts, whose research focuses on the physics… Continue reading »
Tori Borish ’12 Joel Clemmer ’12 Nathan Schine ’13 Liyang Zhang ’12 The National Science Foundation awarded a 2014 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to physics alumna Tori Borish ’12, who is a research student in the laboratory of Anton Zeilinger at the University of… Continue reading »
Congratulations to physics major Ben Augenbraun ’15 who was named a 2014 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. The U.S. Congress established this highly competitive national scholarship “to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering and to foster excellence in those fields.” It is widely… Continue reading »
The American Physical Society selected Nathan Schine ’13 as a finalist for the 2013 LeRoy Apker Award. This national award is the highest honor for physics research by an undergraduate student in the United States. Nathan worked with Prof. Tiku Majumder and wrote a thesis titled “A Precise Measurement of the Stark… Continue reading »
At this year’s American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in Bozeman, Montana, astrophysics major Muzhou Lu ’13 won the Solar Physics Division (SPD) poster competition for his presentation, “Observations and Modeling of Solar Coronal Structures Using High-Resolution Eclipse Images and Space-based Telescopes with Wide Field-of-View.” Muzhou worked with Prof. Pasachoff in the Astronomy… Continue reading »
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has already made enormous progress pushing forward the high energy frontier. During the coming years, the LHC will continue to probe some of the deepest mysteries in particle physics, including the origin of elementary particle masses and the nature of dark matter. In his research,… Continue reading »
The American Physical Society selected Chris Chudzicki '10 as one of two winners of the 2010 LeRoy Apker Award, the highest honor for physics research by an undergraduate student in the U.S. Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation awarded a $233,186 grant to Prof. Frederick Strauch to support his research on quantum systems. Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation awarded a $285,000 grant to Prof. Tiku Majumder for his project titled "Precise Atomic Structure Measurements and Tests of Fundamental Physics in Group IIIA Atoms." Continue reading »
At Fall Convocation the College awarded Daniel Kleppner '53 a Bicentennial Medal, which honors Williams alumni for distinguished accomplishment in any field. Continue reading »
We welcome President Falk and Michele Rech, say goodbye to Barb Swanson, and acknowledge additional administrative responsibilities for Sarah Bolton and Tiku Majumder. Continue reading »
A new documentary film titled "The Quantum Tamers: Revealing Our Weird and Wired Future" features Prof. Bill Wootters among other renowned scientists. Continue reading »
Physics majors Christopher Chudzicki '10 and Scott Olesen '10 were named 2009 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, a top honor for undergraduate science students in the United States. Continue reading »
The American Physical Society selected Shelby Kimmel '08 as a finalist for the 2008 LeRoy Apker Award, the highest honor for physics research by an undergraduate student in the U.S. Continue reading »
The American Physical Society (APS) has elected Prof. Kevin Jones and Prof. Tiku Majumder to the status of Fellow. Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation awarded Aalberts a $260,819 grant to continue research through 2010 on pseudoknot structures of RNA molecules and their frequency. Continue reading »
The National Institute of Health awarded a grant of $220,479 to further Prof. Aalberts' work: "Binding and Splicing mRNA." Continue reading »
The American Physical Society has announced that Prof. Bill Wootters is the 2007 recipient of its Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution. Continue reading »
Cambridge University Press recently released "Protecting Information: From Classical Error Correction to Quantum Cryptography" by Mathematics professor Susan Loepp and Physics professor Bill Wootters. Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation awarded a $229,500 research grant to Prof. Tiku Majumder to continue his high-precision spectroscopic study of thallium and other heavy elements. Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to Prof. David Tucker-Smith to support his research in elementary particle theory. Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation awarded a 2006 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to astrophysics alumna Lissa Ong '04, and honorable mentions to physics alums Laura Effinger-Dean '06, Christopher Holmes '03, and Sarah Iams '04. Continue reading »
The 8th International Conference on Quantum Computation, Measurement, and Computing will honor Prof. Bill Wootters with the 2006 International Quantum Communications Award. Continue reading »
The American Physical Society selected Nathan Hodas '04 as one of two winners of the 2004 LeRoy Apker Award, the highest honor for physics research by an undergraduate student in the U.S. Continue reading »
The National Institutes of Health awarded a $155,183 grant to support Prof. Daniel Aalberts' research on splicing, folding and stretching nucleic acids. Continue reading »
Robert F. Engle has won the 2003 Nobel Prize in Economics for discovering statistical methods for "analyzing economic time series with time-varying volatility." Continue reading »
Williams College has received a $12.6 million gift in honor of former physics professor and department chair William Edward McElfresh. Continue reading »
The National Science Foundation awarded research grants to Prof. Sarah Bolton and Prof. Tiku Majumder. Continue reading »
The American Physical Society chose S. Charles Doret '02 as a winner of the 2002 LeRoy Apker Award, the highest national honor for physics research by an undergraduate student. Continue reading »
Prof. Kevin Jones '77 and his students Dave Ticehurst '04 and Jeff Garland '03 appear in an article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education describing the tutorial program at Williams College. Continue reading »
The American Physical Society (APS) has elected Prof. Bill Wootters to the status of Fellow for his "contributions on the foundations of quantum mechanics and groundbreaking work in quantum information and communications theory." Continue reading »
The American Physical Society selected Brian Gerke '99 as a winner of the LeRoy Apker Award, recognizing "exceptional achievements in physics research by undergraduate students." Continue reading »
The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded a 1999-2001 Precision Measurement Grant to Prof. Tiku Majumder of the Department of Physics. Continue reading »
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