Department News and Announcements

Dr. Girish Agarwal Elected Fellow of The Royal Society -- OSU Physics faculty member Dr. Girish Agarwal, a leader in quantum optics, has been recognized for exceptional contributions to society with his election to the Fellowship of The Royal Society. See the OSU News article for more information ...

Awards Banquet 2008 -- Congratulations to all of our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. Awards Banquet 2008 Photo Gallery. (18 Apr 2008)

• James Hazelton - Outstanding Junior
• Noriyuki Masada - Outstanding Senior
• Adam Ezekiel Murdock - Outstanding Recitation T.A.
• Ranjan Singh - Outstanding Lab T.A.
• Garret Jeffrey Sykora - Outstanding Experimental R.A.
• Aziz Kolkiran - Outstanding Theoretical R.A.
• James Kelly - Special Award

Two Physics Faculty Named APS Fellows -- OSU Physics Department faculty members Dr. Bruce Ackerson and Dr. Steve McKeever were honored as Fellows of the American Physical Society at its March meeting in New Orleans. Ackerson was cited “for theoretical and experimental advances in the physics of colloidal liquids and crystals,” while McKeever, who also serves as vice president of research at OSU, was cited “for major contributions to solid-state radiation dosimetry using thermally and optically stimulated luminescence from wide band-gap insulators, including the development of novel luminescence techniques for radiation measurement.” A total of four physics faculty members from OSU have received this honor in the past four years.

Research Week 2008 -- This years Research Week runs from February 18th - 22nd. There are a number of lectures, workshops, and other events scheduled. Visit the Research Week web site for more information ...

OSU Research Video Clips on YouTube - Research projects videotaped by Cindy Schaefer, University Research Services, have been posted to YouTube. The video clips, including one featuring Dr. Gil Summy and the Bose-Einsein Condensation Lab, are now online. Watch the BEC Lab video ...

OSU Honors Special Achievement At Fall Convocation - Dr. Kaladi Babu recieved the Regents Distinguished Research Award and Dr. Peter Sherwood was appointed Regents Professor. Read the complete article ...

Workshop on Radiation Monitoring for the International Space Station - The 12th Annual WRMISS will be held on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA on Sept. 10-12, 2007. Visit the WRMISS web site ...

OSU Breaks Ground On Interdisciplinary Science Research Building - The official ground breaking for the new Interdisciplinary Science Research Building was held on July 26th. The high-tech, 124,000-square foot OSU Interdisciplinary Science and Research Building will provide laboratory spaces for a range of disciplines and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010. The building, which will be three floors plus a basement, will contain custom-designed facilities for research in biodiversity, biophysics, photonics, synthetic chemistry and advanced materials.

"The project will serve as a cornerstone for innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship as OSU grows its research programs and educates students in cutting-edge disciplines for the future of the state and the nation," said Steve McKeever, OSU vice president for research and technology transfer. Read more about the ground breaking ...

New Regents Professors Appointed - Dr. Peter M. Sherwood, Professor of Physics and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences was appointed Regents Professor effective July 1. Read more about the New Regents Professors ... (22 Jun 2007)

Awards Banquet 2007 - Our annual awards banquet was held on April 19th. Congratulations to all of our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. (20 Apr 2007)

Undergraduate Awards

• Cory Slavonic - Outstanding Senior
• Cooper Bell - Outstanding Junior
• Edward Manda - Outstanding Sophomore

Graduate Awards

• Pavan Pillalamarri - Outstanding Recitation T.A.
• Ishan Talukdar - Outstanding Lab T.A.
• Carl Johnson - Outstanding Experimental R.A.
• Steven Gabriel - Outstanding Theoretical R.A.
• Junwen Li - Outstanding Computational R.A.
• Abdel Bachri - Outstanding Service
• Benjamin Grossmann - Outstanding Service

Scholarship Awards

• Clark Mitten - Daniel S. Stevens Scholarship
• Trevor Word - Daniel S. Stevens Scholarship
• Timothy Perk - Earl A. Lafon Scholarship

State's most advanced telescope added to OSU observatory by Abby Wambaugh - Oklahoma's largest, most technologically advanced telescope was installed at OSU's H.S. Mendenhall Observatory the week of February 9–15. The telescope will be used to discover planets orbiting other stars, track asteroids which threaten to collide with Earth, and measure the changing brightness of objects whose light output varies with time. Much hard work was involved in bringing this extraordinary telescope to OSU. Funding for t 15-Jul-2008Air Force Office of Scientific Research in response to a proposal submitted by the observatory's director. The research done by several students was included in the proposal to demonstrate the need and qualifications of OSU’s physics department. In May 2006, the observatory began renovations to prepare for the new telescope. Some of the improvements include a wireless internet link that allows the telescope to be operated remotely, a shortened mounting pier for the larger telescope, and weather sensors. The dome housing the telescope is the first phase of a two-phase construction process. OSU is working to raise the remaining $100,000 to build the control center. The control center is needed to protect the telescope from the light, heat, and vibrations produced by computers and observers. It will guarantee observational results of the highest quality, as well as the comfort of visitors. Construction of the telescope has not advanced without interruption: order backlogs caused a three-month delay in delivery of the telescope's custom-built mirrors. But now the telescope is finally in place, and for decades it will be a great resource not only for OSU students, but also for the state of Oklahoma. (12 Mar 2007)

Celebrating Books by OSU Authors 2007 - On February 1, the OSU Library will host Celebrating Books by OSU Authors. The event will honor OSU employees who have authored, co-authored or edited a book in 2005 or 2006. Included in this group is Dr. Peter Shull, co-author of "Exploring the Universe with Voyager III". The reception is 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room. Read more about OSU Authors ... (31 Jan 2007)

Physics Professor Receives International Accolades - "Girish S. Agarwal, Noble Foundation Chair and Regents Professor of physics at OSU, was honored at the International Symposium on Quantum Optics this summer for his career contributions to the field of physics involving light and its interaction with matter." (31 Jan 2006)

Research Week 2007 - Dr. Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate in Physics in 2004, will be visiting OSU during Research Week 2007. He will be in Stillwater from February 20-21 and will be giving a Public Lecture the evening of Tuesday, Feb 20th followed by a Keynote address at the Research Symposium on the morning of Wednesday, Feb 21st. He will also be meeting with physics faculty and students on Tuesday afternoon. More details concerning his visit will be available soon. (27 Oct 2006)

SPS Fall Picnic - The Society of Physics Students hosted their annual Fall Picnic at Couch Park. See the SPS Fall 2006 Photo Gallery to view photographs of the event.

Awards Banquet 2006 - Congratulations to all of the outstanding graduate students honored at this years awards banquet. See the Awards Banquet Photo Gallery to view photographs of the event.

Research Week Event - The Hands-on Demonstration of Interesting Physical Phenomena presentation was a great success. See the Research Week 2006 Photo Gallery for photos from the event. The official flyer is also available. (28 Feb 2006)

Professor Nandi Elected Fellow Of The American Physical Society - Election to Fellowship in the APS is limited to no more than one half of one percent of membership and is peer recognition of outstanding contributions to physics. The citation, which will appear on the Fellowship Certificate, reads as follows: "For contributions to the theories of grand unification, supersymmetry, neutrino properties, and collider physics." Prof. Nandi's name and Fellowship citation will appear in the March 2006 issue of APS News. (28 Feb 2006)

OSU Radiation Dosimetry Badges In The News - Dr. Stephen McKeever, Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, and a team of researchers in physics were featured in both the Oklahoman and Tulsa World this week in stories about OSU-developed radiation measuring devices that were worn by astronauts during the recent Discovery Space Shuttle mission. The sensor absorbs radiation into a special sapphire and stores it until it can be measured by being exposed to light. It is being tested to see how much radiation astronauts are receiving during space trips. McKeever's team included Ramona Gaza, who graduated from OSU in December with a doctorate in physics and now works at NASA, and Dr. Eduardo Yukihara, Assistant Professor of Physics. (Source: OSU News, 19 Aug 2005.)

Nobel Laureate To Present Public Lecture - Dr. William D. Phillips, Group Leader of the Laser Cooling and Trapping Group Atomic Physics Division at NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), and recipient of the Physics Nobel Prize in 1997, will present a public lecture titled "Time, Einstein, and the Coolest Stuff in the Universe" on Monday, April 11, 2005 at 7:00 PM in NRC 106. Listen to the KOSU interview with Dr. Phillips (WMA, 2.43MB) ... (28 Feb 2006)

Public Lecture - Dr. Clifford M. Will, Professor of Physics at Washington University, St. Louis will present a public lecture titled "Was Einstein Right?" on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 at 7:30 PM in NRC 106.