Tags: physics and astronomy

Cassandra Hall in a field.

Making an impact in astronomy

Cassandra Hall, assistant professor of astrophysics, has focused in on planet formation outside our Solar System and advanced the compelling idea of a “photosynthetic habitable zone” that could help narrow down the search for life on other planets. With a cluster of research papers that have made a big impact in astronomy, Hall has added to a re-thinking of the cosmos: Over her last several trips around the Sun, Cassandra Hall’s eye has been…
telescope image with red ring and blue center in dark space

NSF project to peer into deep space, observe rapid planet formation

University of Georgia faculty member Cassandra Hall is a co-principal investigator on a new project supported by $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to learn more about planetary formation by studying a star system over 500 light-years away. The grant funds a three-year collaborative research project between principal investigator New Mexico State University Astronomy Associate Professor Wladimir Lyra, co-principal investigator…
artists rendering of dusty star system, with colors, space, and bright stars

UGA's Song receives Webb Telescope support to observe low-mass stars

Inseok Song, associate professor of astronomy in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of physics and astronomy, has received a grant from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Song's JWST program, "JWST Mid-IR Observations of Warm Debris Disks around Nearby M-dwarfs", will observe 19 M-type stars, the lowest mass stars that are the most common in the Universe.  "M-dwarf stars are the most common type…
group photo of 31 people, indoors, sign in background

National Academy of Inventors UGA chapter launch

The University of Georgia officially launched its chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) on April 28, with 12 Franklin College faculty among the 31 founding members. The chapter will celebrate innovation and the societal impact of academic inventions at UGA.  Since its founding, NAI has promoted innovation and the societal impact of academic inventions by recognizing and empowering U.S. patent holders, supporting education and…
photo of man, stadium in background.

UGA student wins Radiolab contest to name one of Earth's quasi-moons

Look to the sky – and ask Bulldog nation for support – and one of Earth's quasi-moons gets a cool new name, thanks to UGA student Clay Chilcutt.  In May 2024, the science podcast Radiolab and the International Astronomical Union joined forces to launch a contest that invited listeners to help name one of Earth’s quasi-moons. Close to 3,000 people from more than 90 countries submitted entries.  UGA faculty member Hina Shaikh…
graphic with moon phases in space, yellow text

Two UGA students finalists in Radiolab contest to name one of Earth's quasi-moons

Though they might not be seen, they can be named – voting is open through Dec. 31. Asteroids orbiting the sun in a similar path to Earth's, quasi-moons escort our planet on its journey a few centuries at a time. The science podcast Radiolab and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) — the organization that assigns official names to quasi-moons and their surface features — announced a contest earlier this year to name the…
digital image of planetary disk, with blue, red, and space in black

New research challenges long-standing paradigm on planet formation

Two theories of planet formation have long-dominated astronomy - the first theory, “core accretion,” posits that planets grow slowly from particles of dust ultimately forming pebbles, then boulders, which coalesce to form planets over tens of millions of years.  The second theory – “gravitational instability,” in which planets form quickly from direct collapse of gas and dust, requiring hundreds to thousands of years instead – received new…
side-by-side photos of two women

Two Franklin College juniors named 2024 Goldwater Scholars

The Division of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, take a bow. University of Georgia juniors Elaine “Lainey” Gammon and Sara Logsdon are among 438 undergraduates across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars in 2024, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of mathematics, engineering and natural sciences. Congratulations to these amazing students – and the Franklin faculty who are teaching and…
graphic illustration with virus molecules, waves graph and human head profile

Researchers unveil faster, more accurate COVID testing technique

With new cases, hospitalizations and mortality rates holding steady in many parts of the world, University of Georgia researchers have developed a faster detection technique for COVID-19.  In a new study published in Advanced Materials Interface, the UGA research team describes the rapid diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 detection and quantification directly from human nasopharyngeal swabs using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy…
headshot of man, outdoors

UGA welcomes Nobel laureate Eric Betzig

2014 Nobel laureate in Chemistry Eric Betzig will visit the University of Georgia on March 25, 2024. Betzig, Professor of Molecular and Cell biology and Eugene D. Commins Presidential Chair in Experimental Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, will give two public presentations hosted by departments in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Betzig, also a Senior Fellow at the Janelia Research Campus, and an Investigator of the…
headshot of man

Nobel laureate Michael Kosterlitz to visit UGA

The University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of physics and astronomy welcomes 2016 Nobel laureate J. Michael Kosterlitz to the campus to deliver the 2024 Chhabra-Landau Lecture March 14 at 3:55 p.m. in room 202 of the Physics Building. The lecture is free and the public is invited to attend. Kosterlitz, the Harrison E. Farnsworth Professor of Physics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He was awarded…
graphic of the periodic table of elements

Divisional spotlight: Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Much like the five element families of the Periodic Table, the Franklin College is also comprised of five divisions that characterize the properties, behavior, and reactions among and between the many academic disciplines that drive innovation and creativity at the University of Georgia.  We continue to welcome 2024 by highlighting the divisional nature of our organizational structure and the academic units contained in each division. Today…
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