Welcome to Purdue Physics and Astronomy
Hello Boilermakers!
We have had an amazing year in Physics and Astronomy. The Department continues to ascend in our sciences and work as a collaborative unit. We continue to produce outstanding science and attract significant funding resources. Our astronomers continue to use cutting edge technological tools such as the James Webb Space Telescope to expand our understanding of the universe. We’ve had notable discoveries that expose various flavors of anyons, prove that antimatter does not fall up, track mercury in the mammalian brains and so much more. Our outreach program continues to impress and went all the way to Colombia this past year to spread our love of astrophysics to children around the world.
We celebrate the many awards granted to our faculty including awards from the W. M. Keck Foundation grant for attosecond scientific discovery, the Microsoft Quantum Purdue, the DOE funded Quantum Science Center, the Center for Quantum Technologies, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Department of Energy for geomechanics, as well as Department of Energy funded upgrades for the CMS Experiment at CERN.
With our highs also came sorrow this year as we said goodbye to faculty who have passed such as my predecessor, Prof. John Finley. Although he has passed, we will always feel his presence in our classrooms, halls and labs.
In this edition of Interactions, we present you with this snapshot of our departmental, but there is so much happening it is difficult to contain in one newsletter. Our faculty members are constantly devising new ways to keep the public informed. Whether it is publishing a new book about interference, starting an astrophysics podcast, creating a website and videos for quantum physics, or working with media to help lay audiences understand what we are doing here at Purdue, our faculty hope to deliver the next giant leap in science to the public.
As head, I am proud of our alumni, faculty, staff and students and honored to watch as they progress. I see every day one Boilermaker after another helping the next generation of Boilermakers ready themselves for their own successful careers. This is the way we collectively and boldly move our sciences forward. I want to say thank you to the alumni who continue to show up, mentor our students and help them reach their own academic and career successes. If you are an alumnus who’d like to become more involved, please do give me a call or email, I look forward to our conversation.
As always, to all current faculty, staff and students, thank you for all that you are doing to elevate our program.
Boiler up!
Gabor Csathy
Department Head and Professor of Physics and Astronomy