Professor David Chuss’s plenary talk to the American Astronomical Society, “The Role of Magnetic Fields: Galactic Science from HAWC+/SOFIA,” provides an overview of the novel view of the universe provided by from NASA’s Airbone Observatory, SOFIA. Using the HAWC+ camera, SOFIA has the unique ability to map magnetic fields in the warm regions of star formation in the Milky Way, providing new clues to understand the process by which stars form. Please view the vide on Vimeo.
News & Events
Dr. David Chuss presents: 500 The Role of Magnetic Fields: Galactic Science from HAWC+/SOFIA
Dr. Stuver receives NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Site Grant
Amber Stuver, PhD, assistant professor of Physics, and Scott Engle, PhD, assistant professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science, in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences received a three-year, $227,000 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site Grant from the National Science Foundation.
The award will support a new REU site, “Astrophysics and Condensed Matter Physics at Villanova University,” led by a collaboration between Villanova’s Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science. The site will engage six undergraduate students per year in discovery-based research, professional training, and community building activities.
As part of the professional training, students will have the opportunity to travel to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to interact with other scientists and explore various career paths in astrophysics. They will present their research at a regional symposium hosted by Villanova and will receive support to present their work at a national or regional conference and through peer-reviewed papers in which they will share authorship with their faculty mentors.Dr. Stuver will be the principal investigator on the grant and Dr. Engle will be co-principal investigator.
For more information please visit the Villanova Media Room.
* Villanova University Media Relations. (2020, July 13). Amber Stuver, PhD, and Scott Engle, PhD, Receive NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Site Grant [Press Release]. Retrieved https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/media/pressreleases/2020/0713-1.html
Dr. Scott Dietrich awarded CAREER Grant from National Science Foundation!
Scott Dietrich, PhD, an assistant professor of Physics in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has received a five-year, $594,000 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Dr. Dietrich, an expert in nanoelectronics—the use of nanotechnology in electronic components—will investigate the collective behavior of electrons by using microwave radiation to characterize new electronic phases and properties, the discovery of which can ultimately lead to the development of new technologies.
For more information please visit the Villanova Media Room.
* Villanova University Media Relations. (2020, May 21). Scott Dietrich, PhD, Receives Prestigious CAREER Grant from National Science Foundation [Press Release]. Retrieved https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0521.html
Einstein's twin paradox explained - Dr. Amber Stuver
Check out Dr. Amber Stuver's TED-Ed video on Einstein's twin paradox!Congratulations to Dr. Joey Neilsen and Jadyn Anczarski on being named among the winners of the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics!
Dr. Neilsen and Jadyn are being honored, along with their 345 collaborators, for assisting to capture the first image of a black hole. The Breakthrough Prize recognizes achievements in the Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. The Breakthrough award ceremony will take place at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California on Sunday, November 3rd and will air on National Geographic. For more information visit the Breakthrough Prize.
Dr. Neilsen and Jadyn Anczarski Contribute to First Image of Black Hole
Credit, X-ray: NASA/CXC/Villanova University/J. Neilsen; Radio: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
Dr. Joey Neilsen, Assistant Professor of Physics, and his student Jadyn Anczarski (CLAS ’20) contributed to efforts to capture the first image of a black hole. On April 10, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration announced the detection of the “shadow" of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87, some 55 million light years away. This shadow represents the void in space from which no light emerges, and it tells us of a black hole with a mass of 6.5 billion suns that takes up less space than our solar system. Dr. Neilsen and Anczarski analyzed supporting X-ray observations of M87 from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NuSTAR X-ray telescope to help understand the high-energy jets from M87.
For more information please visit the Villanova Media Room.
* Villanova University Media Relations. (2019, April 10). Astronomers Capture First Image of a Black Hole [Press Release]. Retrieved from https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/media/pressreleases/2019/0410.html
Dr. Davis Awarded Fulbright Scholar Grant
Dr. Georgia Papaefthymiou-Davis, professor of physics, has been awarded a 2019-2020 Fulbright Scholar grant by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) to teach and conduct research in Greece. She will be at the National Center for Scientific Research (NCSR-Demokritos) in Aghia Paraskevi, Greece from September 2019 to January 2020.
Dr. Papaefthymiou will teach two courses at NCSR-Demokritos for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. She will also visit and lecture at the University of Ioannina in Epirus, the Democritus University of Thrace, and the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education in Athens. Dr. Papaefthymiou’s time as a Fulbright Scholar in Greece also includes STEM outreach at high schools in Athens.*
For more information please visit the Villanova Media Room.
* Villanova University Media Relations. (2019, March 28). Villanova University Physics Professor Georgia C. Papaefthymiou-Davis, PhD, named 2019-2020 Fulbright Scholar [Press Release]. Retrieved from https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/media/pressreleases/2019/0328.html
