News

Postings created for publication in the Physics Department web page news feed.

Physics Teaching Lab at UConn Stamford Campus Gets an Upgrade

This summer, thanks to $25,000 in funds from CLAS we have made some major improvements to the lab equipment and organization here in Stamford.

Since well before I started as an adjunct professor at Stamford in 2018, the lab storage closet has been filled with a jumbled pile of outdated equipment. Much of the equipment dates from the previous century, and in some cases we have not even been able to identify its purpose. It was piled haphazardly on every available surface, making it difficult to access the usable items. Our introductory physics labs have been taught using this outdated, low-tech equipment for many years now.

We are a small department, consisting of one APiR (me) and two adjunct professors, with no lab techs or other support staff. During the academic year, we teach approximately 120 students each semester, leaving no time to embark on an overwhelming project like reorganizing the lab equipment.

This year, however, we received $25,000 from CLAS and were finally able to acquire modern, computer-linked lab equipment. We focused on versatile items such as carts with built-in sensors for measuring force, position, velocity, acceleration, and rotation, computer interfaces that can act as oscilloscopes, power supplies, and function generators, and accessories allowing for a wide range of lab activities. This new equipment will finally allow us to bring physics lab instruction in Stamford in line with the other UConn campuses.

In order to make best use of the new equipment, our team (consisting of myself, Adjunct Professor Tom O’Connell, and three student summer interns) have been reorganizing the lab. This includes the Herculean task of cleaning out the lab closet: emptying all the shelves, sorting through and testing old equipment, cleaning, and restocking. We also unpacked, catalogued, tested, and organized our new supplies. You can see the result in the “after” pictures, where the storage cabinet and floor are finally visible!

Prof. O'Connell and Prof. Wallington
Adjunct Professor Tom O’Connell and APiR Sylvanie Wallington work on developing lab activities using new equipment.

Dr. O’Connell and I have now embarked on the second part of the project, which is to rewrite our physics lab assignments to include the new equipment. We are finding creative ways to incorporate our old equipment with the new computer-linked sensors and hope to develop lab activities touching every topic covered in our courses.

We are excited about bringing the Stamford physics lab up to modern standards and having it so much better organized. Most of all, we are looking forward to how this new equipment will facilitate the teaching of fundamental physics concepts and improve student learning in our introductory courses.

Lab tours for women in Science, Math, and Engineering

Prof. Menka Jain and her group hosted ~35 WiMSE students from UConn Storrs arranged by the Women in Math, Science and Engineering Learning Community. The goal of such lab tours is to provide female undergraduate students with a first-hand knowledge at the dynamic and impactful work being conducted at UConn in STEM fields, helping to spark and strengthen their interest in STEM field. By interacting with Menka and her grad students, observing innovative techniques, and understanding the real-world applications of science, students gained invaluable insights into the possibilities that advanced education and a research career can offer. The lab tours were organized by the WiMSE Learning Community faculty director Sarah Hird.
Lab tour

Professor Gai’s Five Months Fulbright Stint, Spring 2025

Professor Gai completed in May 2025, a five-month Fulbright stint in Bucharest Romania. During this visit he collaborated on research at the new EU world highest power (10 PW) laser lab, the Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP), in Magurele near Bucharest. He taught a graduate class at the ELI-NP on “Physical Concepts of Stellar Evolution”, with 40 students registered, and a university wide general class intended for undergraduate students at the University Polytechnica of Bucharest (UPB) on “Layman Introduction to Astrophysics”, with 120 students registered. Gai was very impressed by the high quality of students at the UPB, that is known as one of the best science universities in eastern Europe. Professor Gai intend to teach the class he developed for the graduate course at the ELI-NP as a graduate special topic course on “Nuclear Physics of Stars” in the Physics department.

Perhaps among the most inspiring experience was meeting a UPB student, Valeria Cirlan, who traveled from Suceva to Bucharest to listen to his lectures. When inquiring, he found out that Suceva is up north by Moldova close to the Ukraine Border. In fact, Valeria took seven hours train ride, each way to and from Bucharest, to join Gai’s class. The enthusiasm for learning of the UPB students was indeed an inspiring experience.
M. Gai, Fulbright
Professor Gai, center, posing with his class at the University Politechnica di Bucharest. The last class slide, on the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe, is on display.

2024-2025 Physics PhDs

James Andrew Casey-Clyde
Advisor: Chiara Mingarelli
Thesis: “Multi-Messenger Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries”

Provakar Datta
Advisor: Andrew Puckett
Thesis: “Precision Measurements of the Neutron Magnetic Form Factor to High Momentum Transfer using Durand’s Method”

Megan Davis
Advisor: Jonathan Trump
Thesis: “Timing is Everything: Single and Binary Quasars in Massive Time-Domain Surveys”

Logan Fries
Advisor: Jonathan Trump
Thesis: “Echo Mapping the Kinematic Environments of Supermassive Black Holes”

Ashok Gurung
Advisor: Serge Nakhmanson
Thesis: “Predictive Multiscale Modeling of Dielectric and Electromechanical Properties in Electroactive Materials”

Valerii Klimenko
Advisor: Kyungseon Joo
Thesis: “Differential Cross Sections from CLAS12 RG-A Inclusive Electron Scattering”

Kaitlin Lyszak
Advisor: Jason Hancock
Thesis: “Studies of Non Equilibrium Laser Induced Effects in Metals”

Brean Maynard
Advisor: Peter Schweitzer
Thesis: “Theoretical Studies of Hadron Structure”

Md Ashiq Rahman
Advisor: Niloy Dutta
Thesis: “Ultrafast Optical Pulse Generation and Supercontinuum Generation in Chalcogenide Waveguides”

Dhan Rana
Advisor: Boris Sinkovic
Thesis: “Studies of the Electronic Structure of Selected 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides”

Hugh Sharp
Advisor: Jonathan Trump
Thesis: “Continuum Lag Investigation Of Diverse Quasar Populations, and Contextualization Of The Accretion-Disk Size Problem”

Bochao Xu
Advisor: Ilya Sochnikov
Thesis: “Scanning SQUID Investigation of Time-reversal Symmetry Breaking in Exotic Quantum Materials”

UConn Honorary Degree Awarded to Alumnus, Manasse Mbonye, PhD 1996

R. Mallett and M. MbonyeManasse Mbonye (UConn Physics PhD 1996, Advisor: Ron Mallett) was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree, and was the Commencement Speaker at the UConn Commencement ceremony in Gampel Pavilion on May 12, 2025. Manasse has had a remarkable career in physics, politics and scientific administration since completing his PhD in Physics at UConn in 1996. He was named the Outstanding UConn PhD graduate of 1996, in recognition of his scientific work and his efforts to assist his home country, Rwanda, after the tragic genocide period in 1994. After leaving UConn, Manasse held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Michigan and as a National Research Council (NRC) Senior Associate Researcher at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. He subsequently held an Assistant Professor position at Rochester Institute of Technology. In 2011 he returned to Rwanda to lead the post-genocide reconstruction of the National University of Rwanda (NUR) and of the scientific, education and research sectors in Rwanda. He served as Vice Rector for Academics (Provost), and later Acting Rector (President) of the National University of Rwanda (NUR) 2011-2013. During his tenure NUR received over 55 million dollars in grants, in part from SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency), and NUR established academic relations with several international universities. Prof Mbonye also founded the Rwanda Space Agency, and is President of the Rwanda Academy of Science.

In collaboration with Gerald Dunne (UConn Physics), Prof. Mbonye is working to establish academic exchanges, for both faculty and students, between UConn Physics and the Physics Department at the University of Rwanda. This has the support of the UConn Administration. As part of this effort, Prof. Dunne visited the University of Rwanda in 2024, and met with a wide variety of leaders there. Prof. Dunne was hosted by Prof. Joseph Ntahompagaze, Head of the UR Physics Department. Prof. Dunne gave a physics colloquium, and had meetings with the UR Vice Chancellor and Provost, and with the Physics faculty and students. He toured the Physics teaching laboratories, and visited the Univ of Rwanda College of Education, hosted by Prof. Lakhan Lal Yadav, Professor of Physics and Physics Education. Dr. Yadav is Director of the African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science. Prof. Dunne also met with the leaders of the Rwanda Space Agency, and of the new Regional Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and eHealth (CEBE). Prof. Mbonye played key roles in these educational and scientific initiatives.

Prof. Mbonye is planning to visit UConn Physics for 3 months during the Fall 2025 semester, working on research in his field of cosmology and astrophysics, and on the further development of the relationship between UConn and URwanda. He is keen to interact with students, staff and faculty. We look forward to hosting our distinguished alumnus, and encourage everyone to reach out and make him welcome.

  • Rwanda Space Agency

Department Head greeting

Dear Friends of UConn Physics,

While I look forward to sharing the news and accomplishments of the Physics Department over the past year, I can’t help but say that one word keeps coming to mind: turbulent. There is no getting around the fact that at the university, state, and federal levels, things have been changing on an almost daily basis. This uncertainty has presented the department with many challenges, but two things have helped me immensely. First, in my position as Department Head, I have always appreciated the abilities and dedication of the department staff. However, the past three months have stressed the department in ways I have not seen in all my time at UConn and I am so grateful for how the staff rallied in response and showed the incredible depth of their commitment to the department. Second, despite the difficulties, the faculty and students have carried on doing great work as though nothing unusual was going on and I am excited to share some highlights with you.

Our faculty have been very busy this past year. Prof. Pavel Volkov received the Nevill F. Mott Prize for his work on unconventional superconductors. Prof. Cara Battersby is a team leader on a NASA program, PRIMA, one of two proposals that are competing to become a $1B space probe. Prof. Daniel Angles-Alcazar managed, in one year, to get tenure and promotion to Associate Professor and receive a Sloan Fellowship and an NSF Early Career Award. Prof. Andrew Puckett got promoted to Full Professor and Prof. Niraj Ghimire and Prof. Erin Scanlon were promoted to Associate Professor in Residence. CLAS Awards went to Prof. Matt Guthrie for Broader Impacts, Service, and Visibility and Prof. Sarah Trallero for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success. We had two books published: Mode-Locked Lasers: Introduction to Ultrafast Semiconductor and Fiber Lasers, by Prof. Niloy Dutta, and The Music of Physics: An Introduction to the Harmonies of Nature, by Prof. George Gibson.

Our alumni have also been active. Prof. Manasse Mbonye (Ph.D. 1995) gave a commencement address and received an honorary degree from UConn for his profound contributions to rebuilding the university system of Rwanda. We are lucky to have Manasse come for an extended visit this fall, hosted by Prof. Gerald Dunne. Prof. Ron Mallett was featured in yet another article on time travel, this time in earth.com. Prof. Kyungseon Joo co-organized a workshop on Quantum Information Science with our former Prof. Robin Cote and a second workshop is being planned.

As usual, we gave out two honors to our undergraduate students. Our Katzenstein Prize for the best undergraduate research thesis went to Thomas Tarutin, supervised by Prof. Asli Tandoğan. Our Mark Miller Award for best research proposal went to Ayssar Farah, supervised by Prof. Gerald Dunne. The undergrads also had a busy travel schedule with Grace Gardella spending the summer at Brookhaven National Lab and Michael Frank and Owen Finch went to the Research Center for Nuclear Physics in Japan.

Our graduate students also did well: Provakar Datta won this year’s JSA/Jefferson Lab Thesis Prize, supervised by Prof. Andrew Puckett. Gursimran Kainth spent the summer at CERN, and Alessio Illari went to Los Alamos National Lab. Our students (undergrad and grad) showed up in various press releases representing the excellent research done in the department, including Noah Frese, Cameron Brady, Clark Bray, Bochao Xu, Brenna Petrelli, Danya Alboslani, and Logan Fries.

This past January, we hosted the Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics, sponsored by the American Physical Society and organized by Prof. Nora Berrah. Over 100 students were in attendance, making the conference a big success. Renovations of the UConn Planetarium were completed under the supervision of Prof. Matt Guthrie and we are now hosting regular shows at the planetarium and night viewing sessions at the recently renovated observatory. Responding to the budget situation at UConn, we expanded our summer online offering with a new course created by Prof. Diego Valente and Prof. Belter Ordaz. The course filled up the first day of registration and a second session was added, which also filled up.

Due to the fiscal uncertainties at the university, our special lectures are being postponed until the spring semester. Please look forward to future announcements.

Sincerely,

George Gibson
Department Head, Physics

In Memoriam: Professor Winthrop Smith, 1936-2025

Sadly, Prof. Emeritus Winthrop W. Smith passed away in Peabody, MA on April 7, 2025, with his devoted daughter Sarah by his side. After growing up in New Jersey, Win received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in physics from Amherst and MIT, respectively, and then undertook postdoctoral work at the Joint Institute of Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) in Boulder, Colorado, where he met his late wife Anne. He began his academic journey at Columbia University, in New York City, eventually transitioning to the University of Connecticut, where he spent a long and illustrious career teaching and performing research in physics, officially retiring in 2009.

Win SmithWin’s research was primarily in the field of atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. The systems he studied covered a diverse range, including: electrons; ions (both positive and negative); atoms; molecules; and photons. They also spanned a wide spectrum of energies, from relativistic to ultracold. His experiments employed a variety of tools, such as lasers, spectrometers, particle beams, accelerators, and traps for atoms and ions. Win investigated many interesting topics, including: charge-exchange collisions; highly-charged ions; molecular spectroscopy; collision-induced x-ray emission; relativistic negative ion beams; atom interferometry; linear rf traps for ions; and nonlinear dynamics (chaos). He was very productive, with his work resulting in over 100 journal publications. His latest research, performed mainly after officially retiring, involved interactions between overlapping samples of trapped ions and ultracold neutral atoms, and garnered significant attention.

Over the years, Win taught and trained a large number of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, and was a valued mentor to younger faculty. In terms of classroom teaching, Win’s portfolio encompassed multiple areas of physics: classical mechanics; electricity & magnetism; quantum mechanics; atomic physics; optics; lasers; electronics; and introductory physics for various audiences. He took great pleasure in motivating his students and seeing them learn.

Win was heavily involved in the American Physical Society (APS), serving as an officer in the New England Section (NES), the Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (DAMOP), and the Division of Laser Science (DLS). He also played a key role in organizing several large physics conferences in Storrs: DAMOP Annual Meetings in 1984 and 2000; and the International Conference on Atomic Physics (ICAP) in 2008. Win spent a year as a Program Officer for the National Science Foundation, helping set funding priorities for AMO Physics. He also performed significant service for the Department and University, serving in the University Senate, as President of the UConn Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and as a member and chair of many committees.

Win enjoyed traveling and collaborating with colleagues and thereby embarked on several sabbaticals: JILA, Stanford, Munich, Aarhus, MIT, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He also worked with colleagues at various national labs: Los Alamos in New Mexico, Oak Ridge in Tennessee, Lawrence Livermore in California, and the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena.

Win’s accomplishments earned him several honors. He received Fellowship in the American Physical Society, an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award to work in Germany, and Membership in the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

Interestingly, his great-uncle, Percy Bridgman, a professor at Harvard, won the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in high-pressure physics, leaving a strong impression on the young Win.

Win had many outside interests including: music, singing in the Hartford Chorale and the UConn Festival Chorus; and hiking and skiing in the White Mountains near Randolph, New Hampshire. He was passionately interested in politics, serving locally on the Mansfield Town Ethics Board and Democratic Town Committee.

Win will be greatly missed, and fondly remembered, by the Physics Department. In his memory, donations can be made to the Anne and Win Smith Fellowship Fund for support of graduate students in physics, or the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

An article in Earth.com describes the research and the life story of Prof. Mallett

A recently published article describes the research and the life story of Prof. Mallett.

“Now approaching 80, Dr. Mallett remains steadfast. “I believe my work will show time travel is possible,” he asserts. “Future generations will build on it in ways we can’t yet imagine.”

His equations, though yet to physically bend time, have bent our collective imagination. Ongoing public interest, evidenced by his continued media appearances and Spike Lee’s film adaptation of his memoir, underscores his ideas’ profound impact.

More than a scientific pursuit, Mallett’s story testifies to human resilience, intellectual courage, and hope’s enduring power. Whether his theoretical time machine ever materializes, his legacy is immeasurable—inspiring countless individuals to challenge conventional limits and perceive time not as an unyielding barrier, but as a boundless frontier awaiting exploration.”

UConn STARs Visits Hartford Public High School in May 2025

The UConn STARs program had its annual outreach event at Hartford Public High School (HPHS) during the week of May 12-16, 2025. We taught four specially-crafted lesson plans to eight classrooms of students and hosted two lunchtime solar telescope observing sessions. The outreach event was a huge success. We estimate that we reached about 170 students at HPHS during our visit, sparked many curious minds and encouraged considering a career in STEM.

During the academic year, the STARs programs ran 27 events focused on professional development, community building, and mentorship. Members of the STARs program also developed four engaging lesson plans for high school students on the topics of: 1) Mechanics, 2) Light as a Wave, 3) Light as a Particle (Quantum), and 4) Electricity. These topics were selected in consultation with the teacher to re-enforce important concepts from each class. The lesson plans were designed to cater to a variety of student learning needs and background levels. Each lesson plan had a short lecture component, hands-on demos, and stations for small group activities. STARs also hosted a booth at the Hartford STEM fair on May 5, 2025, engaging with many members of the local community.

Below are some photos highlighting the events, please see more on our webpage.

  • STARs partial group photo outside the Engineering Lab during the STARs outreach trip to Hartford Public High School in May 2025

 

UConn Physics Department hosted the 2025 conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics

The Physics Department hosted the 2025 American Physical Society Conference for
Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics in January 24-26. This was
achieved with the support of the College of Liberal Arts and Science, the Provost’s Office, and the
Office of Sponsored Programs, the College of Engineering, the Institute of Material Sciences, the
APS and generous donors (the Ed Eyler and Karen Greer fund, the Mark Miller Fund Sponsorship
provided in memory of City College of New York Physicists William Miller and Myriam Sarachik,
Mirion Technologies, the Del Boca family gift, AAS, the New England Section of the APS and
the Startorialist Science and Fashion Shop).

The conference’s goal was to help undergraduate women and gender minorities pursue their
goals in physics by providing them the opportunity to learn about different physics research areas,
career tracks, graduate studies and various professions in physics. The conference brought
undergraduate students and scientists together to share experiences and concerns and receive
feedback and advice. It has been established that students’ experience at a professional conference
enables them to build community through peer networks and interacting closely with speakers and
panelists. The conference provided the students with feedback about their current work and were
mentored about career paths. UConn, which has a strong Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy
made every effort to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all. The conference
program had speakers and panelists from several institutions around the country, faculty, staff and
students from UConn as well as former UConn students who graduated with Bachelors, Masters
or PhDs. The link to the CU*iP conference program is https://physics.uconn.edu/cuwip/program/

The local organizing committee consisted of faculty, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate
students (Sarah Trallero, Lea Ferreira dos Santos, Shohini Bhattacharya, Luchang Jin, Matt
Guthrie, Peter Schweitzer, Alan Wuosmaa, Simone Columbo, Cara Battersby, Tom Blum, Erin
Scanlon, Elena Dormidontova, Asli Tandogan Kunkel, Cameron Brady, Meg Davis, Dani Lipman,
Jessica Mitlehner, Juliette Stecenko, Kaley Wilcox, Andrea Mejia, Liam McDermott, and George
Gibson) led by Nora Berrah. In addition, volunteers ─ faculty (Sylvanie Wallington), staff (Adam
Kolano, Carrie Chichocki, Dave Perry, Ray Celmer), students and postdocs (Noah Frese, Bill
Wortley, Willson London, Jack Conley, Christian McCoy, Tobi Saule, Christian McCoy, Yutong
Geng, Brenna Petrelli) and donors (Karen Greer) ─ provided great support in running a very
successful meeting.

  • Lab tour to CU*iP students given by Simone Columbo’s graduate student Kaley Wilcox.