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Department of Physics and Astronomy

The Department of Physics and Astronomy has a rich and long history dating back to the latter part of the 19th century. Our faculty and students are exploring nature at all length scales, from the subatomic (quarks and gluons) to the macroscopic (black holes and dark energy), and everything in between (atomic and biological systems).

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CNN's The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper: Are We Alone In The Universe?

CNN — Kristin Fisher interviews astronomers, including Prof. Danny Milisavljevic of Purdue PhysAstro, involved in the Webb Telescope's exploration of deep space and dark matter, examining its potential to answer fundamental questions about the universe: Where do we come from, and are we alone?

The future of teaching and learning has arrived

Purdue University’s Envision Center, part of the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing, has developed a virtual reality platform that utilizes the Meta Quest 3 headsets to bring the future of teaching and learning to our doorstep. Developed in conjunction with Professor Danny Milisavljevic, the Collab XR platform is the first of its kind, merging virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) capabilities with training, research, and education. One of the best features of Collab XR is its ability to allow for co-located mixed-reality learning experiences.

Commission on Semiconductors (C8) Early Career Scientist Prize 2023 Winners

Former student Yang Xu has been awarded the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Semiconductor Physics. He is an Associate Professor and group leader at the Institute of Physics (IOP), Chinese Academy of Sciences. He earned his B.S. from the School of the Gifted Young at the University of Science and Technology of China in 2011. His Ph.D. was completed in 2018 at Purdue University, where he primarily studied electronic transport in three-dimensional topological insulators and demonstrated the first gate-tunable “half-integer” quantum Hall effect arising from the topological surface states.

New quantum materials promise unimagined innovations in computing, memory

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — To build something fantastic, you need fantastic building blocks. Which is exactly what physicists are creating: new materials, with qualities undreamed of in our current world. Erica Carlson, 150th Anniversary Professor of physics and astronomy in Purdue University’s College of Science and a member of the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute, is one of those physicists working to develop quantum materials to design future technologies in the fields of computing, construction, medicine, engineering and more.

20 Top Universities For Quantum Computing Research

THE QUANTUM INSIDER — Every major university is engaged in quantum computing research on some level. Many are deeply engaged in quantum computing research — and many have been for the past few decades. According to the Quantum Insider, Purdue University ranks in the top twenty world wide universities for quantum computing.

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Department of Physics and Astronomy, 525 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2036 • Phone: (765) 494-3000 • Fax: (765) 494-0706

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