Research News

An intense laser pulse from a 300-terawatt laser is injected into a plasma waveguide created by a Bessel beam to accelerate electrons to multi-GeV energies. The new UMD-led MURI project will explore how shaping laser pulses in space and time can advance particle acceleration and control the interaction of light wit

UMD to Lead Research on Shaping Intense Laser Light to Control Matter

Written on October 26, 2026.

A University of Maryland–led team has won a Department of Defense $7.5M 2026 Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) award to investigate how shaping intense laser pulses in space...
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New Chip-Based Frequency Combs Demonstrate Potential for Portable Atomic Clocks

Written on October 05, 2026.

The world would look radically different without rulers and measuring tapes that fit into a pocket. Carpenters, fashion designers and engineers rely on these trusty tools to check the size of...
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Quantum Device Simulates Matter “Popping” into Existence

Written on September 25, 2026.

A team led by faculty at the Duke Quantum Center (DQC) , in collaboration with researchers at the JQI, has used a small number of atoms to simulate an aspect of the extreme physics at play in modern...
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Researchers Unlock High-Res View of 2D Materials by Doing a Microscopic Twist

Written on August 06, 2026.

By rapidly twisting a microscopically small tip back and forth, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have unlocked a new way to detect subtle changes on the surface of a material flexing...
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Researchers Explore How Quantum Computers—and Their Errors—May Enhance AI

Written on July 24, 2026.

Quantum computing and AI are among the most rapidly developing modern technologies. AI, in the form of machine learning, has been deployed for decades to recommend movies and TV shows and make it...
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A New Kind of Entanglement Helps Quantum Sensors Tune Out Noise

Written on June 17, 2026.

In a quest to build the most accurate sensors in the world, scientists are constantly improving their performance. Making them more precise, stable and reliable. But eventually, physical constraints...
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Academic Spotlight

Department News

Chandra Turpen Elected APS Fellow

Associate Research Professor Chandra Turpen has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Turpen was selected by the Topical Group on Physics Education Research for outstanding...
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University of Maryland Physicists Play Essential Role in Nobel Prize-Winning Discovery of High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos

They helped design and build the IceCube Neutrino Observatory’s data storage, analysis and real-time alert systems, and they currently play a major role in operating the observatory and analyzing...
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Adil Hassam

Adil Hassam, 1950-2026

Professor Emeritus Adil Hassam died on September 30, 2026. Hassam was a distinguished theoretical plasma physicist whose research advanced understanding of plasma confinement, magnetohydrodynamics,...
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Zohreh Davoudi

Zohreh Davoudi Named 2026 Schmidt Polymath

University of Maryland Associate Professor of Physics Zohreh Davoudi is one of eight academics around the globe named a 2026 Schmidt Polymath. Founded in 2021, the Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program...
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