UMD_CMNS_Physics_S1_CMYK

  • Research News

    New Protocol Demonstrates and Verifies Quantum Speedups in a Jiffy

    While breakthrough results over the past few years have garnered headlines proclaiming the dawn of quantum supremacy, they have also masked a nagging problem that researchers have been staring at for decades: Demonstrating the advantages of a quantum computer is only half the battle;… Read More
  • Research News

    Work on 2D Magnets Featured in Nature Physics Journal

    University of Maryland Professor Cheng Gong (ECE), along with his postdocs Dr. Ti Xie, Dr. Jierui Liang and collaborators in Georgetown University (Professor Kai Liu group), UC Berkeley (Professor Ziqiang Qiu), University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Professor David Mandrus group) and UMD Physics (Professor Victor M. Yakovenko), have made… Read More
  • Research News

    NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Reveals a Key Particle Accelerator Near the Sun

    Flying closer to the sun than any spacecraft before it, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe uncovered a new source of energetic particles near Earth’s star, according to a new study co-authored by University of Maryland researchers.  Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on May 29, 2025,… Read More
  • Research News

    Time Crystal Research Enters a New Phase

    Our world only exists thanks to the diverse properties of the many materials that make it up. The differences between all those materials result from more than just which atoms and molecules form them. A material’s properties also depend on how those basic building… Read More
  • Research News

    Mysteriously Mundane Turbulence Revealed in 2D Superfluid

    Despite existing everywhere, the quantum world is a foreign place where many of the rules of daily life don’t apply. Quantum objects jump through solid walls; quantum entanglement connects the fates of particles no matter how far they are separated; and quantum objects may… Read More
  • Research News

    A New Piece in the Matter–Antimatter Puzzle

    aOn March 24, 2025 at the annual Rencontres de Moriond conference taking place in La Thuile, Italy, the LHCb collaboration at CERN reported a new milestone in our understanding of the subtle yet profound differences between matter and antimatter. In its analysis of large… Read More
  • Research News

    Researchers Play a Microscopic Game of Darts with Melted Gold

    Sometimes, what seems like a fantastical or improbable chain of events is just another day at the office for a physicist. In a recent experiment by University of Maryland researchers at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences, a scene played out that would be right… Read More
  • Research News

    IceCube Search for Extremely High-energy Neutrinos Contributes to Understanding of Cosmic Rays

    Neutrinos are chargeless, weakly interacting particles that are able to travel undeflected through the cosmos. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole searches for the sources of these astrophysical neutrinos in order to understand the origin of high-energy particles called cosmic rays and,… Read More
  • Research News

    Twisted Light Gives Electrons a Spinning Kick

    It’s hard to tell when you’re catching some rays at the beach, but light packs a punch. Not only does a beam of light carry energy, it can also carry momentum. This includes linear momentum, which is what makes a speeding train hard to… Read More
  • 1 New Protocol Demonstrates and Verifies Quantum Speedups in a Jiffy
  • 2 Work on 2D Magnets Featured in Nature Physics Journal
  • 3 NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Reveals a Key Particle Accelerator Near the Sun
  • 4 Time Crystal Research Enters a New Phase
  • 5 Mysteriously Mundane Turbulence Revealed in 2D Superfluid
  • 6 A New Piece in the Matter–Antimatter Puzzle
  • 7 Researchers Play a Microscopic Game of Darts with Melted Gold
  • 8 IceCube Search for Extremely High-energy Neutrinos Contributes to Understanding of Cosmic Rays
  • 9 Twisted Light Gives Electrons a Spinning Kick

Physics is Phun

Department News

  • UMD Appoints Renowned Physicist to Lead Quantum Research and Education The University of Maryland has named Gretchen Campbell, an internationally recognized researcher and national leader in advancing the field of quantum science, as associate vice president for quantum research and education, effective July 13, 2025. In this newly established position, Campbell will collaborate with faculty,… Read More
  • UMD Physics Rated #19 in the World The University of Maryland Department of Physics was ranked No. 19 globally in U.S. News & World Report’s list of 2025-26 Best Global Universities. Of U.S. campuses, only three public universities--and 10 overall--ranked higher in physics. "This is a tribute to all of us working… Read More
  • Alumni Honored with NSF Fellowships Physics graduates Jade LeSchack, Elaine Taylor and Jeffrey Wack have received prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, which recognize outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This year’s awardees from the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS)… Read More
  • Hafezi Receives Humboldt Research Award Mohammad Hafezi has received a Humboldt Research Award, which acknowledges his history of impactful research and supports visiting Germany to collaborate with colleagues there. Each year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation gives the award, which is supported by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of… Read More
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Upcoming Events

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Dissertation Defense: Dhruv Devulapalli
Date Thu, Jul 17, 2025 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
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QuICS Special Seminar: Andrew Tanggara
Tue, Aug 5, 2025 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
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AI and Physical Sciences

Details
Created: Thursday, November 11 2021 11:49
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 04 2024 10:11
Written by Anne Suplee
Hits: 3045

 The AI and Physical Sciences research area unites faculty from diverse fields and programs, including physics, biophysics, chemical physics, chemistry, and applied mathematics, to drive innovation at the intersection of AI, machine learning (ML), and the physical sciences. This research area emphasizes the unique role of physics—particularly statistical physics, quantum mechanics, and nonlinear dynamics—in developing next-generation AI methods. Through this program, students can explore a broad range of application areas. UMD’s strength in these disciplines positions it as a leader in shaping an AI-first approach to the physical sciences, fostering advances that push both fields forward.

Personnel

Maissam BarkeshliMaissam BarkeshliVictor GalitskiVictor GalitskiMichelle GirvanMichelle GirvanChris JarzynskiChris JarzynskiWolfgang LosertWolfgang LosertPraytush TiwaryPraytush Tiwary

Research Areas 

  • AI approaches for next-generation molecular structure and dynamics prediction
  • Statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics approaches to AI 
  • Convergence of Neurophysics and AI (Biocomputing)

AI

Details
Created: Thursday, November 11 2021 11:49
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 04 2024 09:59
Written by Anne Suplee
Hits: 154

The AI and Physical Sciences research areas unites faculty from diverse fields and programs, including physics, biophysics, chemical physics, chemistry, and applied mathematics, to drive innovation at the intersection of AI, machine learning (ML), and the physical sciences. This research area emphasizes the unique role of physics—particularly statistical physics, quantum mechanics, and nonlinear dynamics—in developing next-generation AI methods. Through this program, students can explore a broad range of application areas. UMD’s strength in these disciplines positions it as a leader in shaping an AI-first approach to the physical sciences, fostering advances that push both fields forward.

Personnel

AI People

  • Barkeshli, Maissam

    Barkeshli, Maissam

  • Girvan, Michelle

    Girvan, Michelle

  • Jarzynski, Christopher

    Jarzynski, Christopher

  • Losert, Wolfgang

    Losert, Wolfgang

  • Tiwary, Pratyush

    Tiwary, Pratyush

Research Areas 

  • AI approaches for next-generation molecular structure and dynamics prediction
  • statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics approaches to AI 
  • Convergence of Neurophysics and AI (Biocomputing)

Research Areas

Details
Created: Wednesday, April 15 2015 16:30
Last Updated: Thursday, October 13 2016 13:49
Written by Super User
Hits: 202131

With more than 30 research groups and centers, we are exploring an abundance of physics concepts. Our laboratories and theoretical centers consistently generate provocative results. And collaborations with peer institutions, government agencies and private industry open up even more opportunities for discovery. From College Park to the South Pole, the University of Maryland is impacting the field of physics worldwide. 

 

Quantum Science and Technology

Details
Created: Thursday, June 18 2009 10:55
Last Updated: Friday, May 09 2025 09:24
Written by Anne Suplee
Hits: 52446

Quantum researchers study systems that harness the rules of the low-energy microscopic world to process information in new ways, distinct from conventional digital logic. The field brings together theorists and experimentalists who study a variety of systems, from neutral atoms and ions to photonic chips and topological materials. Major future applications of quantum information science include quantum computers capable of finding speedy solutions to certain computational problems, machines tailormade for simulating quantum physics and high-precision sensors.

Personnel

Research Areas

  • Quantum computation, experiment and theory
  • Quantum networks
  • Quantum simulation
  • Quantum materials (superconductivity, magnetism, strongly correlated electron physics, and topological matter)
  • Quantum sensors
  • Theoretical condensed matter physics
  • Quantum optics
  • Atomic physics-based precision measurements
  • Strong field physics
  • Bose Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases

Related Centers and Institutes:

Condensed Matter Theory Center

Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics 

Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS) 

Joint Quantum Institute

Quantum Materials Center

Quantum Technology Center

 

Quarks, Hadrons and Nuclei

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Created: Friday, September 12 2008 14:05
Last Updated: Friday, August 04 2017 14:53
Written by Carole Kiger
Hits: 69341

Research in nuclear physics has the goal of understanding and predicting the properties of atomic nuclei. Much of the current research in nuclear theory is directed toward finding the "missing links" between the fundamental QCD theory and nuclear physics.

Personnel

Related Centers and Institutes: 

Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics

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  4. Nonlinear Dynamics Chaos