Physics & Astronomy News

LSU Research Team Awarded $1.4 Million Equipment Grant from NSF

A team from the Louisiana State University Superfund Research Program (LSU SRP), along with colleagues at the LSU AgCenter and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, have been awarded a $1.4 million grant through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program.

Astrophysics PhD Candidate Courtney Crawford

Courtney Crawford studies astrophysics, more specifically her thesis work is on spectral classification of a rare type of variable star known as the R Coronae Borealis (RCB) variables.

Bella Bowman Foundation Teams Up with LSU on Pediatric Cancer Research

The Bella Bowman Foundation presents a, $75,000 pledge to the LSU research group to support a portion of the next phase of a research study to understand rare but potentially fatal side effects following cancer therapy, including radiation necrosis--the death of healthy tissues.

Nanoscale Systems for Generating Various Forms of Light

LSU Quantum Researchers Rearrange Photon Distribution to Create Different Light Sources

$7.8 Million Gift in Support of LSU and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Strengthens Nation-leading Medical Physics Partnership

A $7.8 million estate gift from the late Dr. Charles M. Smith of Sulphur, La., will advance cancer treatment through a longstanding partnership with LSU and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center that began in 1980.

LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA finds Elusive Mergers of Black Holes with Neutron Stars

For the first time, researchers have confirmed the detection of a collision between a black hole and a neutron star. In fact, the scientists detected not one but two such events occurring just 10 days apart in January 2020. The extreme events made splashes in space that sent gravitational waves rippling across at least 900 million light-years to reach Earth. In each case, the neutron star was likely swallowed whole by its black hole partner.

Japanese, Italian, U.S. Physicists Reveal New Measurements of High-Energy Cosmic Rays

LSU researchers contribute to a discovery that adds a new wrinkle to our understanding of the origins of matter accelerated to high energies in the galaxy.

David Young Explains the Physics of Simone Biles' Signature Gymnastics Moves

LSU graduate’s groundbreaking research heading to the moon

Louisiana Women: LSU graduate’s groundbreaking research heading to the moon

Big Bytes: LSU Program to Help Teach Computer Science and Computational Thinking Skills in Louisiana High Schools and Lower Grades Quickly Expands Across State

Rongying Jin named LSU Senior Scholar Rainmaker

Professor Rongying Jin named LSU Senior Scholar Rainmaker

Spring 2021 Graduates

LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy Spring 2021 Graduates

Keilah Davis Receives NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

LSU's second year Ph.D. candidate Keilah Davis has been selected for the highly competitive National Science Foundation, or NSF, Graduate Research Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees. NSF received more than 13,000 applications for 2,000 fellowships this year.

Statewide Computer Science Program Competes in National Video Competition

The ambitious program that is improving and expanding opportunities in computational thinking and computer science courses throughout Louisiana public schools will be featured in a national video competition from May 11-18. The program called Baton Rouge: Bringing Youth Technology, Education and Success, or BRBytes, is one of the 287 programs featured in the 2021 STEM for All Video Showcase.

Prestigious NASA Public Service Medal Awarded to LSU Physics Professor, LA NASA Space Grant & EPSCoR Director

T. Gregory Guzik, LSU Physics Professor and Director of the Louisiana Space Grant NASA EPSCoR (LaSPACE) programs has been awarded the 2020 NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal (OPLM). This prestigious NASA recognition is awarded to non-Government individuals or to an individual who was not a Government employee during the period in which the accomplishment was achieved, for notable leadership accomplishments that have significantly influenced the NASA Mission. The official NASA award citation reads: “In recognition for many years of exceptional dedication and public service inspiring and teaching the next generation of leaders in science, engineering and technology.”

LSU Goes to the Moon

As the U.S. lands on the Moon next year, for the first time since 1972 and the Apollo program, LSU technology built by students in close collaboration with industry partners will report back from the lunar surface. Undergraduate students in five different LSU colleges and schools are leading the mission, which will make future space travel safer for astronauts and equipment. Meet the team behind Tiger Eye 1.

LSU Ph.D. Graduate Sumeet Khatri Co-authors Textbook on Quantum Communication with LSU Professor

As a professor, it’s a rare thing to write one of the definitive textbooks on the subject you teach. And as a student who has not yet graduated, it’s almost unheard of. Yet, Ph.D. graduate Sumeet Khatri and his advisor, Professor Mark M. Wilde in the LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy with a joint appointment in the LSU Center for Computation & Technology, have pulled it off. Principles of Quantum Communication Theory: A Modern Approach is now out in pre-release and already being used by scholars around the world.