Cover image credit: ESO/L. Calçada Two thousand years ago, Aristotle posited that the Sun and the planets of our Solar System are immaculate, divine bodies — a belief that stood its ground even into the 17th century. But Galileo, alongside other astronomers of his time, pointed his telescope at the heavens and uncovered a messier…
By Fernanda Morais This semester, the Physics and Astronomy Department welcomed Visiting Assistant Professor Sean Foster, who is currently teaching Electromagnetic Theory I and Introductory Mechanics. He received his Ph.D. from Boston University in 2023, working on the Muon g-2 experiment, and did a postdoctorate at the University of Kentucky, working on both Muon g-2…
By Liam Warren and Garrett Cleveland Cover image credit: Aaron Bull/Getty Images On September 23, the Physics and Astronomy Department hosted Dr. Asja Rajda for her talk titled, “Transport properties of 2D corals and other ways physics can help us understand biology.” Radja holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and biochemistry from the University of Texas,…
Peter Klisiwecz ’25 was a physics major at Amherst who graduated last month. For his senior thesis with Professor Nick Holschuh in the geology department, he developed a method to infer glacial crystal orientation fabric from decades of existing radio data taken at different times and directions, instead of having to conduct another survey. Peter…
Lillia Hammond graduated from Amherst last month with a double major in physics and art history, and she is studying toward a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering through Dartmouth College’s five-year Engineering Exchange Program. For her senior thesis, she worked with Dartmouth professor Kristina Lynch on the GNEISS mission, a nationwide collaboration that aims to…
By Belaine Mamo At 4pm on Tuesday March 4th, the Physics and Astronomy Department welcomed Professor of Chemistry Claudia Avalos where she spoke about her research at New York University in a presentation entitled “Spin Exchange Interactions and Spin Polarization in Pentacene-Radical Dyads” for their weekly colloquium. After completing her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at…
By Fernanda Morais Cover image credit: NASA Astrobiology On February 25, Dr. Mark Popinchalk, a postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History, visited the Amherst Physics & Astronomy Department for its weekly colloquium. Dr. Popinchalk is a member of the Brown Dwarfs in New York City (BDNYC) research group. Brown dwarfs are objects…
It’s now been six years since the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration shocked the world with this first-ever image of a black hole. How did they make it happen, and what are they up to now?…
Last semester, the Physics and Astronomy Department welcomed a new postdoc, Dr. Mark Giovinazzi. In this article, we explore Mark’s research expertise on low-mass stars and exoplanets and learn more about his personal life at Amherst! His journey involves diverse research experiences and the continuous mission to elevate underrepresented students in the field. …
By Fernanda On January 19, twelve Amherst College students (including myself!) hopped in a car to Boston for the American Physical Society Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (APS CUWiP). CUWiPs are three-day regional conferences for undergraduate physics majors who identify as women or a gender minority, with the goal of helping them continue in physics…