Department News Archive


What Gives Animal Cells Their Agency? Yu Shi Measures Cytoskeletal Fluctuations

Graduate student Yu Shi is the lead author of a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that examines cellular dynamics using micropost arrays. The ability of animal cells to crawl, change their shape, and respond to applied force is due to their cytoskeleton: a dynamic, cross-linked network of actin protein […]


Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) 20th Anniversary Reunion

Last Friday the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center for Astrophysical Sciences at JHU hosted a reunion of those who worked on the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission. FUSE was operated by JHU for NASA from a control room in the Bloomberg building from June 1999 until October 2007, with a large […]


Riccardo Giacconi Memorial Symposium Held at National Academy of Sciences

The Space Telescope Science Institute, Center for Astrophysics (Harvard & Smithsonian), Johns Hopkins University, the European Southern Observatory, and Associated Universities, Inc. organized a memorial symposium in honor of Riccardo Giacconi held at the National Academy of Sciences last week. Nobel Laureate and Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Giacconi died on December […]


Two Department Members Chosen for Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Prof. Marc Kamionkowski and Associate Research Scientist Rachel Osten have been selected to steering committee for the upcoming National Academy of Sciences decadal survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics.  We are the only department with more than one member.  Andrew Driesman, from APL is also a member, so Hopkins is very well represented!


JHU Undergrads Earn First Place at International Theoretical Physics Olympiad

David Carcamo, Ross Dempsey, Wenzer Qin, and Katherine Xiang earned first place in the 2019 International Theoretical Physics Olympiad for Undergraduates. The team solved 6 challenging problems on modern research topics within a 24-hour time frame. The JHU team outlasted over twenty other competitors in this year’s competition.


Adam Riess Featured on NPR’s On Point Radio

Adam Riess
Prof. Adam Riess was a guest on NPR’s On Point Radio this morning to discuss his new research about the age of the universe. Listen to the interview via the link above!


Brice Ménard Leads the Johns Hopkins Helium Balloon Project to Great Heights

A team of Johns Hopkins students led by Prof. Brice Ménard recently launched cameras and other devices more than 16 miles into the Earth’s atmosphere to collect data, then tracked and recovered the payload nearly 50 miles away. The May 4 flight came down among the confused employees and patrons of the Greystone Golf Course. […]


Joe Silk Awarded the 2019 Gruber Prize in Cosmology

Joseph Silk
Homewood Professor Joe Silk has been awarded the 2019 Gruber Prize in Cosmology, along with Nick Kaiser. The citation reads: “Through different but complementary approaches to the same problems in cosmology, Nicholas Kaiser and Joseph Silk provided the theoretical basis and new methodologies for making and interpreting many of the observations that have redefined our […]


Graduate and Undergraduate Students Receive Annual Department Awards

Awards Day
Graduate Student Awards Gardner Fellowship:  Melissa Diamond The Gardner Fellowship was founded by William Gardner (Ph.D., ’68), who received his Ph.D. in physics under Prof. Warren Moos and had a successful career in fiber optics and telecommunications at Bell Laboratories. Gardner now generously provides support for one of the department’s highest priorities-enabling graduate students to […]


Marc Kamionkowski Named to National Academy of Sciences

Marc Kamionskowski was among 100 new members and 25 foreign associates to be selected for membership to the National Academy of Sciences this year. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Kamionkowski was honored for his research focuses primarily on […]