Department News Archive


Ziwei “Peter” Hu and Yiqi “Andrew” Liu Receive 2023 Donald E. Kerr Memorial Award

Ziwei “Peter” Hu and Yiqi “Andrew” Liu Receive 2023 Donald E. Kerr Memorial Award
The department is pleased to announce that undergraduates Ziwei "Peter" Hu and Yiqi "Andrew" Liu are joint recipients of the 2023 Donald E. Kerr Memorial Award. The Kerr Award, established in 1979, acknowledges outstanding graduating physics majors who have distinguished themselves through their performance in the classroom, their accomplishments in research, and their other positive contributions to the department.


Remembering Sam Durrance

Remembering Sam Durrance
Samuel Thornton Durrance, an astronomer who flew on two NASA space shuttle missions as a payload specialist, and who was a principal research scientist in the William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy from 1980 to 1997, died on May 5, 2023 at the age of 79. Dr. Durrance came to JHU in 1980, as one of the first team members on the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) project led by Prof. Arthur Davidsen.  HUT had been selected for development by NASA in 1978, with the intent of making multiple flights on the space shuttle. Durrance was a key player in the construction and testing of HUT and in 1984 was selected as one of two payload specialists to fly with the telescope. 


Alex Szalay Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Alex Szalay Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Alex Szalay has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Szalay is among 143 members who have been elected to the NAS in 2023 in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.


Remembering Brian R. Judd, Professor Emeritus

Remembering Brian R. Judd, Professor Emeritus
Professor Chia-Ling Chien prepared the following remembrance of Brian R. Judd, Gerhard H. Dieke Professor Emeritus, who passed away on April 8, 2023. I was saddened to hear that Brian Judd had passed away. Long before I met Brian Judd, he was already famous during my thesis research in the 1970’s. I studied his theoretical papers on angular momentum and hyperfine interactions. To many physicists Brian Judd has been known as the “Angular Momentum Judd” in part because of his book Angular Momentum Theory for Diatomic Molecules. After I came to Hopkins, I made an appointment to see him in Rowland Hall, now Krieger Hall. I had no idea how intimating the revered physicist might be. To my relieve, Brian was mild manner, tall and handsome, soft-spoken, in jacket and tie, a true English Gentleman.


Peter Armitage Receives 2023 Brown Investigator Award

Peter Armitage Receives 2023 Brown Investigator Award
Professor Peter Armitage has received the 2023 Brown Investigator Award from the Brown Science Foundation. The elite award recognizes curiosity-driven research in chemistry and physics and supports research with up to $2 million over five years. Armitage is one of only seven recipients this year. The Brown Science Foundation, a Science Philanthropy Alliance member, is dedicated to the belief that scientific discovery is a driving force in the improvement of the human condition.


Could this copycat black hole be a new type of star?

Could this copycat black hole be a new type of star?
Postdoctoral Fellow Pierre Heidmann led research co-authored with Professor Emanuele Berti and Assistant Professor Ibrahima Bah that employs simulations to suggest a hypothetical "topological soliton" that distorts space exactly as a black hole does—but behaves unlike a black hole as it scrambles and releases weak light rays that would not escape a true black hole.


Nicole Crumpler Receives National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

Nicole Crumpler Receives National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Graduate student Nicole Crumpler has received a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who demonstrate the potential to make significant contributions in STEM. The program also seeks to broaden participation in science and engineering of underrepresented groups, including women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans. The three-year fellowship provides three years of financial support inclusive of an annual stipend of $37,000. Crumpler was recognized for her research in theoretical astrophysics.