Department News Archive


Turner Woody Receives 2021 Donald E. Kerr Memorial Award

Turner Woody Receives 2021 Donald E. Kerr Memorial Award
The department is pleased to announce physics major Turner Woody as recipient of the 2021 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.  Congratulations, Turner! 


Justin Otter, Bastian Pradenas, Isu Ravi, Sanjana Sekhar, and Nicholas Speeney Receive Graduate Teaching Awards

Justin Otter, Bastian Pradenas, Isu Ravi, Sanjana Sekhar, and Nicholas Speeney Receive Graduate Teaching Awards
The Graduate Program Committee is pleased to announce their selection of the most outstanding graduate student Teaching Assistants in the department with their annual graduate teaching awards. Justin Otter is awarded the Agnew Prize for Excellence in Teaching for his fall 2020 performance in introductory physics, where he prioritizes students’ success and clear communication and […]


Erwin Tanin Receives International Student Prize Fellowship

Erwin Tanin Receives International Student Prize Fellowship
Second year graduate student Erwin Tanin has been awarded an International Student Prize Fellowship by the department. Tanin is working in Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology with David Kaplan and Surjeet Rajendran, and has published two papers during his time at JHU. Currently, Tanin is focusing on theoretical ideas for dark energy. Furthermore, Tanin has also […]


Hsiang-Chih Hwang and Nadia Zakamska’s publication unveils discovery of “Dual Supermassive Black Holes” in the Distant Universe

Hsiang-Chih Hwang and Nadia Zakamska’s publication unveils discovery of “Dual Supermassive Black Holes” in the Distant Universe
Graduate student Hsiang-Chih Hwang and Associate Professor Nadia Zakamska are part of the research team that has published an article in Nature Astronomy titled “A hidden population of high-redshift double quasars unveiled by astrometry.” The study presents the discovery of two supermassive black hole pairs in the early universe. Professor Zakamska’s “Behind the Paper” article […]


Mark O. Robbins Prize Introduced for PhD Students and Postdoctoral Fellows

Mark O. Robbins Prize Introduced for PhD Students and Postdoctoral Fellows
The Mark O. Robbins prize will be awarded annually to two PhD students who exemplify Dr. Robbins’ legacy by recognizing their outstanding achievement in high-performance computing. A third annual award, the Robbins Future Faculty award is targeted for postdoctoral fellows. The Robbins Prize was instigated in 2020 to recognize outstandingly talented PhD students who reflect […]


Bingjie Wang Receives American Astronomical Society’s Roger Doxsey Travel Prize

Bingjie Wang Receives American Astronomical Society’s Roger Doxsey Travel Prize
Graduate student Bingjie Wang has received the Roger Doxsey Travel Prize from the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in recognition of her presentation of her thesis research at the annual winter meeting of the Society. The Roger Doxsey Prize will award Wang with complimentary registration for an upcoming AAS meeting. In addition, she will receive a stipend […]


Vedant Chandra Receives American Astronomical Society’s Chambliss Student Poster Award

Vedant Chandra Receives American Astronomical Society’s Chambliss Student Poster Award
Undergraduate Vedant Chandra has received the Chambliss Student Poster Award from the American Astronomical Society for his digital iPoster on star formation in nearby dwarf galaxies using color-magnitude diagrams. Chandra conducted the research outlined in the iPoster with Dr. Mario Gennaro at the Space Telescope Science Institute. In the iPoster, Chandra demonstrated how the novel […]


Enrico Di Teodoro’s Science Publication Unveils A Galaxy That Ages Like No Other

Enrico Di Teodoro’s <i>Science</i> Publication Unveils A Galaxy That Ages Like No Other
Postdoctoral Fellow Enrico Di Teodoro recently published a paper in Science focusing on a galaxy in the very young Universe that unexpectedly looks like a very old galaxy. A galaxy like this should not exist according to current theoretical models, which is why the research team’s discovery is extremely puzzling. The team used the Atacama […]