To request a media interview, please reach out to School of Physics experts using our faculty directory, or contact Jess Hunt-Ralston, College of Sciences communications director. A list of faculty experts and research areas across the College of Sciences at Georgia Tech is also available to journalists upon request.
"This year's prize is about a discovery that shook the world." That's how an official with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences described the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was awarded to the three founders of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) for the detection of gravitational waves. Georgia Tech has a front-row seat for that achievement, thanks to its membership in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, a global team of scientists that helps to confirm gravitational-wave data. Laura Cadonati, professor in the School of Physics and LIGO deputy spokesperson, is quoted in this article, as she is in a separate story for the Verge. Another LIGO member and School of Physics researcher, Karan Jani, reacts to the Nobel Prize in this Forbes article.
work family interactions 2017-10-03T00:00:00-04:00There are black holes, and then there are supermassive black holes that could have played a role in the formation of the universe. How they got so big remains a mystery, but new theories and research may be closing in on answers. A study from earlier this year supports one of these theories: that radiation from nearby galaxies created the galactic monsters. The study was co-authored by John Wise, Dunn Family Associate Professor in the School of Physics. Wise's work is dthe subject of this Scientific American report.
work family interactions 2017-09-29T00:00:00-04:00School of Physics Assistant Professor Simon Sponberg has the coveted cover story in the September issue of Physics Today. Sponberg, principal investigator in the Agile Systems Lab, gives a state-of-the-science report on animal locomotion; how different physiological systems within a moth, for example, interact within the insect to enable movement, and how that moth interacts with its environment. Data arising from new studies of such neuromechanics have applications for robotics. Sponberg is also an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences and an adjunct assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.
campus drone 2017-09-01T00:00:00-04:00"A pretty cool paper." That's how one of the hosts of the This Week in Microbiology podcast (ep. 159) describes the recent study by School of Biological Sciences professor Joshua Weitz and postdoctoral scientist Chung Yin (Joey) Leung. The Tech researchers discovered that immune cells in an animal host act synergistically with bacteria-killing viruses – phages – to wipe out fatal respiratory infections in lab mice. TWiM is the official podcast of the American Society for Microbiology. Both Weitz and Leung are also affiliated with the School of Physics, and Weitz is the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences.
TRACER 2017-08-31T00:00:00-04:00As if the swamped residents of the Texas Gulf Coast don't have enough reasons to curse Hurricane Harvey, here's one more: clumps of stinging fire ants bobbing in the floodwaters. The New York Times story and this one in the Washington Post cite a 2011 study by School of Biological Sciences Associate Professor David Hu that explained the fire ant's raft-building superpower. Hu is also an associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and an adjunct associate professor in the School of Physics.
Extension of Self 2017-08-30T00:00:00-04:00The special memories of Eclipse 2017 @ Georgia Tech linger. This video from Tech Square ATL on the Aug. 21 celestial event was produced by Sandbox ATL in partnership with the University Financing Foundation, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), and the Scheller College of Business. It highlights the reactions from those who started that day at the cluster of tech startups on the other side of the Downtown Connector on 5th Street before they made their way to the Kessler Campanile. College of Sciences Dean Paul Goldbart is interviewed. Also, WREK 91.1, Tech's student-run radio station, aired a special "97 Percent Eclipse of the Heart" version of its Lost in the Stacks program. You'll hear Georgia Tech Observatory Director James Sowell interviewed between eclipse-themed songs by Television, Pink Floyd, the Police, and Love and Rockets. Sowell is also a senior academic professional in the School of Physics.
salary study 2017-08-30T00:00:00-04:00Those scenes of floating fire ant "rafts" plaguing flooding victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston? David Hu, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, first examined that nightmare scenario in 2011. That was when Hu and his research team published a study on how ants lock legs to form the rafts. You also may recall his research from earlier this summer on how the ants don't just spread out when threatened; they can also "perpetually rebuild" towers made of their own bodies. Hu is also an adjunct associate professor in the School of Physics.
stitch-chips 2017-08-29T00:00:00-04:00School of Physics Assistant Professor Elisabetta Matsumoto's research in hyperbolic virtual reality recently captured the attention of The New York Times. This video shows off Matsumoto and her research team's work from earlier this year as it highlights the difference between Euclidean space, where the normal rules of geometry apply, and hyperbolic space, where those rules are warped and curved like the "cell" boundaries in this video. The hope is that these depictions of non-Euclidean geometry will assist in mathematics and geometry research. Matsumoto is also a researcher for the Soft Matter Incubator at the Center for the Science and Technology of Applied Materials and Interfaces (STAMI).
Extension of Self 2017-08-27T00:00:00-04:00
The Atlanta Business Journal lists another example of businesses wanting to get closer to Georgia Tech's research. Graphenano, a Spanish company hoping to make a lot of graphene – a thin yet ultra-strong carbon-based substance that could lead to better batteries and composite materials – may move its North American headquarters to Atlanta. Georgia Tech is a leader in graphene research, and the story cites a May study on a potentially more efficient way to make graphene from School of Physics Professor Uzi Landman and Bokwon Yoon, a research scientist with the school. Both are with the Center for Computational Materials Science; Landman is its director.
introduction 2017-08-25T00:00:00-04:00Atlanta NPR affiliate WABE 90.1 devoted its entire Closer Look broadcast to Monday's solar eclipse. The radio station's coverage included an interview with James Sowell, School of Physics senior academic professional. director of the Georgia Tech Observatory, and Tech's resident astronomer.
complinat purchases 2017-08-21T00:00:00-04:00
By now, you should be aware that of the coast-to-coast total solar eclipse happening next Monday, and Atlanta will experience 97 percent totality. If you aren't aware, then you're obviously Captain America and you've just been thawed out of that ice you were trapped in for the past 70 years. Georgia Tech is certainly aware, and this story by reporter Carl Willis of WSB-TV does a good job of covering what we have planned. Included in the interviews are College of Sciences Dean and Sutherland Chair Paul Goldbart, and Tech astronomer James Sowell, School of Physics senior academic professional and director of the Georgia Tech Observatory.
Paul S. Goggin 2017-08-17T00:00:00-04:00Karan Jani stayed very busy during his time in the School of Physics. In addition to being a doctoral candidate, Jani was also a key member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) team that first observed the existence of gravitational waves in 2015. Jani received his Ph.D. this year. Now the astrophysicist has returned to his native India, but he is still busy as he is helping to reform that country's education system.
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Events
CRA SEMINAR | Federico Testagrossa | DESY Zeuthen | Host: David A. Raudales O.
CRA SEMINAR | Federico Testagrossa | DESY Nat'l Institution | Host: David A. Raudales O.
Observatory Public Night
On select Thursday evenings during the academic year, the Georgia Tech School of Physics invites you to observe various bright celestial objects through telescopes.
The Ever-Changing Georgia Coast with President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough
Join us for a special author conversation, reading, and Q&A followed by a book-signing reception with refreshments, Georgia Tech for Georgia’s Tomorrow swag, and drawing for signed books.
2026 College of Sciences Homecoming Tailgate
Reconnect with fellow College of Sciences alumni, friends, faculty, and students while enjoying food, drinks, and Georgia Tech spirit.
School of Physics Fall Colloquium Series- Dr. Andreas Karch(UT Austin)
Dr. Andreas Karch(UT Austin) Making the Great Desert Bloom
CRA SEMINAR | Alexander Plavin | [Nat'l Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO] | Host: Prof. Ignacio Taboada
CRA SEMINAR | Aleksandr Plavin (Sasha) [Nat'l Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO] | Host: Prof. Ignacio Taboada
School of Physics Fall Colloquium Series- Dr. Nitin Samarth(Penn State)
Dr. Nitin Samarth(Penn State) Puzzles at the interface between topology, magnetism, and superconductivity
Experts in the News
In an article published by The Conversation, Shiladitya Banerjee, associate professor in the School of Physics, discusses new research suggesting that single bacterial cells exhibit learning-like behavior in changing environments.
This article was also published by The Scientist.
The Conversation 2026-09-10T00:00:00-04:00If you dropped the exact same pulse of food onto two identical bacteria, you'd expect the exact same response. That's not what happened. In a study published in PRX Life in May 2026, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Georgia Tech found that E. coli exposed to unstable, feast-and-famine conditions adapted to new food far faster than bacteria pulled from a stable environment, even when the immediate conditions in front of them were identical.
You may think that one cell has no place to keep things such as memories. Scientists, including Josiah Kratz, a postdoctoral fellow in Georgia Tech’s School of Physics, observed tens of thousands of individual E. coli bacteria through a special microfluidic apparatus and found that the cause was ribosomes, the components of the cell responsible for building proteins and determining the growth rate.
The News International 2026-09-09T00:00:00-04:00Researchers in the School of Physics, working with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, have found that standard methods for identifying chirality in topological phases fail when applied to mixed quantum states. The study reveals that established diagnostics, including bulk-boundary correspondence and the modular commutator, are unreliable in these complex systems. Consequently, the research presents two new measures, based on relative entropy, to accurately diagnose chirality and determine the chiral central charge in decohered topological phases, indicating a need for a new set of tools when investigating mixed-state topology.
Quantum Zeitgeist 2026-07-16T00:00:00-04:00Bacteria have no neurons or memories in the human sense. Yet in a new study, researchers at Georgia Tech and Carnegie Mellon University — including School of Physics Associate Professor Shiladitya Banerjee and Postdoctoral Fellow Josiah Kratz — found that individual E. coli cells carried traces of past hardship into the future. When nutrients repeatedly rose and fell, the cells changed how quickly they grew, suggesting that even simple microbes can use experience to prepare for what may come next.
ZME Science 2026-06-10T00:00:00-04:00Georgia Tech researchers have recreated the effects of solar wind on lunar minerals in a laboratory experiment, providing new evidence that the constant stream of charged particles from the sun plays a major role in shaping the moon’s surface.
The team exposed ilmenite, a mineral commonly found on both Earth and the moon, to a synthetic version of solar wind. The experiment produced nanophase iron, tiny metallic particles that are widely observed in lunar soil and are considered a key signature of space weathering.
Interesting Engineering 2026-06-10T00:00:00-04:00A new study led by researchers, including School of Physics graduate student Julia Esposito and Associate Professor Gongjie Li, used 1,500 virtual planetary systems to examine how planet-planet scattering may have influenced the formation of Jupiter-sized planets.
American Astronomical Society NOVA 2026-05-22T00:00:00-04:00
