Button to scroll to the top of the page.

News

From the College of Natural Sciences
Iran Releases Former UT Physicist

Iran Releases Former UT Physicist

​Iranian authorities released Omid Kokabee, former doctoral student in physics at The University of Texas at Austin, on Monday after more than five years of imprisonment according to reports by multiple outlets including the Associated Press.

Tags:
Scientists Glimpse Inner Workings of Atomically Thin Transistors

Scientists Glimpse Inner Workings of Atomically Thin Transistors

With an eye to the next generation of tech gadgetry, a team of physicists at The University of Texas at Austin has had the first-ever glimpse into what happens inside an atomically thin semiconductor device. In doing so, they discovered that an essential function for computing may be possible within a space so small that it's effectively one-dimensional.

Supercomputers Fire Lasers to Shoot Gamma Ray Beam

Supercomputers Fire Lasers to Shoot Gamma Ray Beam

A team of scientists at UT Austin used computer simulations to find a possible new source of gamma rays generated from tabletop lasers. Pictured in front of the Stampede supercomputer left to right: Alex Arefiev, research scientist, Institute for Fusion Studies and at the Center for High Energy Density Science, UT Austin; Toma Toncian, assistant director, Center for High Energy Density Science, UT Austin; David Stark, recently completed PhD, UT Austin (now at Los Alamos National Laboratory).

Ever play with a magnifying lens as a kid? Imagine a lens as big as the Earth. Now focus sunlight down to a pencil tip. That still wouldn't be good enough for what some Texas scientists have in mind. They want to make light even 500 times more intense. And they say it could open the door to the most powerful radiation in the universe: gamma rays.

​Physicists Earn Career Research Awards from the Humboldt Foundation

​Physicists Earn Career Research Awards from the Humboldt Foundation

UT Austin physics professors Mike Downer and Philip J. Morrison each have garnered career research awards from the Humboldt Foundation to fund international research collaborations with German physicists.

Mr. Sandman: Alum Dan Goldman Snakes Across Dunes of Research

Mr. Sandman: Alum Dan Goldman Snakes Across Dunes of Research

Dan Goldman (Ph.D. Physics '02), a physicist at Georgia Tech, is exploring how animals move on tricky surfaces like sand, bark, leaves and grass. The New York Times produced two videos on his research, which revealed how sidewinder snakes climb up sand dunes and how the sandfish lizard "swims" through sand. Tomorrow, he's delivering a talk to undergraduates at UT Austin titled "Robophysics: Physics Meets Robotics." We recently chatted about his work.

Can Kilic Tackles Dark Matter, Particle Physics

Can Kilic Tackles Dark Matter, Particle Physics

​Dr. Can Kilic, an assistant professor and researcher in the Department of Physics at The University of Texas at Austin, specializes in theoretical particle physics, the Standard Model, and dark matter models. Dr. Kilic sat with the UT Physics newswriting team to discuss his research, his teaching, and his hopes for the future of science.

UT Austin Physicist Wins Presidential Early Career Award

UT Austin Physicist Wins Presidential Early Career Award

The University of Texas at Austin's Keji Lai has been selected to receive a Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the United States government's highest honor for scientists and engineers in the early stages of research.

Physics Alum a Lead on Gravitational Waves Discovery

Physics Alum a Lead on Gravitational Waves Discovery

People all over the world tuned in this morning when David Reitze, a 1990 graduate of the Department of Physics at UT Austin, described what happened back in September.

Elaine Li Pushes Boundaries of Photonics and Electronics

Elaine Li Pushes Boundaries of Photonics and Electronics

​Much of what Dr. Xiaoqin "Elaine" Li researches is completely invisible to the human eye. She works with materials that are merely a few atoms thick and observes processes that occur within a trillionth of a second.

Pyramid Probe (Audio)

Pyramid Probe (Audio)

What would you do if you had Superman's x-ray vision? In today's episode of the Point of Discovery Podcast, we talk to a physicist about how he's using his superhuman powers to explore the insides of ancient Mayan pyramids without digging.

The Highly Cited Allan MacDonald

The Highly Cited Allan MacDonald

Allan H. MacDonald, a professor in the Department of Physics, was one of eight UT Austin faculty chosen for Thomson Reuters' 2015 Highly Cited Researchers list.

Testing General Relativity

Testing General Relativity

This is the third of a three-part series on general relativity.

The Theory of General Relativity—Einstein's century-old description of gravity—presented physicists with some pretty bizarre predictions. To test them, scientists from the University of Texas at Austin have traveled to the Sahara Desert to observe a rare eclipse, launched into Earth orbit the densest known object orbiting anywhere in the Solar System, and used computers to model ripples in space and time unleashed by the mergers of black holes.

A team from the University of Texas at Austin constructed a temporary telescope house from plywood and styrofoam in the Sahara Desert to observe the bending of starlight by the sun during a total solar eclipse in June 1973. Photo: Richard Matzner.
Can General Relativity, at 100, Withstand Some Holes?

Can General Relativity, at 100, Withstand Some Holes?

This is the first of a three-part series on general relativity. 

In November 1915, Albert Einstein stood before his colleagues in the Prussian Academy of Sciences and unveiled a set of equations that would forever change the way we see the universe. The Theory of General Relativity, Einstein's description of gravity, explained the motions of everything we see in the universe.

UT Austin Physicist Wins Award at Breakthrough Prize Ceremony

UT Austin Physicist Wins Award at Breakthrough Prize Ceremony

Raphael Flauger, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics, has won a prestigious award for early career achievement for his outstanding contributions to theoretical cosmology. At last night's Breakthrough Prize Awards Ceremony, sometimes called "The Oscars of Science," Flauger received the New Horizons in Physics Prize as a young scientist who has already produced important work in fundamental physics.

Researchers Win $2 Million Grant to Develop Atomically Thin Semiconductors

Researchers Win $2 Million Grant to Develop Atomically Thin Semiconductors

A research team led by Xiaoqin Elaine Li, an associate professor in the Department of Physics at The University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded a grant of $2 million over the next four years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to research and develop thin, flexible semiconductors that might eventually lead to bendable computer screens and wearable electronics.