Events

Events at Physics

<< Summer 2024 Fall 2024 Spring 2025 >>
Subscribe your calendar or receive email announcements of events

Events During the Week of August 25th through September 1st, 2024

Sunday, August 25th, 2024

Academic Calendar
Graduate School Summer 2024: Doctoral degree deadline
Time: 11:55 pm - 12:55 am
Abstract: CONTACT: 262-2433, gsacserv@grad.wisc.edu
Add this event to your calendar

Monday, August 26th, 2024

Academic Calendar
Graduate School Fall 2024: Fall Degree Window Period begins
Abstract: CONTACT: 262-2433, gsacserv@grad.wisc.edu
Add this event to your calendar
Graduate Program Event
Incoming PhD Orientation and Welcome
Time: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Place: 2241 Chamberlin
Speaker: various
Host: Sharon Kahn
Add this event to your calendar
Preliminary Exam
Nonlinear X-ray Optics for Transition Metal Chemistry and Coherent X-ray Spectroscopy
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Place: B343 Sterling Hall;
Speaker: Zain Abhari, Physics PhD Graduate Student
Abstract: My thesis work encompasses two main projects: building and commissioning an XUV femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy tabletop instrument and designing new nonlinear spectroscopy and imaging techniques in the hard X-ray domain utilizing stimulated X-ray emission.

Advancements in tabletop XUV sources driven by high harmonic generation have enabled ultrafast, element-specific measurements outside large-scale X-ray free electron laser facilities. Despite their potential, these sources were previously limited to academic labs specializing in nonlinear optics and ultrafast laser systems. To increase access across other scientific disciplines, we established an XUV femtosecond absorption spectroscopy tabletop (XFAST) instrument at the University of Wisconsin – Madison as a national user facility. My contributions included constructing the vacuum system and configuring the optical pump line. In addition to being the instrumentation consultant for XFAST, I have a focus in designing nonlinear hard X-ray spectroscopy techniques and new X-ray sources.

Furthering our understanding of electron dynamics and obtaining structural information from materials necessitates ultrashort X-ray pulses on femtosecond or attosecond timescales. We pursue two methods to achieve intense, ultrafast X-ray pulses: stimulated emission for femtosecond coherent hard X-ray pulse pairs, and superradiance for hard X-ray attosecond spikes. Recently, we designed and demonstrated a femtosecond X-ray pulse pair spectrometer using stimulated emission, encoding ultrafast dynamics information in CCD image contrast. Superradiance, if observed in the hard X-ray regime, could offer powerful imaging capabilities, although distinguishing it from stimulated emission presents challenges. Our designed experiments aim to confirm superradiance's observation separately from stimulated emission.
Host: Uwe Bergmann
Add this event to your calendar

Tuesday, August 27th, 2024

Outreach
Wisconsin Summer School for Quantum Science
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 am
Place: 2223 Chamberlin
Speaker: König/Perkins/Song/Esterlis/Levchenko/Kuzmin/Vavilov
Abstract: This summer school aims to promote quantum science (quantum materials, quantum information, and quantum sensing) to senior undergraduate students and junior graduate students interested in pursuing a PhD in this research area. The school offers an overview of both experiment and theory and focuses on the synergies between the various subfields.
Host: Ilya Esterlis/ Tiancheng Song/ Elio König
Add this event to your calendar
Thesis Defense
Cosmology and HI Intensity Mapping
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Place: Sterling Hall, Room B343
Speaker: John Podczerwinski, Physics PhD Graduate Student
Abstract: This thesis is focused on the HI intensity mapping technique. I begin by reviewing basic cosmological theory and common observational techniques such as galaxy surveys and CMB studies. I then provide motivation for the use of HI intensity mapping along with a description of how such measurements are performed. I describe my research work, in particular the design of an ultra-wideband antenna and the development of foreground cleaning techniques. For the antenna project, I created an ultra-wideband design that was optimized with intensity mapping systematics in mind. This involved the use of a Vivaldi feed with optimized profile and a deep dish with and an elliptical collar. I also investigated the use of absorbers, which helped mitigate systematics but resulted in significantly lower sensitivity. The final antenna design achieved satisfactory levels of spectral smoothness, impedance matching and sensitivity to the 21cm hydrogen line. In simulations, I found that my design efforts helped reduce coupling between neighboring antenna elements, though not to the level desired. For the foreground cleaning projects, I investigated the use of Karhunen-Loève transforms in both map-space and visibility space. My project was the first to incorporate a KL transform in map space. This work however, did not seem to provide a substantial improvement over other available methods. I then conclude by discussing my opinions of and ideas for the future of HI intensity mapping.
Host: Peter Timbie
Add this event to your calendar
Wisconsin Quantum Institute
Quantum Coffee Hour
Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Place: Rm.5294, Chamberlin Hall
Abstract: Please join us for the WQI Quantum Coffee today at 3PM in the Physics Faculty Lounge (Rm.5294 in Chamberlin Hall). This series, which takes place approximately every other Tuesday, aims to foster a casual and collaborative atmosphere where faculty, post-docs, students, and anyone with an interest in quantum information sciences can come together. There will be coffee and treats.
Add this event to your calendar

Wednesday, August 28th, 2024

Outreach
Wisconsin Summer School for Quantum Science
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 am
Place: 2223 Chamberlin
Speaker: König/Perkins/Song/Esterlis/Levchenko/Kuzmin/Vavilov
Abstract: This summer school aims to promote quantum science (quantum materials, quantum information, and quantum sensing) to senior undergraduate students and junior graduate students interested in pursuing a PhD in this research area. The school offers an overview of both experiment and theory and focuses on the synergies between the various subfields.
Host: Ilya Esterlis/ Tiancheng Song/ Elio König
Add this event to your calendar
Graduate Program Event
All grad lunch/recess
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Place: Bascom Hill (rain location: Birge Hall atrium)
Abstract: All graduate students (MS and PhD, new and continuing) are invited to join for a picnic lunch. Watch for an opportunity to RSVP in the weeks leading up to the event.
Host: Sharon Kahn
Add this event to your calendar
Preliminary Exam
Experimental and Theoretical Progress of the Rubidium Magneto Optical Trap and the trapping arrays for Electro magnetically induced transparency and Super-, Sub-radiance experiments
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Utku Saglam, Physics PhD Graduate Student
Abstract: In this prelim presentation, the speaker will be talking about Nanoscale addressing and manipulation of neutral atoms using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), super-, sub-radiance of atoms and the experimental progress of the rubidium magneto optical trap (MOT) setup for experiments that can be conducted on both of these previous topics.
Host: Deniz Yavuz
Add this event to your calendar

Thursday, August 29th, 2024

Graduate Program Event
Qualifying Exam - Classical Mechanics
Time: 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Place: 2241 Chamberlin
Host: Sharon Kahn
Add this event to your calendar
Outreach
Wisconsin Summer School for Quantum Science
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 am
Place: 2223 Chamberlin
Speaker: König/Perkins/Song/Esterlis/Levchenko/Kuzmin/Vavilov
Abstract: This summer school aims to promote quantum science (quantum materials, quantum information, and quantum sensing) to senior undergraduate students and junior graduate students interested in pursuing a PhD in this research area. The school offers an overview of both experiment and theory and focuses on the synergies between the various subfields.
Host: Ilya Esterlis/ Tiancheng Song/ Elio König
Add this event to your calendar
Graduate Program Event
Qualifying Exam - Statisical Mechanics
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Place: 2241 Chamberlin
Host: Sharon Kahn
Add this event to your calendar

Friday, August 30th, 2024

Graduate Program Event
Qualifying Exam - Electricity and Magnetism
Time: 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Place: 2241 Chamberlin
Host: Sharon Kahn
Add this event to your calendar
Graduate Program Event
Qualifying Exam - Quantum Mechanics
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Place: 2241 Chamberlin
Host: Sharon Kahn
Add this event to your calendar