The Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) is pleased to announce that its 2017 Laboratory Astrophysics Prize, given to an individual who has made significant contributions to laboratory astrophysics over an extended period of time, goes to James E. (Jim) Lawler (University of Wisconsin, Madison) for his contributions in atomic physics to advance our understanding of galactic nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution. His spectroscopic work has opened a new era of stellar chemistry by advancing our ability to compare nucleosynthesis predictions with accurate relative elemental abundances.

Photo Credit: Jeff Miller

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The UW–Madison Department of Physics hosted a meeting of the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) this past weekend (Jan 13-15, 2017) at Chamberlin Hall, UW–Madison. This event was one of ten 2017 CUWiP conferences held simultaneously around the US and in Canada.

Over 140 undergraduate students from the Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa), including students from many of the UW branch campuses, participated. The meeting included presentations from prominent women in physics, opportunities for networking, career advice and support, and a student poster session.

The CUWiP meetings are cosponsored nationally by the American Physical Society, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. The UW–Madison conference involved other collaborators and supporters, including the Department of Physics, WIPAC, the Graduate School, the College of Letters and Science, the Office of the Provost, and the Brittingham Family Foundation.

The lead organizers were Susan Coppersmith, Robert E. Fassnacht and Vilas Research Professor of Physics; Lisa Everett, Professor of Physics; Laura Fleming, Associate Instrumentation Specialist, Department of Physics; and Pupa Gilbert, Professor of Physics, Chemistry, and Geoscience. The local organizing team also included Dr. Silvia Bravo Gallart, Education and Outreach Specialist at WIPAC; Ms. Megan Madsen, Education and Outreach Coordinator at WIPAC; and Dr. Susan Nossal, Associate Scientist, Department of Physics and Director of the Physics Learning Center, as well as UW-Madison students and staff, including many graduate students in Physics, Medical Physics, Biophysics, Engineering, and Astronomy.

It was a fantastic event that inspired all in attendance.

For more info, please visit the conference website: https://cuwip.physics.wisc.edu.

Writing online Thursday, Dec. 15, in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, a team led by University of Wisconsin–Madison physics Professor Pupa Gilbert describes studies of the physical attributes of nacre in modern and fossil shells showing that the biomineral provides an accurate record of temperature as the material is formed, layer upon layer, in a mollusk.

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Research projects statewide, from electronics to optics and medicine, are set to benefit from a new system coming to UW–Madison that will use electron beam lithography (EBL), a specialized technique for creating extremely fine patterns — in some cases more than 5,000 times narrower than the diameter of a human hair.

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Assistant Professor Kim Palladino joined the department last year to bolster Wisconsin LZ experiment involvement last year. Prof. Palladino secured the support of the US DOE promptly last year, while she was on research leave at SLAC to lead the construction and commissioning of the LZ test system at SLAC laboratory, with graduate student Shaun Alsum. PSL engineer Jeff Cherwinka serves as the chief engineer of the LZ experiment. Professors Carlsmith and Dasu also participate in this unprecedented search for direct interactions of weakly interacting massive particles with Xenon atoms that make up the LZ.

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Prof. Dan McCammon is being awarded a 2016 NASA Exceptional Public Service Achievement Medal in recognition for pioneering work in the study of the celestial diffuse x-ray background and the development of low temperature x-ray spectrometers that have enabled numerous NASA projects.

This award was presented to Dan at the Agency Honor Awards Ceremony, September 14, at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Ellen Gould Zweibel has won the American Physical Society’s 2016 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics.

The prize citation recognizes Zweibel for “seminal research on the energetics, stability and dynamics of astrophysical plasmas, including those related to stars and galaxies, and for leadership in linking plasma and other astrophysical phenomena.”

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Walt Wigglesworth, former student/staff shop supervisor (02/20/1995-01/22/2002), and for whom our stockroom is named “Walt Mart,” has passed away.

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Members of the Department of Physics Board of Visitors Robert Leach, Gregory Piefer, Thomas Dillinger, Lloyd Hackel, and Craig Heberer (left to right) on an imagined trip in the frame of the Badgerloop pod prototype under construction in Chamberlin Hall, 6 May 2016.