Illinois Physics | The Grainger College of Engineering | UIUC | Physics

Down the Escher staircase and into the quantum realm

Illinois physicists simulate quantum phenomena with a state-of-the-art synthetic lattice.

New study: Earthquake prediction techniques lend quick insight into strength, reliability of materials

Illinois Physics Professor Karin Dahmen led a study showing that materials analyses can be sped up using statistical models already in place to predict earthquakes and avalanches.

To the farthest reaches in 5 years

The Astrophysical Sciences Project Office celebrates 5 years’ success with its programs, including the Center for AstroPhysical Surveys (CAPS).

DeMarco to serve as associate director and CTO for Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park

Inaugural leadership team will oversee IQMP operations on a historic campus on Chicago's South East Side. DeMarco also serves as director of the National Science Foundation Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks and as the director of the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center (IQUIST) housed in The Grainger College of Engineering.

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Research Highlights

Click on a research highlight to vote for your favorite submission to the Research Highlight Science Writing Contest for graduate students.

The ribosome translates Below its capacity to ensure accuracy and speed

Research Highlights
May 30, 2024

Unraveling dense nuclear matter through a three-dimensional equation of state

Research Highlights
May 29, 2024

Speeding through space: different velocities of gravitational wave polarizations

Research Highlights
May 29, 2024

Can collective excitations expand faster than the speed of light?

Research Highlights
May 8, 2024

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Donor support for undergraduate research is funding student participation in cross-disciplinary study of dark matter

Illinois Physics rising junior David Balut, the 2024 A.C. Anderson Undergraduate Research Scholar, has been a member of the Peter Abbamonte research group since November 2022. This summer, his donor-supported research includes collaborating with the Yoni Kahn group on the physics of dark matter, using organic scintillators for anisotropic detection. He will also continue to study strange metals in the Abbamonte lab. In addition to the AC Anderson Award, Balut is a recipient of the T.R. Schlaeder Engineering award, the Robert M. Stephens Engineering award, and has been a James Scholar since Fall 2022.

The A.C. Anderson Undergraduate Research Scholar award is made possible by Illinois Physics donors. The award is named for Ansel C. Anderson, an alumnus (PhD, 1961), faculty member (1962-1992), and department head (1986-1992) who made seminal contributions to low-temperature physics, particularly on the thermal properties of metals and glasses.

Learn more about how to become a donor and support initiatives like undergraduate research opportunities!

Give to the Engineering Visionary Scholarship.

EVS attracts the brightest students, ensures a diverse and talented class, and helps reduce student debt.

“I love cosmology—the study of the large structures of the universe, the Big Bang, and the questions of dark energy and matter. I have a strong interest in developing astronomy instrumentation—telescopes, satellites, and sounding rockets. The Engineering Visionary Scholarship freed me up to pursue these interests while exploring the fundamentals of the universe through physics.”

— Kayleigh Excell, Class of '24, EVS Scholarship recipient

Learn More

Watch Illinois Physics and Astronomy Professor Charles Gammie on The UIUC Talkshow. From the origins of black holes to the nature of time itself, enjoy this captivating odyssey through the cosmos, guided by a brilliant scientific mind.

Watch "The Physics PhD," a parody of the Barbie movie's "I'm just Ken" scene, created by graduate students in the Fahad Mahmood research group with support from the Illinois Physics graduate student community. Earning a PhD in physics is long road that can leave one feeling like they are living in a world of plastic... or maybe a graphene lattice.

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