CU Boulder Physics

Congratulations to CU Boulder’s Margaret Murnane – named an honorary member of Optica! 🎉

🏆 The designation is the most distinguished member category bestowed by Optica.

🤩 Since 1916, only 63 individuals have been named honorary members.

Murnane, a distinguished professor of physics and electrical engineering and fellow of JILA, was recognized for her pioneering advances in ultrafast laser technology and extreme ultraviolet science, as well as sustained mentorship and leadership to the optics community.

Congratulations, Professor Murnane! 👏

Read more: https://www.colorado.edu/physics/2026/06/01/margaret-murnane-named-opticas-newest-honorary-member

Image credit: Boulder Daily Camera

University of Colorado Boulder | CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | CU Boulder Engineering

25+ undergrad presenters. Big ideas. Industry execs. 💫

Recap from our spring physics & quantum research expo 🔬🚀

https://www.colorado.edu/physics/2026/04/27/physics-research-expo-highlights-undergrad-research-industry-connections

CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | University of Colorado Boulder | CU Boulder Engineering

Big congratulations to University of Colorado Boulder alum Hanqing Zhao (PhDPhys’25) 🎉

🏆 Glenn H. Brown Prize from the International Liquid Crystal Society, recognizing his outstanding PhD research in liquid crystals and visible time crystals

Zhao is the third graduate from Professor and RASEI Fellow Ivan Smalyukh’s group to receive the prize, joining Benny Tai and Angel Martinez.

Congratulations, Hanqing! 👏

Read more: https://www.colorado.edu/physics/2026/05/27/hanqing-zhao-phdphys25-awarded-prestigious-glenn-h-brown-prize

Image: Professor Ivan Smalyukh and Hanqing Zhao

CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | CU Boulder Graduate School | Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI)

Join us for a TASI Public Lecture on “The Promise of Quantum Computing,” where we’ll discover what makes a quantum computer quantum, where we stand in realizing this potential, and what challenges remain.

This public lecture will be presented by Christian Bauer (LBNL) and is part of the longstanding Theoretical Advanced Study Institute (TASI), a program that brings leading researchers to Boulder each summer to explore the frontiers of physics.

🗓️ Wednesday, June 3
⏰ 7:30 p.m.
📍 Duane Physics Building, Room G1B30, University of Colorado Boulder

Learn more: https://calendar.colorado.edu/event/tasi-public-lecture-promise-quantum-computing

CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | JILA | CU Boulder Engineering

TASI Public Lecture, "The Promise of Quantum Computing" The Theoretical Advanced Study Institute in Particle Physics (TASI) presents a Public Lecture, “The Promise of Quantum Computing” Presented by: Christian Bauer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Abstract: Quantum computers offer a fundamentally different approach to computation, one that har...

Congratulations to physics graduate student Alex Doner, named the inaugural recipient of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics Frank J. Crary Fellowship! 💫

The award recognizes exceptional graduate students pursuing research in planetary space environments. Doner leads the Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (SDC), he’s developing the Lunar Meteroid Monitor for a future lunar mission, and is involved in the recent Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX). 🚀

Congratulations, Alex!

https://lasp.colorado.edu/2026/05/22/lasp-awards-inaugural-frank-j-crary-fellowship-to-alex-doner/

CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | University of Colorado Boulder | CU Boulder Graduate School

LASP awards inaugural Frank J. Crary Fellowship to Alex Doner The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) has announced Alex Doner as the inaugural 2026 recipient of the Frank J. Crary Endowed Graduate Fellowship, an annual award recognizing exceptional graduate students pursuing research in planet...

Latest proposal from Jun Ye and colleagues including physics graduate students Zoey Hu and Ben Hunt, and postdoctoral associate Dahyeon Lee ⬇️

They rank among the darkest and coldest places in the solar system: thousands of lunar craters, most of them at the moon’s south pole, never receive direct sunlight and lie in permanent shadow. That’s exactly why NIST physicist Jun Ye and his colleagues suggest these craters are the perfect place to build a critical component for an ultra-stable laser.

This laser could lay the foundation for a GPS-like signal for spacecraft to navigate the moon’s surface, highly precise measurements of the distance between satellites, and the first atomic timekeeping signal on another celestial body.

🔗 https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/05/shooting-moon-ultrastable-lasers-dark-craters-could-enable-lunar-navigation

Last week, our physics staff toured the Dust Lab on East Campus and even got a special performance of Ode to Joy from Professor Beale 🚀🎶

Just a few highlights from our annual physics staff retreat. We’re building community, sparking curiosity, and learning together. 💫

🏷️ CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences

Here’s to you, Class of 2026! 🎓✨

Whether you earned a bachelor’s in physics or engineering physics, or a master’s or PhD in physics, your curiosity and perseverance brought you to this moment.

We can’t wait to see how you shape the future… wherever your path takes you next. 💫

P.S. we’ll share a link to all of the physics recognition ceremony photos next week 🖤💛


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Happy National Teacher Appreciation Day! 🌟

Congratulations to Professors Steve Po***ck and Andreas Becker on receiving Outstanding Physics Teacher Awards! They were honored at our Physics Recognition Ceremony on May 2. 🎉

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