BU Physics is 17th in latest US News & World Reports
The Boston University Physics Department has continued to solidify its standing as measured by various rankings, most recently by the US News and World Reports ranking of Global Universities. We rank 30th in the world, 17th in the US, and 10th among private universities, behind only Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Caltech, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Yale and […]
Plamen Ivanov wins $1 Million Keck Foundation award to develop new field of Network Physiology
Plamen Ch. Ivanov, a research professor in the Boston University Physics Department, has been awarded a $1 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to develop a theoretical framework and establish quantitatively how organ systems coordinate their functions and integrate as a network. Ivanov is leading a team of research scientists, including Ronny Bartsch, […]
Neutrino Nobel has BU connections
Congratulations to Prof. Takaaki Kajita from the University of Tokyo and Art McDonald from Queens University for the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of neutrino oscillations. Several professors, postdocs, and graduate students from the Boston University Neutrino Group shared in the work on the Super-Kamiokande experiment that earned Kajita the prize. Pictured below […]
Manher Jariwala receives 2015 Neu Family Award for Excellence in Teaching
Lecturer Manher Jariwala is the recipient of the 2015 Neu Family Award for Excellence in Teaching. The prize is awarded annually to faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences who exemplify deep and broad commitment, skill, effectiveness, impact, and leadership in teaching. In addition to being an outstanding classroom teacher in our introductory physics […]
Erich Burton honored with 2015 Perkins Award
Lab Manager Erich Burton has been named one of three winners of the 2015 John S. Perkins Award for Distinguished Service. The award is presented by the Faculty Council to BU staff members who serve the university with great distinction. Erich has been with the Physics Department for nearly 25 years, and is responsible for […]
David Campbell named Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar
Professor David Campbell has been selected as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar for the 2015-2016 academic year. From the Phi Beta Kappa website:”Since 1956, the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America’s most distinguished scholars. The purpose of the program is to […]
Local students get a lesson in high energy physics
Nearly 100 local high school juniors and seniors descended on the Physics Department in March for Connections@BU, a 4-day event that immersed students in the mysteries and origins of the universe. Students received a primer in particle physics and were introduced to the cutting-edge experiments being performed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. […]
Clint Richardson awarded 2014 CMS Fundamental Physics Scholarship
Graduate student Clint Richardson has been chosen as a 2014 CMS Fundamental Physics Scholar. The scholarship is awarded annually to an outstanding young CMS researcher and provides research support opportunities as well as financial support to facilitate a one-year residency at CERN. Fundamental Physics Scholars are chosen from a global pool of applicants based on their […]
Pankaj Mehta uses statistical physics to study machine learning
How do computers learn to identify images or speech? Recent work by Assistant Professor Pankaj Mehta and collaborator David Schwab (Northwestern University) suggests that the answer lies in a statistical technique known as “renormalization”. Their work shows that this technique, which allows physicists to extract relevant features from a particular system, is the same process used […]
Schmaltz theorizes on New England Patriot’s Deflate-gate
Boston University theoretical particle physicist Martin Schmaltz provides a theory of inflation, not the one that took place in the early universe, but one that may have taken place to send the New England Patriots to the Superbowl. Read his interview with boston.com on the physics of deflate-gate.