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Department of Physics and Astronomy

The Department of Physics and Astronomy has a rich and long history dating back to the latter part of the 19th century. Our faculty and students are exploring nature at all length scales, from the subatomic (quarks and gluons) to the macroscopic (black holes and dark energy), and everything in between (atomic and biological systems).

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Paul Corkum: Attosecond Science

Hubert James Lecture Series featuring Paul Corkum — Come hear Paul Corkum, University of Ottawa & National Research Council Canada, speak about attosecond science! Thursday, March 28, 3:30 p.m. in PHYS 112. The Hubert M. James Lecture Series brings distinguished physicists to Purdue University to highlight fundamental aspects of physics for a broad university audience. The Department of Physics and Astronomy established the Hubert James Lecture in 1990 thanks to the generosity of the James family and in recognition of Prof. James’s outstanding service to Purdue University from 1936 to 1974.

Jupiter’s icy moon may be the next place humans find life, but first, they need to understand the structure of the moon

PURDUE NEWS — Sometimes planetary physics is like being in a snowball fight. Most people, if handed an already-formed snowball, can use their experience and the feel of the ball to guess what kind of snow it is comprised of: packable and fluffy, or wet and icy. Using nearly the same principles, planetary scientists have been able to study the structure of Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon. A team of planetary science experts including Brandon Johnson, an associate professor, and Shigeru Wakita, a research scientist, in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences in Purdue University’s College of Science, announced in a new paper published in Science Advances that Europa’s ice shell is at least 20 kilometers thick.

Why Magnets are Quantum Materials

THE QUANTUM AGE — Did you know that a magnet is a quantum material? Permanent magnets are arguably the first quantum material that we harnessed for technological purposes. Watch along with Dr. Erica Carlson, of Purdue PhysAstro, to find out where magnets came from and the quantum properties that make them work.

Purdue researchers see possible link with dog, human cancer treatments

PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE — In the first experiment of its kind, Purdue University researchers, including David Nolte of Purdue Physics and Astronomy, treated canines diagnosed with cancer using chemotherapy to see if their response could lead to future treatment for human cancer patients. Chemoresistance, a patient's adverse reaction to chemotherapy, can lessen remission and survival time.

What are the Webb and Hubble telescopes looking at right now? Find out with these new NASA tools

BBC — The images released by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope have profoundly changed our perception of the Universe, but do you ever wonder when those images were captured, or what Webb and Hubble are looking at right now? A view of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Tea Temim (Princeton University), Ilse De Looze (UGent). Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

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Department of Physics and Astronomy, 525 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2036 • Phone: (765) 494-3000 • Fax: (765) 494-0706

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