News
Quantum Open House 2026
The quantum universe is closer than you think! From the cellphones in our pockets to the technologies shaping the future, quantum physics is part of everyday life. Ideas like superposition (particles existing in many states at once), entanglement (mysterious connections across distance), and quantum tunneling (particles slipping through barriers) aren’t just abstract concepts—they power real-world innovations. On October 26, 2026, faculty, staff, and students took members of the community on a quantum tour to get hands-on experience with quantum science.
Purdue-Built Detector Completes Its Mission at CERN
Purdue University built key parts of the 124-million-pixel detector that has tracked particles at the heart of CERN's Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment since its installation in 2017. Purdue assembled close to 1000 silicon sensor modules in the Physics and Astronomy’s clean room facilities for the forward tracking systems, alongside the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with final assembly at Fermilab. Now, after nearly a decade of service at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), Purdue researchers are helping retire the detector and build its newly designed successor.
Tongcang Li elected 2027 Optica Fellow
Optica has announced their 2027 Fellows class on October 23, 2026. Tongcang Li, of Purdue University, was elected a fellow for pioneering contributions to nanoscale optical quantum sensing using spin defects in two-dimensional materials and levitated optomechanics
Carried by the current: how charm quarks probe quark–gluon plasma
The Purdue high energy nuclear physics group led a groundbreaking study in the CMS experiment at the LHC, investigating how heavy charm quarks probe the extreme dynamics of the quark–gluon plasma. Led by graduate student Soumik Chandra, alongside Prof. Wei Xie (advisor) and Prof. Fuqiang Wang, the team applied an innovative technique called "event-shape engineering" to lead–lead collision data. By analyzing $D^0$ mesons, they demonstrated that even massive charm quarks are strongly driven by the initial geometric expansion of the subatomic "soup," opening an insightful new perspective on how heavy quarks interact with the medium created shortly after the Big Bang.
Purdue physicist Mia Liu helps advance AI-powered chip design through DOE Genesis Mission
Purdue University physicist Mia Liu is helping develop artificial intelligence tools that could revolutionize how scientists design specialized computer chips used in particle physics experiments and quantum technologies.
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