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Assistant Professor of Physics Viva Horowitz was working as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard when she began to take a more serious interest in the dynamics of a cell’s cytoplasm. “In physics, we have equations that allow us to model things and predict how things will move,” Horowitz said. “And it turns out that the cytoplasm completely breaks those rules — there’s motors pushing things around.”

A typical student research project might build on information found in various online or print resources. Hongyu Zhang ’24 is working with data from a slightly more extraterrestrial source: NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope.

Andrew Projansky ’21 will enter a physics Ph.D. program at Dartmouth College this fall. Here he talks about his interest in the subject and what led him on his path.

“There’s a lot of really cool things that you can study with physics, but I feel that if we don’t solve our energy crisis within my lifetime, none of that’s really going to matter. ... I want to help with that matter, help with that push, by either working on renewable energy or carbon capture that can really make in impact before it’s too late,” said Catherine Ryczek ’21, who will soon join the physics doctoral program at the California Institute of Technology.

While COVID-19 may have changed the way we work, socialize, and learn, problem solvers like Patricia Shiebler ’21 have tapped their creativity to make the most out of the challenging “new normal” created by the pandemic.

Once he starts naming students whom he feels especially good about mentoring over the years, he has a hard time stopping. “I guess I’ve been very blessed with really good students,” says Gordon Jones, Hamilton’s Stone Professor of Natural History and Professor of Physics.

Lindsay Gearty ’21 knew for most of her adult life that she wanted to maintain her passion for mathematics. And so she has. A physics and mathematics double major, she’s spent the last four years involving herself in math-based courses and extracurriculars and now “can’t wait to start” her actuarial career with The Hartford.

Gordon Jones, the Stone Professor of Natural History and Professor of Physics, was recently announced as the winner of the American Physical Society’s 2021 Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution.

The Physics Department is taking learning out of the lab and into the field. Physics 100/200 and Physics 190 classes have been experimenting with launching pressure rockets behind the campus athletic fields. Faculty members Kristen Burson, Viva Horowitz, and Seth Major, and Director of Laboratories/Head Technician Adam Lark are making the most of this outdoor lab to teach the concepts of pressure and distance.

Assistant Professor of Physics Kate Brown sat down with Rebekah Fowler '21 to talk about her favorite course to teach, why she chose Hamilton, and how to succeed in her classes.