Research, mostly experimental research, requires equipment. The NSERC Research Tool and Instruments program is a key program for providing the necessary funding. The competition for these awards is fierce and the national success rate is roughly 30%. This year, the University of Waterloo had a success rate of 42%, and the success rate in the Physics and Astronomy department was a whopping 75%.
Roger Melko and Anton Burkov are part of an interdisciplinary team of Waterloo scientists who have shown theoretically and precisely how a one-dimensional chain of water molecules can display a quantum phase transition- that is, a phase transition driven by quantum fluctuations, at, or near, absolute zero temperature and distinct from conventional temperature driven phase transition, such as the melting of ice into liquid water. This observation may prove key development for future water-based quantum devices.
More information can be found below:
>>Read more in the Faculty of Science news.
E. Annelise Bergeron, a Ph.D. student in Physics and Astronomy and her supervisor Prof. Jonathan Baugh, have developed a method for growing crystalline structures using the semiconductor indium antimonide.
For more details follow the link:
>> Creating the building blocks for designer quantum devices.
On July 1, the Euclid space telescope was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a SpaceX Falcon 9. The satellite is headed for the Sun-Earth Lagrange point #2, called L2, which is 1.5 million km from Earth. Lagrange points are positions in space where objects located there tend to stay put. At Lagrange points, the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move along with them.
Physics and Astronomy department member Will Percival is a primary science coordinator for the Euclid space mission.
>>Read more about what Will and others hope they will learn from the new instrument.
Waterloo is a leader in Canada’s quantum ecosphere. Two scientists from the Physics and Astronomy department have been awarded NSERC Quantum Alliance grants. The Alliance Quantum grants are aimed to enhance Canada's research capabilities in quantum science and technology through partnerships between universities, researchers, and organizations from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.
Read about the exciting work funded through these grants by following the link below.
>> Waterloo scientists awarded millions to support Canada’s National Quantum Strategy.
In something that sounds straight out of a science fiction novel, Physics and Astronomy research Raymond Laflamme is part of a team using entanglement between particles to extract energy from a vacuum state.
>> Learn more from Faculty of Science News - Researchers bring theory to reality with a new experiment.
The annual QS world rankings are in, and the University of Waterloo Physics and Astronomy department has ranked at 85th worldwide. This is the 5th year in a row that UW physics and Astronomy has been in the top 100.
>> Read more about it from the daily bulletin.
Teaching is a huge component of University life. This is true not only of faculty, but of graduate students as well. Master’s student Justin Schrier has been recognized as being one of 4 winners of the Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching By a Student (AETS) .
>> Read more about it from the daily bulletin.
One of the things Waterloo is famous for is its coop program. The 2022 science coop student of the year recognition was awarded to Isaac Cheng.
>> Meet Isaac Cheng, 2022 Co-op Student of the Year Award - Science.
Schulich Leader Scholarships are one of Canada’s most prestigious undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) scholarships. One of this year's recipients, Brandon De Lazzari, is joining the Physics and Astronomy department.
