I am so excited to begin the new academic year.
Among the many privileges that come with serving as department chair, my favourite is welcoming our incoming students from the four corners of the globe who have chosen Waterloo Physics & Astrononomy.
This year we welcome more than 250 new students, postdocs, faculty, and staff members to the department. Students and researchers come to Waterloo to develop the skills needed to solve the most pressing problems in physics, and to apply those skills to creating technological solutions to the worlds most intractable problems. Waterloo physicists are committed to making the world a better place.
The 2018-2019 academic year was full of excitement and unprecedented successs. Highlights include the first image of a supermassive black hole, captured by Professor Avery Broderick and his team, and the unforgettable moment when Professor Donna Strickland was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Following on their successes, I encourage our physics community to reach greater heights in 2019/20.
Once you’ve settled in, I hope you’ll join us on Friday, October 4 for the launch of the newest addition to our department: the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics. Astrophysics is among the many thriving areas of research at the University of Waterloo.
Welcome to Waterloo!
Brian McNamara, Chair
The Physics & Astronomy department encourages an inclusive, tolerant, respectful, and diverse, intellectual environment
The 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was awarded to the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team, of which Dr. Avery Broderick is a member. The citiation reads "For the first image of a supermassive black hole, taken by means of an Earth-sized alliance of telescopes."
The atomic ions here are laser-cooled close to the absolute zero temperature (at a few milliKelvin above the absolute zero temperature of -273.15 deg C or 0 Kelvin).
Pictured left: eight individual Ytterbium ions levitating less than 10 microns apart from each other in a nearly perfect vacuum
By Natalie Quinlan
University Relations
Four exceptionally talented students are making their way to Waterloo with a prestigious scholarship in tow.
Astronomy Seminar Series
Dragan Huterer, University of Michigan
I will give a theory-centered overview of the results from the Dark Energy Survey, an experiment mapping the large-scale structure in order to better understand the cause of the accelerated expansion of the universe. Year-1 DES analyses published in 2017/18 included the combination of galaxy clustering, cosmic shear, and their cross-correlation to impose constraints on key cosmological parameters, while the imminent Year-3 and, later, Year-6 analyses will dramatically improve those constraints.
Come visit the observatory during the November public tour!
Come visit the observatory during the December public tour!
