CWRU Physics

At this week's Physics Colloquium, we will hear from Professor Hong Liu from the Department of Physics at MIT! His talk is titled "Entanglement, Von Neumann Algebras, & The Emergence of Spacetime." Thursday, Oct. 29th | 4:15–5:15 p.m. | Rockefeller 301. Free and open to all!

Tomorrow, we will have our Particle Astrophysics Seminar featuring Scott Collier from Syracuse University! He will be discussing 3D quantum gravity and Virasoro Topological Quantum Field Theory. The seminar is free and open to all! Join us in Rockefeller 221 from 11:30 AM–12:30 PM. #CWRU

Interested in a career in academia, especially physics? Join CWRU Physics Professor Johanna Nagy and Professors Mathur and Wirth for insights into grad school, postdocs, and academic careers! Oct. 27, 5–6 PM | Sears think[box], 1st-floor auditorium

Congratulations to Dr. Cesiley King on successfully defending her dissertation! A former graduate student of Prof. Johanna Nagy, she is now heading to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a postdoc, where she’ll work with collaborators of Profs. Nagy and Ruhl!

CWRU alumnus Nathan Kundtz went from testing “invisibility cloaks” to developing AI optical chips at Neurophos. He spoke with the Veale Institute about his career and advice: https://case.edu/news/cwru-entrepreneur-studied-invisibility-cloaks-now-hes-working-cut-ais-energy-use #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

Join us this Wednesday after fall break for our Biophysics Colloquium, featuring Virginia Tech’s Professor Nadir Kaplan! His talk is titled "Beyond Biomimicry: Autonomous Soft Matter via Biophysical Feedback Cycles.” 10/21 | 4:30–5:45 PM | Rockefeller 301 Free and open to all! #CWRU

This Thursday, hear from Professor Marc Kamionkowski of Johns Hopkins University's Department of Physics and Astronomy! He will give a talk titled “Fun with Spherical Self-Gravitating Systems.” Free and open to all in Rockefeller 301, October 15th from 4:15pm-5:15pm. #CWRU

This Monday, join us for our Center for Quantum Science Seminar! We will hear from Prof. Ganpathy Murthy of the University of Kentucky, presenting: "Quantum Hall Ferromagnetism in a Cavity". Join us in Rockefeller 221 from 12:45–1:45 PM, Zoom option available. #CWRU #UofKentucky

Bob and Janet Brown recently traveled to Akron to cheer on members of PEARL, the Sri Lankan Graduate Student Association, at a cricket match! Many PEARL members are CWRU Physics students and researchers. Thanks for the warm welcome and cricket crash course! #CWRU

This week’s Physics Colloquium features Natalie Briggs from CWRU Chemistry presenting “Reimagining the Atomic-Scale Materials Landscape.” Thursday, October 8th, from 4:15–5:15 p.m. in Rockefeller 301 Free and open to all! https://ow.ly/txe350ZUIfU #CWRUPhysics #CWRUChemistry

Join us this Tuesday, October 6, for our next Particle Astrophysics Seminar feature graduate student Samantha Saha. She will be presenting: “The Many Faces of Nonlinearly Realized Spacetime Symmetries in EFTs” Tuesday, October 6 | 11:30 –12:30 p.m. | Rockefeller 221 #CWRU

CWRU Prof. Idit Zehavi, together with graduate student Yikun Wang and collaborators Prof. Sergio Contreras, and Dr. Giovanni Arico, have published a new study investigating the effect of baryons on the density profile of dark matter halos. https://ow.ly/4ucP50ZU7lz #CWRU

A new study may offer a new way to learn about potentially habitable exoplanets! CWRU Physics alumna Yvette Cendes coauthored research detecting radio emission linked to an exoplanet’s powerful magnetic field. Read more: https://ow.ly/Rrg450ZTC5Z NY Times article: https://ow.ly/5TQY50ZTC60 #CWRU

This Monday we will hold a Quantum Science Seminar hearing from Dr. Vasili Perebeinos from the University of Buffalo, presenting: "Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Quantum Two Dimensional Materials" 12:45-1:45pm in the Foldy room (Rock 221) #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

CWRU Physics Professor Walter Lambrecht and PhD student Sarker Md. Sadman have a new paper in Journal of Applied Physics, studying the vibrational, piezoelectric & elastic properties of Mg–IV–N₂ semiconductors. Find it here: https://ow.ly/SXSX50ZTaSF #CWRU #CWRUPhysics #CaseWestern

Join us tomorrow, September 29th, for our Particle Astrophysics Seminar with Dr. Lukas Lindwasser on “Holomorphicity Versus Conformal Symmetry in (A)dS_2.” 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, in the Foldy Room, Rockefeller 221. Free and open to all! #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

Welcome Jonathan Harper, a new Assistant Professor in CWRU Physics! A CWRU Physics alum, Harper is a theoretical physicist studying high-energy theory, quantum information, holography, multipartite entanglement, and 3D gravity. https://ow.ly/oG4O50ZRTKB #CWRU #CWRUPhysics #CaseWestern

CWRU Prof. Pavel Fileviez Pérez, CWRU grad student Hridoy Debnath, Jonathan Butterworth, and Mark Brettell explore Higgs signatures of low-scale quark–lepton unification, opening new ways to test the theory at current and future colliders. Read here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.23708 #CWRU

Welcome Claire Zukowski, a new Assistant Professor in CWRU Physics! A theoretical physicist studying quantum gravity, her work explores black holes, cosmology, and holography. We’re excited to have her join our faculty! https://physics.case.edu/8453-2/ Faculty page: https://ow.ly/UJZQ50ZQGrT #CWRU

We’re hearing from Visiting Professor Veronica Dexheimer again this Tuesday for our Particle Astrophysics Seminar! She’ll discuss connections between dense and hot QCD matter, neutron stars and their mergers, and the early Universe. 9/22| 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Rockefeller 221 #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

Bob and Janet Brown joined CWRU medical physics students and CCF faculty at the Fall 2026 Penn-Ohio-WV AAPM Conference in Pittsburgh! Sean Kruzner presented his research and won an award, while CCF professor Susan Kost was honored for her service to the chapter. #CWRU #AAPM

Join us this Thursday for our Physics Colloquium with Prof. Veronica Dexheimer of Kent State University! Her talk, “Using Neutron Stars to Reveal the Secrets of Dense Matter,” begins at 4:15 p.m. in Rockefeller 301. Coffee & cookies at 3:45! #CWRU #CWRUPhysics #KentState

This Tuesday we will hear from Hridoy Debnath for our Particle Astrophysics Seminar! He will be talking about "Low Scale Quark Lepton Unification: From LHC to Mu2e". Everyone is welcome and we hope to see you there. 9/15 | 11:30am - 12:30pm | Foldy Room, Rock 221 #CWRU #CWRUPhysics #PASeminar

Professor Robert (Bob) Brown and collaborators have 3 new papers: “Prototyping CAPGLO,” “Deep Learning-Based Automatic Delineation of Diaphragm Domes,” and “Objects with Three Orthogonal Symmetry Planes: Oblique Driving Forces and Stokes Flow Motion.” Congratulations!

Join us Tuesday for our next Particle Astrophysics Seminar! Graduate student Yikun Wang will discuss how halo clustering depends not only on halo mass, but also on secondary properties, a phenomenon known as halo assembly bias. Sept. 8 | 11:30am–12:30pm | Rockefeller 221 #CWRU #Physics

Professor Mustafa Amin of Rice University joined us for our first Particle Astrophysics Seminar of the year! His talk, “Waving in the Dark,” explored light bosonic dark matter and the wave-dynamical effects it can produce on astrophysical and cosmological scales. #CWRU #Physics #RiceUniversity

CWRU Dean and Professor of Physics David Gerdes was featured in CNET reflecting on 20 years since Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet and how new discoveries continue to shape the way astronomers classify our solar system. https://ow.ly/FSpr50ZH3Kb #CWRUPhysics #Pluto #CWRU

Professor of Physics Robert Brown was recently interviewed by https://ow.ly/HZiG50ZCwoj, where he corrected a calculation concerning the speed of baseballs dropped from Cleveland’s Terminal Tower. https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2026/08/drop-a-baseball-off-terminal-tower-its-been-done.html

Meet Phoebe, a CWRU Physics undergrad working with Prof Benjamin Monreal on Project 8 to develop methods for measuring neutrino mass. Her research uses machine learning and PyTorch to analyze power spectral density data and identify frequency bands. #CWRU #CWRUPhysics #UndergradResearch

Last week, the Starkman Lab took a trip to Niagara Falls and the Gerry Rodeo in Upstate New York. The group had a great time taking a break from their work and enjoying the weekend together! They are now back on campus and continuing their studies of the Universe! #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

To celebrate the 2026 Solar Eclipse, we are highlighting two amazing submissions from the Beauty in Physics Competition! In the first image Jared May captures the 2024 eclipse using composite images, while in the second Jack Cencula uses multiple exposures to create a stunning photo! #CWRU

Professor Stacy McGaugh, chair of the Department of Astronomy was featured in The Daily for his insights on Reflect Orbital’s planned space mirrors, warning they could worsen light pollution, disrupt astronomical research and affect nocturnal wildlife. https://ow.ly/AyG150ZA1QF

Professor of Physics and CWRU College of Arts and Sciences Dean David Gerdes was featured in The Daily after traveling to Spain to witness the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse. Read about his journey: https://case.edu/news/why-one-cwru-astronomer-keeps-chasing-total-solar-eclipses #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

CWRU Professor Pavel Fileviez Pérez and graduate students Hridoy Debnath and Grace Miller explore a connection between the strong CP problem and neutrino masses. Their work finds axion-neutrino interactions could offer a new way to search for axion dark matter.

New research from CWRU introduces Multi-Mapping, a new method for modeling beam systematics in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments. The work features Cesiley L. King, Professors John Ruhl and Johanna Nagy. Read the preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24605 #CWRU

Bob and Janet Brown attended the AAPTHQ conference in Pasadena, where they were recognized for their latest Doc Brown Future Award, reconnected with colleagues including Kathy Harper, and enjoyed another dinner with former students, including Qiaoyi "Joey" Liu. #CWRU

CWRU Physics Professor Glenn Starkman was featured in Science magazine discussing new research suggesting the Universe may be more "stringy" than expected. His perspective highlights how these findings could challenge our understanding of the cosmos. #CWRU

Calling all CWRU Physics undergrads, grad students, and researchers! Share your summer research by submitting a flyer or photos with a brief description to pleaseshare@case.edu. Participants will be featured on our social media and entered to win a Mitchell's gift card! #CWRU

Congratulations to our Joint Graduate Award recipients! 🎉 Ilteris K. Turan and Amirhossein Samandar received the Art Walker Award for Outstanding Service, and Akeshi Aththanayake received the Mary Chilton Noyes Award for Outstanding Research. #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

See another submission from the Beauty in Physics Art Competition! "Perched on the Edge of Perfection" by Aidan Selkirk features a silver circuit created through aerosol jet printing. Ink pooling transforms a perfect square into abstract art, revealing beauty in imperfection.

CWRU alumna Yvette Cendes (BS & MS, '11) recently wrote the Scientific American article "Could Mysterious Black Hole Burps Rewrite Physics?" https://ow.ly/qaCa50ZhZsC She also reflects on her time at CWRU and why she chose physics over astronomy: https://ow.ly/Xwjg50ZhZsE #CWRU #physics

Three’s a crowd! Prof. Lydia Kisley’s lab published 3 papers in June: crowding sensors, microscopy modeling, and greener chemical separations. Read more: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c03872 https://doi.org/10.1039/D6AN00199H https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6c02093 #CWRU #CWRUPhysics

Check out CWRU student Jack Cencula's Beauty in Physics submissions! Specializing in astrophotography, Jack reveals hidden wonders of the night sky through Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Polaris and the Integrated Flux Nebula, and The Cygnus Loop and Faint Hydrogen Clouds. Great submissions Jack! #CWRU

Distinguished CWRU Professor Robert Brown was inducted last week as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), one of the highest professional honors recognizing academic inventors and innovators. Congratulations Professor Brown! #CWRU #CWRUPhysics #NationalAcademyofInventors #NAI

Congratulations to CWRU physics major Chloe Meyer on being named a 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholar! Chloe conducts biophysics research in the Chakrapani Lab at CWRU and was recognized for her outstanding research achievements. Read more about her here: case.edu/news #CWRU #CWRUphysics

CWRU Physics graduate student Akeshi Aththanayake has been selected as a 2026–27 APS Student Ambassador. She was also awarded by the Department of Physics for Outstanding Research Award and placed 3rd our Beauty in Physics competition. Congratulations Akeshi! #CWRU #Physics

Scientific American recently featured research from CWRU Physics' COMPACT collaboration, led by Professor Glenn Starkman, exploring alternative cosmic topologies and challenging the assumption that our universe is flat and infinite. Read more: https://ow.ly/S1q150Z5TbV #CWRU #CWRUPhysics #COMPACT

Last Thursday, the Department of Physics held a ceremony celebrating our graduating undergraduate seniors. This moment is both meaningful and bittersweet for our department. We are incredibly proud of all they have accomplished and excited to see what they achieve in the future! #CWRU