Several students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy were candidates for degrees at the University of Iowa Spring Commencement Ceremonies on May 9, 10 and 11, 2024.

Professor Jun Wang and Aerospace Principal Engineer Richard Dvorsky were among others recognized at the Faculty & Staff Awards Ceremony held on April 30, 2024, at Hancher Auditorium.

Voyager was operational again after receiving history’s most impressive and long-distance software patch. After falling silent in November, the Voyager spacecraft is operational again after receiving history’s most impressive and long-distance software patch. Bill Kurth, Research Scientist at the University of Iowa who has been a member of the Voyager science team since 1974, said “We were all ecstatic to re-establish two-way communications with Voyager 1.”

Dr. Bill Kurth, a research scientist in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa is delighted NASA engineers were able to reestablish communication with the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which has flown further into space than any human-made object.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy honored several students, faculty, and staff for their achievements on April 23 at the 2024 Awards Colloquium.

Graduate Student Sarah Choate has been awarded $12,000 from the Universities Research Association's (URA) Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) to support work on “Study of the Neutrino Magnetic Moment with the NOvA Near Detector.”

Prof. Wayne Polyzou presented at STEAM Day, April 19, 2024 at Prairie Ridge Elementary School in Cedar Rapids.

Associate Professor David Miles has been selected as a recipient of the Iowa Mid-Career Faculty Scholar Award, which provides funding and development opportunities for outstanding tenured associate professors who have established national or international reputations in their disciplines and are exceptional teachers in and out of the classroom.

Casey DeRoo will receive the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Scholar Award, which recognizes faculty candidates for promotion who excel in both teaching and scholarship or creative work.

Congratulations to four graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy who successfully defended their doctoral theses in March and April!