Following the success of the TRACERS spacecraft launch, the Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty members are anticipating the development of the innovative Iowa Spaceflight Laboratory.

Associate Professor Allison Jaynes has received the Harriet Wenger Crafton Research funding award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) to support the Edge of Space Program during Summer 2027.

NASA's Exceptional Public Achievement Medals were awarded to Jeremy Faden and William Kurth at an awards ceremony at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on January 22.

A recent APS News feature highlights the University of Iowa’s foundational role in discovering the Van Allen radiation belts. In 1958, James Van Allen and graduate student George Ludwig analyzed puzzling radiation data from Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, ultimately identifying bands of energetic particles trapped by Earth’s magnetic field. Their work not only marked a milestone in the early Space Age but also established the University of Iowa as a leader in space physics research.

Jacqueline McShan, a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has received an Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) Graduate Fellowship for a research project entitled “Calibrating RR Lyrae Stellar Parameters." McShan is working with Assistant Professor David Nataf on the project. The main goal of this endeavor is to find the zero-point anchor for metal-poor RR Lyrae by correlating their observed metallicities from spectral data with their predicted metallicities from their photometric light curves.

The University of Iowa has won nearly $1.5 million to expand its materials science center and to explore new ways to leverage materials for quantum technologies. The award from the U.S. Department of Defense will unite researchers in chemistry, engineering, and physics to investigate which materials can be combined to build light- or electronic-based quantum systems. Ravitej Uppu, John Prineas, and Thomas Folland are co-principal investigators on the award.

Several Department of Physics and Astronomy students were candidates for degrees at the University of Iowa Fall Commencement ceremonies on December 19 and 21.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a $1.3 million grant to James Wetzel—University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy alumnus and Coe College Adjunct Assistant Research Professor— for the development of novel calorimeter prototypes using never-before-tested materials. UI Professor Yasar Onel is receiving a $325,000 subaward to support the University of Iowa’s contribution to this research.

John Silva, a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has received an Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) Graduate Fellowship for a project that will measure precise and accurate ages for millions of nearby subgiant stars, enabling a robust reconstruction of the Milky Way’s star formation and chemical evolution.

Lillian Daneshmand, a graduate research assistant in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has received an Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) Graduate Fellowship for a project that will study chorus wave modulation during pulsating aurora events.