Articles from December 2025
Faculty and Staff: Submit grant awards, honors, research publications, accepted talks, and other news items through the faculty and staff news form.
DOE Awards Wetzel, Onel $1.3 million grant for particle physics instrumentation project
Thursday, December 18, 2025
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.
Silva receives ISGC grant to study ages of subgiant stars
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
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.
Daneshmand receives ISGC graduate fellowship to study chorus waves in pulsating aurora
Monday, December 15, 2025
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.
UI researchers work to improve performance of quantum sensors inside living cells
Thursday, December 11, 2025
University of Iowa researchers Denis Candido and Michael Flatté, along with researchers from the University of Chicago, have developed a framework that could yield more accurate readings of the inner workings of cells via quantum sensors.
Payne receives ISGC graduate fellowship
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Jacob Payne, a graduate research assistant in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has received an Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) Graduate Fellowship.
UI study could lead to faster, more secure quantum tech
Monday, December 8, 2025
University of Iowa researchers Ravi Uppu and Matthew Nelson have discovered a method to “purify” photons, an advance that could make optical quantum technologies more efficient and more secure.
Hostert Discusses New Neutrino Experiments
Friday, December 5, 2025
Assistant Professor Matheus Hostert was interviewed by The New York Times about experiments about neutrinos.
Four Graduate Students Receive Universities Research Association (URA) Visiting Scholar Awards
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Congratulations to the following graduate students who were recently awarded Visiting Scholar awards: Dylan Blend, Ohannes Kamer Koseyan, Zane Ozzello, and Blake Senseman.