News

Faculty and Staff: Submit grant awards, honors, research publications, accepted talks, and other news items through the Physics and Astronomy Faculty and Staff News Form.

NSF Awards Folland and Prineas Grant to Develop Optical Infrared Detector

Friday, July 28, 2023
The National Science Foundation has awarded Assistant Professor Tom Folland and Professor John Prineas a $411,378 grant to develop long wavelength infrared detectors that can measure atmospheric chemicals using optical antennas.
Team ALEX presenting poster

Students Present Posters at Summer Undergraduate Research Conference

Thursday, July 27, 2023
Physics student Owen Fiedorowicz and students in the Edge of Space Academy presented their research at the Summer Undergraduate Research Conference on July 26 at the Iowa Memorial Union. Sponsored by the University of Iowa Graduate College, this conference brought together undergraduate students who have been conducting summer research projects in UI departments and programs across the University's colleges.
Physics students who defended thesis at University of Iowa in July

Three Graduate Students Successfully Defend Theses

Monday, July 24, 2023
Congratulations to three graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy who successfully defended their doctoral theses in July!
Zone Plate prototype

DeRoo Group To Collaborate on X-Ray Telescope Optics Project

Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Assistant Professor Casey DeRoo and his research group will collaborate with researchers at Pennsylvania State University on a NASA grant entitled “Large-Format X-ray Zone Plates: Enabling Flight-like Calibrations for Future Missions.”
supermoon

DeRoo Comments on Super Moons

When the full moon rises over Iowa next Monday night, it’ll be the first of what may end up being three “supermoons” in each of the next three months. University of Iowa astronomy professor Casey DeRoo says supermoon isn’t a scientific term, as it comes more from astrology, but whatever the origin, it’ll be a sight to see. “It looks like we’re going to have at least two pretty dramatic supermoons, one in July, one in August,” DeRoo says, “and then depending on how you want to classify it, perhaps one in September as well.”

Reno Comments on Astronomy Project Delays at Antarctic Facilities

Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Professor and Department Chair Mary Hall Reno was quoted in a news article in the June 23, 2023 edition of Science about the NSF's plans to delay new astroparticle/astronomy projects in Antarctica to focus on infrastructure improvements at polar facilities. 
Kenton Greene

Greene’s Paper on Fluxgate Magnetometers Published

Tuesday, June 27, 2023
A leading space physics journal recently published a paper written by Graduate Research Assistant Kenton Greene, who devised a low-cost method to understand how temperature changes experienced in space affect fluxgate magnetometer measurements.

DeRoo Receives Two Grants from NASA

NASA has awarded two grants to Assistant Professor Casey DeRoo for his work developing technologies for X-ray astronomy.

Folland Receives Funding to Develop Quantum Sensor

Thursday, June 22, 2023
Assistant Professor Thomas Folland has received a $235,000 grant from the University of Iowa Office of the Vice President for Research Interdisciplinary Scholars program to develop a quantum sensor to detect polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and hydrogen molecules.
Folland visit to Canada center

Folland Receives Travel Grant from International Programs

Monday, June 12, 2023
University of Iowa International Programs awarded Assistant Professor Tom Folland a $1200 travel grant to visit Professor Nabil Bassim at the Canadian Center for Electron Microscopy.