People

Nihar Sahoo, Ph.D
Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Scholar
Rhyan Sawyer, PhD
Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Scholar

Ianos Schmidt
Title/Position
Senior Engineering Associate

Jack Scudder, PhD
Title/Position
Professor Emeritus
Jack D. Scudder is a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa. His research interests include space plasma physics.

Sercan Sen
Title/Position
Research Scientist
Engineer

Blake Senseman
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant

Han-Wen Shen, PhD
Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Han-Wen is interested in conducting space physics research with satellite and ground-based observations. His current research focuses on exploring the plasma dynamics around the Lunar environment.

John Silva
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant

Frederick N. Skiff, PhD
Title/Position
Professor
Frederick N. Skiff is a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa. His research interests include laser spectroscopy and plasma physics.
Steven Spangler, PhD
Title/Position
Professor Emeritus
Steven R. Spangler's research interests include radio astronomy, plasma astrophysics, galactic interstellar medium, solar corona and solar wind, and basic plasma physics.

Kevin Steele
Title/Position
Application Programmer
Analyst

Kory Stiffler, PhD
Title/Position
Associate Professor of Instruction
Kory Stiffler is a theoretical physicist with research interests in supersymmetry, black hole physics, cosmology, and string theory.

Dale Stille
Title/Position
Instructional Services Specialist
Outreach Coordinator
Dale has been with the University and the Department of Physics and Astronomy as the Instructional Resource Specialist for 35 years.

John Sunderland, PhD
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Director, PET Imaging Center
John J. Sunderland is Professor of Radiology in the Division of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Iowa, and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Dustin Swarm, PhD
Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Dustin Swarm is interested in high energy astrophysics and the application of machine learning in astronomy. He is currently working with Prof. Casey DeRoo studying X-ray sources in the Galactic center found using an outlier detection algorithm.

Andi Swirbul
Title/Position
Instructional Services Specialist
Van Allen Observatory Coordinator
Outreach Coordinator
Learn more about Andi Swirbul, Instructional Services Specialist, Van Allen Observatory Coordinator, and Outreach Coordinator in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Iowa.

Chhatra Tamang Lama
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant

Jared Termini
Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Jared Termini is interested in astronomical instrumentation and detector design. He is currently working with Professor Keri Hoadley on the Faint Intergalactic Medium Redshifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall) mission.

Ashok Tiwari
Title/Position
Former Graduate Research Assistant
Ashok Tiwari focused his research on medical physics applications. His research concentrated on dosimetry post radiopharmaceutical therapy and quantitative imaging in nuclear medicine.

Toby Tompkins
Title/Position
Engineering Coordinator
Learn more about Toby Tompkins, Engineering Coordinator in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Iowa.

Fatima Toor, PhD
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Fatima Toor is an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Iowa and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Ravitej Uppu, PhD
Title/Position
Colloquium Coordinator
Assistant Professor
Ravi’s research investigates solid-state emitters coupled to a nanophotonic environment for realizing photonic qubits and spin-photon interfaces.

Maryam Vaghefi Esfidani
Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Maryam is interested in condensed matter and her area is understanding the optical properties of polar materials and semiconductor using a combination of experimental methods and numerical model.

Niels Van Venrooij
Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant

Keith Vidal, PhD
Title/Position
Visiting Assistant Professor
Keith Vidal is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa.

Biao Wang, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Scholar

Jun Wang, PhD
Title/Position
Professor
Wang has joint appointments in the University of Iowa Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and the Iowa Informatics Initiative, and secondary affiliation with the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Studies, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Center for Computer-Aided Design.

Antonio Washington
Title/Position
Aerospace Project Engineer
Antonio is a Computer Engineer with a focus on Firmware (FPGA) for spaceflight hardware. He supports multiple efforts within the department where there is a need for "software" control to a spaceflight instrument, such as on TRACERS, MAGIC, PLASMIC, CHIMERA and ACES-II.

Yuanzheng Wen
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant

James Wetzel, PhD
Title/Position
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Wetzel received his PhD from the University of Iowa in 2014, where he develops R&D programs for Professor Yasar Onel.
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