People

Kory Stiffler, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor of Instruction
Kory Stiffler is a theoretical physicist with research interests in supersymmetry, black hole physics, cosmology, and string theory. for black hole physics and cosmology research, Kory focuses on Thomas-Whitehead gravity developed by Professor Vincent G. J. Rodgers (University of Iowa). In supersymmetry research, Kory focuses on adinkras: colorful diagrams encoding supersymmetry. To aid in adinkra research for students and colleagues, as owner of the GitHub organization HEPTHools, Kory along with several student members has developed the adinkra.m mathematica package.

Dale Stille
Title/Position
Instructional Services Specialist
Dale has been with the University and the Department of Physics and Astronomy as the Instructional Resource Specialist for 35 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake Iowa, and a Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Iowa. He is a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), American Physical Society (APS), and the Physics Instructional Resource Association (PIRA). He is also a Co-Coordinator of the Departments “Hawk-Eyes on Science”, and “Hawkeyes in Space” outreach programs.

John Sunderland, Ph.D.
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. He is also Director of the PET Imaging Center and is a Professor of Radiation Oncology. His research interests include medical physics.
Dustin Swarm, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Fellow/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.

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
Graduate Research Assistant
Ashok Tiwari is focusing his research on medical physics applications. His research concentrates on dosimetry post radiopharmaceutical therapy and quantitative imaging in nuclear medicine. He recently explored the dosimetry of beta-emitting radionuclides by employing the Monte Carlo simulations and performed its experimental validation using Radiochromic films.

Chhatra Tmanag Lama
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant

Toby Tompkins
Title/Position
Engineering Coordinator

Fatima Toor, Ph.D.
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. She is a researcher at the Iowa Technology Institute, Iowa-CREATES and MATFab Facility.

Shyam Udas
Title/Position
Accountant

Ravitej Uppu, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Assistant Professor
Ravi’s research investigates solid-state emitters coupled to a nanophotonic environment for realizing photonic qubits and spin-photon interfaces. He envisions that such nanophotonic devices will pave the way for real-world applications in quantum communication, simulation, and quantum-enhanced imaging. Ravi enjoys interacting with and training graduate and undergraduate students on optics, quantum physics, and statistical mechanics. Prior to UIowa, Ravi carried out research across the world [Niels Bohr Institute (Denmark), University of Twente (Netherlands), and TIFR (India)] and continues to maintain active international collaborations. Ravi is the lead PI of the UI-QuantumSimulation team that was awarded a Jumpstarting Tomorrow grant in 2021.

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
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Graduate Student Mentor
Keith Vidal is interested in space and plasma physics. He has studied strongly coupled and magnetized plasmas and is currently studying wave-particle interactions in the Earth's magnetosphere with Prof. Jaynes.

Jun Wang, Ph.D.
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. His current research focuses on the integration of satellite remote sensing and chemistry transport model to study air quality, wildfires, aerosol-cloud interaction, and land-air interaction.

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.

Michael D. Webb
Title/Position
Engineering Specialist

Yuanzheng Wen
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant

James Wetzel, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Wetzel received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 2014, where he develops R&D programs for Professor Yasar Onel. He was an visiting assistant professor of physics at Augustana College and is an adjunct assistant professor of physics at Coe College where he teaches its only Astronomy course and lab. His research interests include next generation radiation tolerant calorimetry.

Darrelle Wilkinson
Title/Position
Research Associate
Team member of Juno, TRACERS, Cassini, and Van Allen Probes missions. Work includes but is not limited to instrument commanding, data analysis, and dataset management

Markus Wohlgenannt, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor
Markus Wohlgenannt is a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa. His research interests include experimental polymer physics.

Taylan Yetkin, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Taylan Yetkin is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa.

Vitaliy Zhuravlyov
Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
I am interested in experimental plasma physics. In particular, I am studying dusty plasma, which is also considered to be a strongly coupled plasma. Because of strong coupling, dusty plasma can exist in a liquid or gas phases. My research focuses on structural properties of dusty plasma liquids.
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