In a new study, a physics team at the University of Iowa designed a special microscope that can precisely study the interaction between light and matter that underpins electronic devices, such as those used in interior home lighting, smartphones, televisions and solar panels. The infrared cryo-microscope, designed by a team led by Thomas Folland, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, uses off-the shelf components to make precise measurements of different materials’ properties.

Three graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy have been awarded scholarships from the University of Iowa Graduate College. Michael Hite and Sarah Choate were awarded the Ballard and Seashore Fellowship, while Dylan Blend was awarded the Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship.

An AIP journal recently published a paper written by Graduate Research Assistant Cecilia Fasano, who studies microfabrication and its applications in astronomy.

Jodie McLennan, a graduate student studying pulsating aurora, was awarded a NASA FINESST (Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology) Fellowship covering her graduate work for the next three years.

Applications for the Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) Graduate Fellowship Program are now open. The program is designed to support outstanding graduate students pursuing NASA-aligned research opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines.