Dear friends and colleagues,
It is a pleasure to present to you the 2024 Newsletter for the CMU Department of Physics. For the students, faculty and staff in our department 2024 was another year of hard work, innovation and enjoyment of the diverse activities of the scientific endeavor.
There have been a few changes in our department. Prof. Matthew Redshaw is our new chair, replacing Prof. Veronica Barone who led us safely through the adjustments to the post-COVID times. Two new faculty joined our ranks, with Prof. David-Uraz profiled in one of the articles in this newsletter, and cohorts of students continue to move through our programs and leave energized to continue bright careers in STEM
The newsletter presents a few highlights of activities across teaching, research and outreach that took place in the Department of Physics last year: a new interdisciplinary research effort led by CMU to develop novel materials for energy-storage applications, a registered students organization (CMAC) initiated by Physics students to promote all kinds of astronomy-related events on campus and beyond, and a recognition to three Physics faculty as high-impact scientists in their fields.
The activities of the department were not just confined to CMU's campus. We ventured far and wide to photograph the shadow of the Moon during the 2024 solar eclipse, attend scientific meetings such as the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, and traveled across oceans to perform experiments at particle accelerators. These are all highlighted in the newsletter.
I hope you will enjoy the 2024 Physics newsletter. Perhaps you will find time to join us in person for events planned for 2025, like open nights at the Brooks Astronomical Observatory (first Thursday of each month during the Spring semester) or the Autumnal Equinox Lecture in September 25th, which in 2025 will be our main celebration of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. For any questions reach out to us at 989-774-3321 or phyoffice@cmich.edu.
Sincerely
Prof. Alfredo Estrade
2024 Physics Newsletter Editor
Batteries: supporting research and supporting our troops
Securing external funding continues to be an area of success for the Department of Physics. It helps to nurture a rich intellectual environment: cutting-edge research projects, support for students and early career researchers, and a network of connections with leading scientists and centers beyond CMU. It also enables scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs.
The latest large externally funded project involving CMU Physics began in 2024. It has an interdisciplinary nature and implications for national defense. Thanks to support from the US Department of Defense, in partnership with the Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) of the US Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), CMU researchers are leading a project to develop advanced materials for nextgeneration energy storage systems. Military ground vehicles must be able to reliably operate in diverse environments, from the freezing temperatures of the article circle to scorching deserts. The goal of the research project is to develop materials that would improve
the reliable operation of batteries in military vehicles under such harsh conditions. The project team includes the group of Prof. Bradley Fahlman in the CMU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and of Profs. Veronica Barone and Valeri Petkov in CMU Department of Physics, as well as researchers at GVSC and Dow Chemical.
In particular, the project focuses on the development of lithium-sulfur, zinc-sulfur, and aluminum-sulfur batteries. Key challenges in these batteries, like the polysulfide shuttle effect, result in performance loss. To address this, the project involves the design, modeling, fabrication, characterization, and electrochemical testing of single-atom catalyst, functionalized porous carbon and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These materials are designed to immobilize polysulfides, suppressing their diffusion and enhancing reaction kinetics, ultimately improving the batteries' stability, capacity, and efficiency. The project also explores the integration of sustainable and cost-effective precursors for the synthesis of these materials, ensuring their scalability for commercial applications. By optimizing the interaction between the functionalized carbon and COFs with the sulfur species, the project aims to significantly extend the lifespan and enhance the overall energy density of the batteries.
Physics faculty recognized among world’s top 2% of scientists
Several Central Michigan University faculty members have been ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide, according to the 2024 Stanford/Elsevier rankings. The rankings evaluate scientists across 22 scientific fields and 176 subfields based on multiple scholarly metrics to determine overall influence. The Department of Physics is well represented among the 16 CMU scientists recognized by these rankings, with 3 physics faculty being part of the 2024 list of honorees.
Prof. Koblar Alan Jackson emphasized the collaborative spirit within the CMU Physics Department as a key element to explain his success, saying, “It’s fun to come to work and share ideas that can turn into interesting research.” He also credited resources, like access to advanced computer facilities and a program sponsored by the College of Science and Engineering and the CMU Office of Research and Graduate Studies, which allows faculty to focus on research.
Similarly, Prof. Mihai Horoi expressed gratitude for CMU’s support in providing course releases and grants for faculty, which, he noted, is essential for balancing research and teaching. He stated that this recognition confirms the impact and value of their research efforts. Prof. Valeri Petkov also acknowledged how thankful he was for the significant opportunities and support provided by CMU to pursue his research.
Members of the Department of Physics are not in the habit of resting on their laurels, and Profs. Horoi, Jackson and Petkov have continued to be highly productive researchers with 16 peer-reviewed papers published among them over the last year.
Prof. Horoi’s work involves theoretical and computational work guiding experiments that look for new, yet undiscovered, physics phenomena. His work is focused on a type of radioactive decay, neutrinoless double beta-decay, which if observed could revolutionize our understanding of the properties and interactions of fundamental particles. Prof. Jackson’s research is aimed at improving the accuracy of the quantum mechanical methods used in modeling chemical processes through computer calculations. In technology settings, accurate models can mean turning to the computer as a first step to creating new materials or designing improved chemical reactions. As an example, recent publications of his group and collaborators described the potential for using cloud computing resources when modeling chemical systems using quantum mechanical calculations. Some of the publications of Prof. Petkov focused on "quantum" materials, where charge, lattice and spin degrees of freedom interact leading to the emergence of exotic electronic phases. In general, understanding quantum materials at the atomic level creates opportunities to leverage their enormous technological potential.
CMU Physicists Exel at CUWIP Conference
Taking place in January 2024, the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWIP) at the University of Michigan had two budding CMU undergraduate physicists in attendance, Savannah Limarenko and Savannah Nahodil.
Nahodil is conducting research at CMU that delves into the fascinating realm of meteorites. Using x-ray testing, she analyzed unknown samples, ultimately identifying them as meteorites. By comparing their chemical composition to known asteroid compositions and stellar spectra, Nahodil aims to unlock insights into the composition of the presolar nebula and interstellar medium at the solar system's formation.
Meanwhile, Limarenko, who was able to showcase her research at the conference, is working on the Central Michigan High Precision Penning Trap (CHIP-TRAP), a cutting-edge tool designed to accurately measure the mass of unstable and long-lived isotopes. Her focus lies in simulating ejection optics for CHIP-TRAP, which could significantly enhance our understanding of ion capture and transport within the trap.
However, the highlight of the conference wasn't just the presentations. Both Savannahs had the unique opportunity to engage with keynote speaker Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a renowned astrophysicist celebrated for her discovery of pulsars. Bell Burnell's groundbreaking work, which began as a Ph.D. student in the 1960’s, uncovered the enigmatic signals emitted by rapidly rotating neutron stars, fundamentally altering our understanding of the universe.
In reflecting on the conference, both Limarenko and Nahodil expressed gratitude for the chance to interact with Bell Burnell and other trailblazing women physicists. Bell Burnell herself commended the conference for its role in fostering the next generation of female scientists, remarking on the excitement of seeing so many young women passionate about physics.
The CUWIP conference served as a platform not only for scientific exchange but also for inspiration and mentorship, reaffirming the importance of nurturing diversity and inclusivity within the field of physics. Besides the participation of undergraduate students from our department, CMU Physics left its mark on the conference in another way. CMU Physics sponsored one of the coffee breaks of the meeting, an essential component of any scientific event that provides opportunities for socializing among participants and the caffeine that keeps the pulse of the meeting going after long hours of scientific discussions.
EXPERIMENTS Around the World
In 2024 Irin Sultana and Justin Placido, two graduate students in the group of Prof. Estrade, made the journey to one of the few centers for basic nuclear physics research located in colder latitudes than Michigan: the JYFL Accelerator Laboratory at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. Their research group is interested in neutron stars, in particular in how nuclear processes in accreting neutron stars can be connected to astronomical observations from these binary star systems. Calculations that connect nuclear reactions processes in the neutron stars to observations require reliable data on nuclear binding energies (i.e. nuclear masses) for unstable isotopes.
The trip was a collaboration with the IGISOL group at JYFL Laboratory. They have perfected the IGISOL technique to catch nuclear reaction products in a chamber filled with a re-circulating helium gas to then convert them into a beam that is sent to experimental devices for a variety of measurements. The collaboration began in 2022, developing ideas to use the IGISOL
The list of reasons to travel the World is long: the weather, the sights, the food, the natural wonders, the metropolises, the languages and many more. Members of the Department of Physics can add a few more: the particle accelerators, the astronomical observatories, the gatherings of scientists preoccupied by the same stubborn scientific questions, the exchange and renewal of ideas, the recruitment of students, the nurturing of new research collaboration, the common language of science.
During 2024, experiments at particle accelerators was near the top of the list. Measuring the properties and interactions of microscopic objects often requires large machines and equipment. The large machines in our neighborhood, like the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at MSU or the Advanced Photons Source at ANL near Chicago, are often overbooked or could be missing the specialized tools required by the task at hand. Then it’s time to pack and venture to distant lands.
technique to produce beams of unstable chlorine and phosphorous isotopes using a particular type of nuclear reaction (multi-nucleon transfers). The first test experiment for this new idea ran in March 2024.
Irin and Justin found a familiar landscape in Jyvaskyla - frozen lakes, birch and spruce forests, reindeer and moose on restaurant menus - although the busy schedule didn’t allow for much time for explorations outside of the lab. The test experiment was performed 24/7 during four days, with intense work in the previous week to have all the experimental equipment in place before the start of the run. Results: partial success. The data shows clear signs of the production of unstable isotopes with the new technique. Could they produce the chlorine and phosphorous isotopes of interest with enough intensity to measure their nuclear masses? Ongoing data analysis will soon answer this question.
The research group of Prof. Petkov also traveled to Europe, though their destination was further south: DESY, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg, Germany. DESY is a research center of the Helmholtz association that provides, among a number of particle accelerator facilities, some of the most intense X-ray sources in the world. CMU graduate students Adeel Zafar and Carlos Chavez used the synchrotron radiation produced at DESY for an experiment to study quantum materials. The specific target of their experiment was FeTiO3, a material where spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom interact strongly endowing it with unusual properties. As usual, a successful experimental run resulted in more work for those involved: a large volume of data that is currently being analyzed by Adeel as part of his Ph.D. dissertation project.
Celestial Photos
Oftentimes words are not necessary. We can just take a step back and contemplate the marvels of the natural world. 2024 was a good year for that, at the celestial scales, and the astrophotographers of the Department of Physics took good advantage of it.
For a glimpse of more of such cosmic sights join us for one of the open house nights at the Brooks Astronomical Observatory on CMU campus. For the 2025 Spring semester the scheduled observatory open houses, rain or shine, are:
• Thursday, March 6th, 2025 from 8 - 10 p.m.
• Thursday, April 3rd, 2025 from 8 - 10 p.m.
Learn more...
Photo Credit: Juan Peralta
Photo Credit: Axel Mellinger
Photo Credit: Axel Mellinger
Photo Credit: Lance Gascho
Photo Credit: Axel Mellinger
CMU STUDENTS IN PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY Engaging Beyond the Classroom
Students in the Department of Physics find plenty of ways to engage and participate in academic activities and pursuits outside of the classroom. Many of them are an established part of the calendar of events for our department, like open houses at the Brooks Observatory, physics demos at CMU&You day, or presentation of students’ research projects at the campus-wide Students Creative and Research Endeavors expo or the annual Society of Physics Students event. The latter comes with an evergrowing number of inductees to the Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society!
Other activities have been more ad hoc events, which perhaps will become new traditions for CMU Physics. During the summer semester a cohort of eight undergraduate students working on research projects in nuclear physics and astrophysics made the Physics wing of the Dow building a lively place. Coffee and bagels every Monday morning became a great way to kick-start each week. In November, as the days became long and students and faculty found themselves in need of a dose of energy to complete the final stretch of the semester, a social hour revolving around churros and hot chocolate
was a resounding success. Where student's involvement truly shined was in activities of a more grassroots nature. CMAC, the Central Michigan Astronomy Club, is a new Registered Student Organization that promotes and runs all kinds of astronomyrelated activities: observing nights at the Brooks Observatory or the darkest skies that can be found on parks near Mount Pleasant, or indoor activities when the weather doesn’t cooperate. Astronomy sculpture contest anyone? It was created in 2023 as an initiative of students of the Department of Physics and has been led by
Physics and Astrophysics majors; Keegan Binder in 2023 and currently Savannah Limarenko acting as presidents. With 150 students registered as members, its impact extends well beyond CMU Physics.
The highlight of CMAC’s calendar for 2024 was a road trip across the border to witness the total solar eclipse from the University of Toledo in Ohio. Great fun and a memorable experience for all participants!
Meet Prof. Alexandre David-Uraz
The Department of Physics at CMU consists of unique, quasiirreplaceable individuals. In spite of this, when Dr. Chris Tycner, who valiantly served the department as its chair from 2012 to 2021, moved to the position of Associate Dean at the College of Science and Engineering in 2022 there was a clear need for someone to fill his academic shoes: the Astronomy and Astrophysics degree, a major of its own since 2022, continues to gain popularity among CMU students.
The department embarked on a search for a new astronomy faculty member and in the summer of 2024 was able to effectively replace Dr. Tycner, a Canadian astronomer who spent a significant fraction of
his formative years in a military academic institution and specializes in the observation of a specific type of stars, with a Canadian astronomer who spent a significant fraction of his formative years in a military academic institution and
specializes in the observation of a specific type of stars. Of course, not all astronomers are
equal, neither are all Canadians. Below are a few questions to get to know better Dr. Alexandre David-Uraz, one of the newest members of our department.
Q: Prof. David-Uraz, what is the path that led you to CMU?
A: I’d like to say that being a professor of astronomy was my dream since I was a young boy, but in reality, it was the sum of many small (and occasionally somewhat arbitrary) decisions! When I was finishing high school, I knew I really liked science and math, but I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do, so I split the difference and applied to the “Mathematics and Physics” program at Université de Montréal. Later on, I was approached by an emeritus
professor in the department who asked me whether I’d like to pursue a Master’s degree in Astronomy/Astrophysics with him, so I said “sure, sounds fun!” Next thing I know, I’m sent off to the Observatoire du MontMégantic (located in the world’s first dark sky reserve!) for a 6-week observing run to start off my studies. Apart from the fact that I didn’t have my driver’s license yet at that time and was therefore stranded at the top of the mountain for most of those 6 weeks, it was actually a really amazing experience, and I’ve never looked back since.
I then enrolled into the Ph.D. program at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, before moving
south of the border for a string of postdoctoral positions in Florida, Delaware, and DC/Maryland. And now I’m here (it’s good to be back in the Great Lakes region!) and couldn’t be more excited about it!
Q: We’ve heard rumors that you belong to a gang of mobsters. Should we be concerned?
A: Well, that’s certainly true, but don’t worry it’s not the scary kind! MOBSTER is a collaboration that I co-founded back at the end of 2018. The acronym stands for “Magnetic OB[A] Stars with TESS: probing their Evolutionary and Rotational properties.” I was taught early on in my career that the key to success in astronomy is having a catchy (though often terribly convoluted) acronym. We use data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite to try to characterize known magnetic massive stars and detect potential new ones!
Q: What are you looking forward to accomplishing at CMU?
A: Well, in the nearest future, I’m definitely looking forward to the holiday break – those multiple roles are no joke! But more seriously, I’m really excited to obtain data with students at the Brooks Astronomical Observatory.
We are incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful teaching (and scientific!) resource here on campus. In fact, I recently submitted a funding proposal that would involve acquiring data from our telescope as part of an international project. In a sense, it’s a nice way to go “full circle”: I got started with an observing project, and I now have the chance to instill this same passion in the next generation by getting them to take some observations.
As Dr. David-Uraz settles into his new role at CMU, his passion for astronomy and commitment to student engagement are already making an impact. His journey—from the dark sky reserves of Mont-Mégantic to the international collaborative work with MOBSTER—reflects the spirit of curiosity and discovery that drives the Department of Physics. With the Brooks Astronomical Observatory as a unique resource and a growing community of eager students, the future of astronomy at CMU is bright. We look forward to seeing Dr. David-Uraz’s contributions propel both our department and our students to new heights—reaching for the stars, quite literally. Welcome to CMU, Professor David-Uraz!
