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College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics and Astronomy


Undergraduate Research Day and the 4th Annual Undergraduate Colloquium

Undergraduate research is an important part of undergraduate education and plays an increasingly important role in developing future pioneering researchers, graduate school admission and even non-academic employment. On April 7, we celebrated the research done by our own undergrads.

Undergraduate Research Day

A team of judges at our Undergraduate Research Day chose students to present at this year's Undergraduate Colloquium. These students were also presented with the Barry Barish Undergraduate Research Travel Award. The awardees and their presentation topics are listed below:

  • Zachary Cheslog (Advisor: Neelima Sehgal) - Current and Future Constraints on the Primordial Power Spectrum
  • Rose Hoffren (Advisor: Michael Zingale) - Double-detonation of oxygen-neon white dwarfs
  • Rojae Mighty (Advisors: Zhoudunming Tu, Arjun Kumar, Abhay Deshponde) - Geometric Scaling and Gluon Saturation at EIC
  • Maria Sazonova (Advisor: Jesus Prez Rios) - Buffer gas cooling of charged fullerenes

Barry Barish Undergraduate Research Travel Award recipients

In Memoriam, Pat Peiliker

Our dear friend and former colleague Pat Peiliker passed away last Tuesday, April 7.

For almost 40 years she was the valuable friend and trusted confidante to every single graduate student.  She enabled over 1000 Ph.D. completions during her career as Assistant to the Graduate Program Director, until her retirement in 2010.

Photo of Pat Peiliker with Elaine Larsen, from summer 2010

Photo with Elaine Larsen, Summer 2010.

Stony Brook University to Host First NASA Hubble Fellow

Stony Brook University has been chosen as the host of a NASA Hubble Fellow: Konstantinos Kritos, a PhD student from Johns Hopkins University. The fellowship will support Kritos’ research program "Unveiling the mystery of massive black hole seeds through gravitational and electromagnetic waves."  Stony Brook University Professor Rosalba Perna will serve as Kritos’ faculty contact. Kritos is the first NHFP fellow to be hosted by Stony Brook University.

Photo of Konstantinos Kritos

Kritos is a theoretical and computational astrophysicist whose research focuses on the formation and evolution of black holes and their observable signatures through gravitational waves. Overall, his research aims to connect astrophysical theory with gravitational-wave data to better understand black hole populations and cosmic structure formation.

Image of Black Hole

You can read about this in more detail on SBU News and also on Innovate LI.

Department News Archive

Physics and Astronomy in the News

Historic $12 Million Gift Propels Yang Institute into the Future

The C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics (YITP) has received a historic $12 million endowment gift from alumnus Jack Yongfeng Zhang, PhD ’87, and his wife, Mary Zi-Ping Luo, PhD. This commitment ensures the Institute's long-term strength and distinction.Learn More(Historic $12 Million Gift Propels Yang Institute into the Future)

Prof. Simon Birrer Receives Prestigious DOE Early Career Award

Prof. Simon Birrer has won a prestigious DOE Early Career Award! His winning proposal was to study the expansion history of the Universe with the newly commissioned NSF-DoE Vera C. Rubin Observatory.Learn More(Prof. Simon Birrer Receives Prestigious DOE Early Career Award)

2025 Season's Greetings

We collectively had an exceptionally productive year in 2025. We got together in person, shared our lives, and created new stories and memorable moments. We wish you all happy and restful holidays, and wish you the very best in 2026!

Prof. George Sterman Receives Honorary Doctorate from ETH Zurich

Prof. George Sterman, the Director of YITP, was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by ETH Zurich. The award citation refers to Prof. Sterman's development of concepts that "enable precise tests of the fundamental laws of nature in particle physics".Learn More(Prof. George Sterman Receives Honorary Doctorate from ETH Zurich)

Prof. Ken Dill to Receive Biophysical Society’s 2026 Founder’s Award

The Biophysical Society has announced that Professor Ken A. Dill will receive the Society’s 2026 Founders Award for his work on the protein folding problem and the development of statistical mechanical theories and foundational principles in biophysics.Learn More(Prof. Ken Dill to Receive Biophysical Society’s 2026 Founder’s Award)

SBU Researchers Part of “Rival” Experiments Publish First Joint Analysis

Researchers from the Department of Physics and Astronomy are part of an international team of physicists conducting the T2K experiment and have provided joint analysis with another team of physicists conducting a different NOvA experiment.Learn More(SBU Researchers Part of “Rival” Experiments Publish First Joint Analysis)

Physics and Astronomy in the News Archive