Newsstand
2025
Research @ Tech Day
02/17/2025
2024
Dr. Caitano da Silva Receives 2024 Early Career Award from the American Geophysical Union
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
113th meeting of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) in Huntsville, AL
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interferometry gave us a black hole’s event horizon, but that was in the radio. What can we accomplish with a new optical interferometer?
 |
When it comes to the science of astronomy, the two key factors we always hope for are large amounts of light-gathering power and the capability to view objects at extremely high resolution.
You can have it all if you’re willing to break the bank, but if you want the most bang-for-your-buck, you can achieve much better resolutions with an array of telescopes using the technique of interferometry.
Although interferometry is very challenging to do in the optical portion of the spectrum, a new observatory, Magdalena Ridge Observatory, plans to create an interferometer with more than 100 times the resolution of Hubble. Here’s how that project is going!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to Olivia Cantrell at the 2024 Four Corners Annual Conference this year in Flagstaff, AZ for her winning poster: Prediction of Neutron Flux Distribution inside a Pure Carbon Moderator
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 alumnus Brandon Smith jumped from B.S. degree into Ph.D. program at Penn State
New Mexico Tech Research Opportunities Open Doors for Undergrads |
2024 alumnus Brandon Smith jumped from B.S. degree into Ph.D. program at Penn State
Brandon Smith, a New Mexico Tech 2024 graduate with a physics major, atmospheric physics option, made significant strides as an undergraduate in research. His research assistance on “sprites,” which are very brief lightning discharges occurring at the top of the atmosphere, helped him achieve two noteworthy accomplishments: Smith was accepted to Penn State, his NMT mentor’s alma mater, to pursue a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, and was the lead author of a study on the topic that was published in Geophysical Research Letters — a high-impact journal from the American Geophysical Union.
|
PAST EVENTS
- Come by the annual Physics Department Student Awards Lunch on Friday, April 26th from 11:30am to 1:30pm! This is a great opportunity to meet with faculty, staff, and students.
- One of the department's PhD candidates, Daniel P. Jensen, is defending his thesis on Monday, April 22nd at 10am in Speare 113!
- One of the department's PhD candidates, Jonathan F. Dooley, is defending his thesis on Thursday, April 11th at 3:30pm in Workman 101!
- One of the department's PhD candidates, Luis Contreras Vidal, is presenting for his candidacy exam on Wednesday, April 10th at 12pm in Workman 101!
- One of the department's PhD candidates, Tatiana M. Rodriguez, is defending her thesis on Monday, March 11th at 3pm in the NRAO DSOC Auditorium!
- Are you wondering what the next step after your bachelor's degree might be? Come to the Career & Graduate School Fair on January 30th in the Fidel Ballrooms and learn more about potential opportunities! There are also workshops taking place from the 22nd through the 26th if you'd like to bolster your applications.
- Happy New Year's!
2023
- Undergraduates, graduates and faculty are all welcome to come join the Astrophysics Journal Club from 10am to 11am on Wednesdays! (There's also coffee and doughnuts!)
Older news can be found in the archive.