Prof. Anna Simon will lead a project to develop a neutron irradiation station (NIS) at the Nuclear Science Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. NIS will utilize a high-intensity proton beam from the 5U accelerator to produce a flux of neutrons at energies up to a few MeV via nuclear reactions on low-Z targets. First of its kind in the U.S., NIS will deliver monoenergetic neutron beams with intensities of the order of 10⁸…

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The research of several Notre Dame Physics faculty members and graduate students resulted in a recently published article in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Journal (Irradiation-Driven Restructuring of UO₂ Thin Films: Amorphization and Crystallization Vol 13, pp. 35153–35164, 2021) on the preparation, characterization and irradiation stability of thin UO₂…

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Profesor Michael Wiescher, Freimann Professor of Physics and Director of the Institute for Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics (ISNAP) at the University of Notre Dame and founding director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) received the prestigious Wolfson Fellowship of the British Royal Society.

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Samuel Henderson successfully defended his Doctoral Dissertation on June 22, 2021. The title of his thesis is "Studies of Nuclear Structure Via B(E2) Measurements in ⁷Be and ⁸Li" advised by Prof. Tan Ahn…

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Many cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada likely contain high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a potentially toxic class of chemicals linked to a number of serious health conditions, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame.

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Uncertainty over First Stars

Stars are dutiful recyclers. The material used and discarded by one generation of stars is taken up and reused by the next. But that cycling process has trouble explaining the surprisingly high calcium concentrations in stars that formed early on. Astrophysicists have proposed that these old stars were seeded by a first generation that expired in “faint supernovae,” producing calcium but few other heavy elements. However, a new analysis of nuclear reaction measurements suggests that this model may not be so solid [1…

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Over the last few years CASPAR has driven forward with its for researching experimental plan. Work has continued through a global pandemic and underground blasting of nearby cavities. Students and faculty have pressed hard to complete crucial experiments before having to pause for extensive nearby excavations. Currently CASPAR has now been mothballed, but still has much to do.

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Each year the Department of Physics recognizes the outstanding research and dissertation of a PhD graduate. This year the recipients are Erika Holmbeck and Nirupama Sensharma.

Holmbeck's thesis is titled "The Looking-Glass and Beyond: Using Observations and Modeling of Stellar Actinide Abundances and Modeling of Stellar Actinide." She was advised by Professors Timothy Beers…

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Outstanding Senior Physics Major Award

• Charles Marrder, advised by Prof. Grant Matthews 

The Outstanding Senior Physics Major award is given in recognition of academic performance, contributions to the major, and potential for future success.

Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award…

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The College of Science at the University of Notre Dame is pleased to announce that Umesh Garg, a professor in the Department of Physics, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to India from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.…

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Physics graduate students Kevin Lee (advised by Prof. Ani Aprahamian) and Sethupathy Subramanian (advised by Prof. Dinshaw Balasra) are the recipients of 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Awards from the Kaneb Center. 

This award was created in 1999 to recognize graduate student instructors and TAs who demonstrate commitment to exceptional teaching in lectures, seminars, labs, and across the academic profession. The Graduate School and the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning present the award annually to TAs that are nominated by their departments. The award consists of a certificate from the Kaneb Center and Graduate School, a letter documenting the award for the graduate student’s file, a $100 honorarium, and an invitation to a formal event hosted by the Kaneb Center and the Graduate School.…

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Radioactivity: Origin and effects of a natural phenomenon, Volume I, has been recently published by Freimann Professor of Physics Michael Wiescher. 

Radioactivity is a frequently and hotly debated topic; the discussions usually revolve around the benefits and dangers of nuclear energy. The topic reaches further -- both in terms of natural occurrences and the many and the multiple applications of radioactivity.…

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Orlando Gomez received the 2021 Larry O. Lamm Memorial Award in Nuclear Physics. The award is given annually to the student that was deemed to have provided the most outstanding service and dedication to the Nuclear Science Laboratory. The award recognizes Orlando’s continued efforts in sustaining and driving forward CASPAR experimental campaigns, making experimentation possible during the trying times of the COVID pandemic.…

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Nirupama Sensharma received the 2021 Cornelius P. Browne Memorial Award in Nuclear Physics for her work on wobbling motion in gold nuclei and outstanding outreach effort through her project Nuclear Energy – The Better Energy…

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The Department of Army has awarded a three-year grant to researchers at the University of Notre Dame to develop techniques to prepare some metastable metals for use in extreme conditions.

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In January 2021, researchers at Sanford Underground Research Facility (Sanford Lab) returned a detector to the University of Notre Dame. The detector, which has been collecting data for most of 2020, is officially named the High EffiCiency TOtal absoRption spectrometer (HECTOR). During its residency at Sanford Lab in 2020, the HECTOR Detector helped researchers better understand how stars form elements. Click HERE…

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Dr. James deBoer (UND) and Dr. Michael Febbraro (ORNL) have recently lead a research initiative to make new measurements of the ¹³C(a,n)¹⁶O reaction at energies relevant for background simulations for large volume neutrino experiments. These new measurements were made possible by pairing the Notre Dame Nuclear Science Laboratory’s new high current Sta. ANA accelerator with state-of-the-art deuterated liquid scintillation detectors recently developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Nuclear physics graduate student Nirupama Sensharma will speak on Tuesday, September 29 at the Michiana Science Cafe on nuclear energy. Her talk "Nuclear Energy -- The Better Energy?" will be a Facebook live event. The United States depends on nuclear power to meet about one-fifth of its demand for electricity. This equals the combined total of the generation capacity of two leading nuclear power producing countries, France and Japan. However, we have been standing still for the last 30 years with absolutely no progress in this sector. Is the halt a result of economic, political or scientific reasons and how is this affecting the ever-escalating climate crises? Do we have an alternative?…

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Experimental nuclear science faculty have published a book that summarizes scientific methods that are currently used to characterize objects of cultural heritage and archaeological artifacts. Authored by Friemann Professor of Physics Michael Wiescher…

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Freimann Professor of Physics Ani Aprahamian recently presented at two virtual conferences in Armenia. 

The Armenia Medical International Committee (AMIC) virtual course was held July 12 and had over 650 participants. Aprahamian's presentation was "Isotopes for new pharmaceutical applications." The AMIC consists of representatives from Armenian healthcare associations throughout the Diaspora. Its purpose is to improve healthcare in Armenia through coordination of efforts among our member organizations.…

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