Three graduate students (Adam Clark, Austin Nelson, and Craig Reingold) of ISNAP participated in this year’s Notre Dame Day live broadcast on April 23rd to gain votes for the Graduate Physics Society (GPS). During the broadcast, the students of the GPS performed a physics demo in which they used a sledgehammer to smash a cinder block on the chest of the broadcast host and Notre Dame alumni Vic Lombardi. This is a classic physics demonstration that illustrates the concepts pressure, inertia, and the conservation of energy.…

Read More

Physics graduate student Kevin Howard has been awarded a fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This summer Mr. Howard will be working with Prof. Shinsuke Ota at the Center for Nuclear Study at the University of Tokyo, and Dr. Tomohiro Uesaka, a Chief Scientist at the Spin Isospin Laboratory at the RIKEN…

Read More

Professor Ann Simon's paper “Impact of the α optical model potential on the γ-process nucleosynthesis” investigates the impact of the nuclear properties on the γ-process nucleosynthesis. γ-process is a nucleosynthesis scenario responsible for production of proton-rich isotopes of heavy nuclei. Since the reaction network that describe the γ-process is based on model predictions of the rates of all the reactions involved (only in few cases these can be measured directly) understanding of the impact of the current models of the nuclear properties is important for constraining the predictions of the network calculations. In this work, the analysis focused on the α-optical model potential; future work will investigate impact of other parameters, e.g. γ-strength function.

Read More

John Mihelich, Professor Emeritus of Physics, has passed away in Fort Collins, Colorado, on March 10. John was a long-time member of our faculty and our nuclear physics group, joining Notre Dame in 1954 from Brookhaven. While here, he gained a national reputation in gamma-ray spectroscopy, training in his lab many of the later leaders in the field. He and his wife, Jan, raised three children in South Bend, spending their free time in travel, camping, and classical music. John retired in 1989, and he and Jan eventually moved to Fort Collins. …

Read More

Nuclear graduate student, Nirupama Sensharma has been selected to the 2017 cohort of the NSF-sponsored training program Social Responsibilities of Researchers (SRR) in the Reilly Center.

Read More

Professor Graham Peaslee's research paper titled “Fluorinated Compounds in U.S. Fast Food Packaging” has received national attention after the first 2 weeks of its published release on February 1 in Environmental and Science Technology Letters…

Read More

In December 2016, four graduate students from the NSL traveled to Shanghai, China to participate in the joint CNA/JINA-CEE Winter School on Nuclear Astrophysics. The focus of the school was to enhance international collaborations among young researchers from nuclear physics, astrophysics, and astronomical observations.

Read More

University of Notre Dame, Department of Physics, graduate student Edward Lamere has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Cornelius P. Browne Memorial Award.

Read More

The Twin Solenoid (TwinSol) exotic beam separator was the first facility dedicated to exotic beam production in the U.S. Recent improvements will greatly enhance its ability to provide high-quality exotic beams for nuclear physics and astrophysics research.

Read More

Michael Wiescher, Director of the Nuclear Science Laboratory is the recipient of the 2017 Heraeus Visiting Professor Award of the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany.

Read More

TwinSol group adjusted the position of their second solenoid in order to provide improved radioactive beams to their new target location.

Read More

Khachatur V. Manukyan, a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and the Nuclear Science Laboratory, co-authored a major review of recent advances in the study of complex combustion processes that enable the fabrication of a wide range of nanoscale materials.

Read More

Professor Graham Peaslee of the Nuclear Science Laboratory was interviewed to talk about the recently installed St. Andre 3MV tandem.…

Read More

On November 11, the Notre Dame College of Science hosted the “Let’s Have a Moment of Science” outreach event in San Antonio, as part of the Shamrock Series which attracted about 1,200 middle schools students from around the city. Twenty-four representatives from different STEM fields at Notre Dame performed educational demonstrations at the event.

Read More

Ani Aprahamian, Freimann Professor of Physics, has been named co-chair of a committee with the National Academy of Science on a U.S. Electron Ion Collider Facility.

Read More

Michael Wiescher, Freimann Professor of Physics and director of the Nuclear Science Laboratory, gave an invited talk at the 2^nd International Conference on the History of Physics in Pöllau, Austria, on the topic of the “Life and Cosmologies of Arthur Erich Haas”. 

Read More

On November 19, ISNAP and JINA-CEE will be hosting a Girl Scout Workshop: Getting to Know Nuclear, allowing scouts to earn a badge created for the Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana Michiana.

Read More

The University of Notre Dame hosted more than 230 experts at the 2016 Low Energy Community Meeting on Aug. 11-13 in the Jordan Hall of Science. The annual gathering, which started in 2011, sets priorities for research that help guide the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation while providing opportunities for education and networking among researchers from universities and national laboratories. The event comes as the community prepares for the opening of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University, the highly-anticipated “FRIB Era.”

Read More

The University of Notre Dame has a long legacy of excellence in nuclear physics research, beginning in 1937 with its first successful experiments accelerating particles. Since then, Notre Dame has continued to invest in nuclear physics, building a preeminent nuclear physics laboratory on campus, while also contributing to research projects and resources, such as the CASPAR project in South Dakota, FRIB at Michigan State University, and CARIBU at Argonne National Laboratory.

Read More

Professor Rebecca Surman has been elected as a new member of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) Theory Alliance Executive Board.

The FRIB Theory Alliance is a coalition of scientists from universities and national laboratories who seek to foster advancements in theory related to diverse areas of FRIB science; optimize the coupling between theory and experiment; and rejuvenate the field by creating permanent theory positions across the country.…

Read More