Physics and Astronomy

July 07, 2025

In a rare achievement, two University of Oklahoma undergraduate physics and astronomy students were awarded time to observe distant stars at the International Gemini Observatory. Their combined time represents approximately 4.5% of all available time allotted to U.S. astronomers from Aug. 2025 through Jan. 2026. Alex Gleason and Alex Albright, both seniors in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, are mentored by Mukremin Kilic, professor of astrophysics and cosmology. Their projects will utilize the Gemini North telescope in Maunakea, HI, and the Gemini South telescope in Cerro Pachón, Chile, depending on the time of year.

February 28, 2025

A group of researchers, including OU professor Mukremin Kilic and graduate students Gracyn Jewett and Adam Moss, have discovered the most richly pulsating ultramassive white dwarf observed to date. The large number of pulsation modes, or vibrational patterns, observed in this ultramassive white dwarf may soon reveal information on its interior structure and chemical composition.

September 11, 2024

Nikole Nielsen, an assistant professor of astrophysics and cosmology at the University of Oklahoma, was interviewed by News 9 about her research, which was recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy. Nielsen used the ten-meter telescope at the Keck Observatory to capture a galaxy 270 million light-years away. Studying the gas around this web of stars and planets will help build an understanding of how galaxies evolve over time.

September 10, 2024

Alisa Javadi, assistant professor with a joint appointment between the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Physics, received an Early Career Award from the Department of Energy. Alisa’s project explores novel host crystals based on oxides that can serve as hosts for quantum bits, with the goal of overcoming limitations related to electron spin coherence. The project combines theoretical modeling and advanced material synthesis techniques to identify and produce high-quality quantum emitters. By leveraging materials with minimum magnetic interference, the research aims to unlock new possibilities for quantum technologies, such as more precise sensors and scalable quantum information systems.

August 23, 2024

A recent paper by Badal Bhalla and Tao Xu, both members of the Sinha group, written in collaboration with Benjamin Lehmann from MIT, has explored the possibility that primordial black holes could be locked into binaries with stars in our Galaxy. Titled “Dancing with invisible partners: three-body exchanges with primordial black holes”, the work has been featured in New Scientist as well as several popular media outlets.

June 19, 2024

The work of OU Postdoctoral Fellow, Marko Mićić, was recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and featured in Nature as a research highlight. This exciting research gives us a glimpse into how galaxy interactions may trigger black hole activity.