Standing Committees 2024/2025
Advisory Council for Physics Department
Tina Barrett
UT-alumna, PhD in Physics in NMRFM development under Dr. John Markert, with a BS in Applied Mathematical Sciences at Texas A&M University. Member of the College of Natural Sciences Advisory Council. Formerly research assistant at the Superconducting Super Collider project, etch senior engineer at AMD. Currently a residential home builder and owner of Waterily Homes, LLC.
Adam Drobot
UT-Austin alumnus; B.A. in Engineering and Applied Physics from Cornell University; Ph.D in Physics from UT-Austin with a specialization in plasma physics. Adam is currently an independent investor, consultant, and Chairman of the Board of OpenTechWorks, Inc. He previously served as Managing Director of 2M Companies as Chief Technology Officer and President of Advanced Technology Solutions at Telcordia Techologies. He also managed the Advanced Technology Group and was Senior Vice President for Science and Technology at SAIC. He is currently on the Board of the Telecommunications Industry Assn and a member of the FCC Technical Advisory Council. Adam's special interests are multidisciplinary computational-based tools to support complex products.
Horacio Gasquet, Ph.D.
Horacio is a bilingual first-generation American of Argentinian heritage. He earned a SACNAS fellowship while at UTEP. He graduated UTEP with additional minors in math and computer science. He joined UT Austin and the Fusion Research Center (FRC) to study plasma physics on the Texas Experimental Tokamak until its closure. Horacio identifies as an industrial physicist with 25 years of experience working in the semiconductor industry for Motorola, On Semi, Freescale, Novati, Skorpios and as a technical consultant through his LLC. He has served a variety of engineering roles in manufacturing, R&D, product reliability, process integration working on power devices, CMOS, memory and MEMs devices. He currently supports startup companies with foundry selection and collaboration. He has a passion for supportive development through tutoring and mentorship roles. He was an organizer of the APS Local Links Austin chapter, has served on the APS Committee on Membership, and is an APS Mentoring Fellow.
Josiah Hoskins
UT-alumna, PhD in Chemical Engineering with a BS and MS in Chemistry at UGA. Throughout his career integrating software and physical processes have always been keys to his success. As a researcher he wrote AI code for seismic-guided reservoir mapping at Schlumberger. Later as Director of Research at Rockwell Automation he and his team invented and developed object-oriented controls software for manufacturing. Since 2010 Josiah has been working on accessibility within the Design Division at IBM. He has worked on many projects such as an AI-enhanced accessibility web browser plugin and an iOS Mobile Accessibility Checker. Recently he is team lead for the IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker (available on the Chrome and Firefox stores).
Jeff Kodosky
UT-Austin alumnus, physics/computer sciences. Member of the College of Natural Sciences Advisory Council. Major donor to the Physics Department and the College. Co-founder of National Instruments.
Brian Kushner (Member Emeritus)
PhD in Applied Physics, Cornell University. Member of the College of Natural Sciences Advisory Council. Senior Managing Director of FIT Consulting.
Sheridan Mitchell Lorenz
UT-Austin alumna; BA in French/Russian; post-graduate studies: Architecture/Geography. Initiated philanthropic programs in education, youth employment and low-income housing in Galveston. Advisory Board member of the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A & M, and the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, Austin.
Dan Riley
UT-Austin alumnus, law degree; member of the College of Sciences Natural Sciences Advisory Council; retired Senior Partner in the Washington office of a prominent national law firm.
Rick Sivan
UT-Austin alumnus with a B.S. in Physics and a Ph.D in solid-state Physics. Rick has served as VP of Research & Development and as Executive Director of IC Technology at International Rectifier, a world leader in power management technology. He has also served as Director of Technology at ATDF (Sematech subsidiary) and has held several top-level positions at Motorola both in Austin, TX and in Herzelia, Israel. He is interested in community service, has served on the Board of Directors of SafePlace in Austin and on the Departmental Visiting Committees for the Dept of Physics and ECE.
Budget Council Advisory Committee
Timothy R Andeen Jr
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental searches for new particles and interactions and investigation of electroweak symmetry breaking
Alexander A Demkov
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Condensed matter theory; physics of electronic materials; surfaces, interfaces, thin films and devices; novel materials, quantum transport
Jacques Distler
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: String theory, quantum field theory and mathematical physics
Vernita Gordon
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Biophysics or Structural Biology
Keji Lai
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental condensed matter physics; nanoscale electromagnetic imaging; complex oxides; nano-materials; transport in low-dimensional systems.
Elaine (Xiaoqin) Li
Professor
Department of Physics, College of Natural Sciences
Research Interests: Ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy in condensed matter; quantum dynamics and control in nanostructures; experimentalist
Climate Committee
José R Alvarado
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Joshua Burby
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Stellarator magnetic fusion
Christina Markert
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: High Energy Nuclear Physics, ALICE experiment at the LHC, STAR and sPHENIX experiment at RHIC
Richard A Matzner
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: General relativity and cosmology; kinetic theory; black hole physics; gravitational radiation; lead PI on Binary Black Hole Grand Challenge
Philip J Morrison
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Basic nonlinear plasma dynamics; Hamiltonian dynamics of few and infinite degree-of-freedom systems; fluid mechanics Research Interests
Linda E Reichl
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Quantum chaos; transport theory; nonlinear dynamics; nonequilibrium statistical physics; stochastic theory
Francois Waelbroeck (Chair)
Director, Institute for Fusion Studies, Research Professor
Department of Physics, Institute for Fusion Studies
Research Interests: Magnetic reconnection; Magnetic islands; The effect of flows on MHD modes
Aaron Zimmerman
Associate Professor
Department of Physics, Weinberg Institute
Research Interests: Black holes and gravitational waves
2 Postdocs
2 Grad Students
2 Undergrad Students
2 Staff
Colloquium Committee
Elena Caceres
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: High energy theory, string theory and gravity
Hsin-Yu Chen
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Gravitational Waves, Multi-messenger Astrophysics, Black holes and neutron stars
Vernita Gordon
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental biological physics; multicellular systems; the role of physics and spacial structure in developmental and evolutionary systems
Bjorn Hegelich
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Karol Lang (Chair)
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental particle physics, High energy physics, Neutrino physics, Neutrinoless double beta decay, Particle detectors R&D
Chih-Kang Shih
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Nanoscale electronic materials; quantum engineering of metallic nanostructures
1 Grad Student
Graduate Studies Sub-Committee (GSSC)
Alexander A Demkov
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Condensed matter theory; physics of electronic materials; surfaces, interfaces, thin films and devices; novel materials, quantum transport
Richard Fitzpatrick
Professor, Directorship
Department of Physics, Institute for Fusion Studies
Research Interests: Magnetohydrodynamic stability; hydrodynamic stability; driven magnetic reconnection
Ernst-Ludwig Florin
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimentalist; biophysics; cell physics; nonlinear dynamics
Feliciano Giustino
Professor, Core Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Condensed Matter Theory, Computational Materials Science, High-Performance Computing
Vadim Kaplunovsky
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Field theory; Supersymmetry; String theory and String dualities, Holographic QCD
Andreas Karch (Chair)
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Unraveling the dynamics of strongly correlated systems, using tools from string theory, quantum field theory and quantum information
Keji Lai
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental condensed matter physics; nanoscale electromagnetic imaging; complex oxides; nano-materials; transport in low-dimensional system
Philip J Morrison
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Basic nonlinear plasma dynamics; Hamiltonian dynamics of few and infinite degree-of-freedom systems; fluid mechanics Research Interests
Deirdre Shoemaker
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Black holes and gravitational waves
Maxim Tsoi
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Condensed matter experiment; nanostructures; spintronics
Graduate Recruitment Committee
Jacques Distler
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: High energy theory; mathematical physics; string theory
Todd Ditmire
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Intense Ultrafast Laser Interactions; AMO; experimentalist
Nicholas Galitzki
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental cosmology, astrophysical instrumentation, data analysis, polarimetry, cosmic microwave background, interstellar medium, dust
William Gilpin
Assistant Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Nonlinear dynamics & chaos, Data-driven modeling & statistical learning, Mathematical biology, Complex fluid flows & pattern formation
Matteo Ippoliti
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Theory of quantum matter
Scott Kravitz
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental particle physics, High energy physics, Dark matter direct detection, Machine learning, Rare event searches
Keji Lai
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental condensed matter physics; nanoscale electromagnetic imaging; complex oxides; nano-materials; transport in low-dimensional system
Deirdre Shoemaker (Chair)
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Research Interests: Black holes and gravitational waves
Anna Tenerani
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Space Plasma Physics
Graduate Student Welfare Committee
Kimberly K Boddy
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Theoretical cosmology, astrophysics, and particle physics
Richard Fitzpatrick
Professor, Directorship
Department of Physics, Institute for Fusion Studies
Research Interests: Magnetohydrodynamic stability; hydrodynamic stability; driven magnetic reconnection
Nick Hunter-Jones
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics, Department of Computer Science
Research Interests: Quantum information and quantum many-body physics
Andreas Karch
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Unraveling the dynamics of strongly correlated systems, using tools from string theory, quantum field theory and quantum information
Peter Onyisi (Chair)
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental investigation of electroweak symmetry breaking and searches for new particles and interactions; computing with large datasets
Aaron Zimmerman
Associate Professor
Department of Physics, Weinberg Institute
Research Interests: Black holes and gravitational waves
7 grad students
Nominations Committee
James R Chelikowsky
Professor, Core Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering
Research Interests: Computational materials science; solid state physics
Michael W Downer
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Femtosecond spectroscopy in condensed matter and plasmas; surface nonlinear optics; plasma-based particle accelerators
Willy Fischler
Professor
Department of Physics
Katherine Freese
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Feliciano Giustino
Professor, Core Faculty, Oden Institute
Department of Physics, Oden Institute
Karol Lang
Professor
Department of Physics
Allan H Macdonald
Professor
Department of Physics
Mark G Raizen (Chair)
Professor, Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Physics, Department of Pediatrics
Outreach Committee
José R Alvarado
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Biophysics; Soft matter; Fluid mechanics; Active matter
Timothy R Andeen Jr
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental searches for new particles and interactions and investigation of electroweak symmetry breaking
Edoardo Baldini
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental condensed matter physics. Discovery and nonequilibrium control of quantum phases of matter. Ultrafast laser science.
Elena Caceres (Chair)
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: High energy theory, string theory and gravity
William R Coker
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Nuclear reaction theory; medium energy nuclear reactions and scattering, history of nuclear and particle physics
Can Kilic
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Theoretical particle physics; extensions of the Standard Model; collider phenomenology; dark matter models and searches
Andrew J Loveridge
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Teaching, tech, and the role of science in society
Jonathan Perry
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Physics education research
2 Grad Students
2 Undergrad Students
Teaching Excellence Committee
Andrew J Loveridge
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Teaching, tech, and the role of science in society
Michael P Marder (Chair)
Executive Director - UTeach, Professor
Department of Physics, UTeach-Natural Sciences
Research Interests: Mechanics of solids; Condensed matter theory
Christina Markert
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: High Energy Nuclear Physics, ALICE experiment at the LHC, STAR and sPHENIX experiment at RHIC
Viranga Perera
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Thermal and Chemical Evolution of the Moon; Effect of Impacts on the Evolution of Planets
Jonathan Perry
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Physics education research
Greg O. Sitz
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental studies of the dynamics of gas-surface interactions
Undergraduate Advising Committee
Richard Fitzpatrick
Professor, Directorship
Department of Physics, Institute for Fusion Studies
Research Interests: Magnetohydrodynamic stability; hydrodynamic stability; driven magnetic reconnection
John T Markert
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Magnetism and superconductivity in oxides and heavy fermion systems; high-temperature superconductivity
Jonathan Perry
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Physics education research
Linda E Reichl
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Quantum chaos; transport theory; nonlinear dynamics; nonequilibrium statistical physics; stochastic theory
Greg O. Sitz (Chair)
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental studies of the dynamics of gas-surface interactions
Maxim Tsoi
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Condensed matter experiment; nanostructures; spintronics
Zhen Yao
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Nanostructures and Mesoscopic Physics; Condensed Matter; Experimentalist
Undergraduate Affairs Committee
Ernst-Ludwig Florin
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimentalist; biophysics; cell physics; nonlinear dynamics
Kenneth W Gentle
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Particle and electron transport
Daniel J Heinzen
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental quantum and atom optics
Can Kilic
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Theoretical particle physics; extensions of the Standard Model; collider phenomenology; dark matter models and searches
John T Markert (Chair)
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Magnetism and superconductivity in oxides and heavy fermion systems; high-temperature superconductivity
Peter Onyisi
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental investigation of electroweak symmetry breaking and searches for new particles and interactions; computing with large datasets
Greg O. Sitz
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental studies of the dynamics of gas-surface interactions
Deepa Thomas
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental high energy nuclear physics. Study of Quark Gluon Plasma. ALICE experiment at the LHC
Foundational Physics Committee
Antonia Chimonidou
Associate Professor of Practice
UTeach-Natural Sciences, Department of Physics
Research Interests: Statistical mechanics and complex quantum systems; Teaching methodologies of science; Inquiry-based teaching methods
Andrew J Loveridge
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Teaching, tech, and the role of science in society
Michael P Marder
Executive Director - UTeach, Professor
Department of Physics, UTeach-Natural Sciences
Research Interests: Mechanics of solids; Condensed matter theory
Christina Markert
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: High Energy Nuclear Physics, ALICE experiment at the LHC, STAR and sPHENIX experiment at RHIC
John T Markert
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Magnetism and superconductivity in oxides and heavy fermion systems; high-temperature superconductivity
Viranga Perera
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Thermal and Chemical Evolution of the Moon; Effect of Impacts on the Evolution of Planets
Jonathan Perry (Chair)
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Physics education research
Greg O. Sitz
Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Experimental studies of the dynamics of gas-surface interactions
Zhen Yao
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: Nanostructures and Mesoscopic Physics; Condensed Matter; Experimentalist
John Yeazell
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Research Interests: