News

Read the latest news from the Department of Physics

UT News

UT Austin Scientist Keji Lai Wins Presidential Early Career Award

Physicist Keji Lai and a faculty member in engineering have been selected to receive Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers.

Keji Lai stands in front of a chalkboard with equations

Features

Physics Alum a Lead on Gravitational Waves Discovery

UT Austin alumnus David Reitze talks about an event that happened in September or more than a billion years ago, depending on how you look at it.

An artist's rendition showing a person looking out at four celestial bodies

Podcast

Pyramid Probe

How particle physics can help explore the insides of ancient Mayan pyramids without digging

A large cylinder-shaped piece of scientific equipment hangs from chains

Features

Testing General Relativity

Scientists from UT Austin once traveled to the Sahara Desert to observe a rare eclipse and used computers to model ripples in space and time unleashed by the mergers of black holes

A man stands on a ladder outside a white hut in the desert

Features

Can General Relativity, at 100, Withstand Some Holes?

Answering some of the biggest questions in astrophysics—for example, about black holes and the origin of the universe—might require overhauling general relativity.

Illustration of a black hole

Announcements

Researchers Win $2 Million Grant to Develop Atomically Thin Semiconductors

Xiaoqin Elaine Li's team could help enable bendable computer screens and wearable electronics

A scientist works with a set of scientific equipment

Accolades

Xiaoqin (Elaine) Li Elected to the American Physical Society

The American Physical Society has honored four UT Austin faculty members as APS Fellows for their exceptional contributions to physics. Recognized are Xiaoqin (Elaine) Li...

Xiaoqin (Elaine) Li

Accolades

Physicist Recognized for Teaching Excellence

John Markert, a professor in the Department of Physics, has been inducted into UT Austin's Academy of Distinguished Teachers for 2015, recognized for his exceptional...

John Market

Research

Vernita Gordon, Assistant Professor in Physics, Discovers Bacteria Can Block Their Own Growth

Researchers led by UT Austin's Vernita Gordon have found that *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* bacteria can inhibit both their own growth and that of their antibiotic-resistant mutants...

vernita gordon and more

Features

2015 Summer Blockbusters: Meet Our Science Truth Detector

With summer movie season in full swing, cinema-goers are leaving theaters with one big question in mind: “Wait, could that really happen?”

Cartoon characters representing different feelings stand around a control console