Prof. Simon Birrer Receives Prestigious DOE Early Career Award

Prof. Simon Birrer has won a prestigious DOE Early Career Award! His winning proposal was to study the expansion history of the Universe with the newly commissioned NSF-DoE Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

2025 Season's Greetings

We collectively had an exceptionally productive year in 2025. We got together in person, shared our lives, and created new stories and memorable moments. We wish you all happy and restful holidays, and wish you the very best in 2026!

Prof. George Sterman Receives Honorary Doctorate from ETH Zurich

Prof. George Sterman, the Director of YITP, was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by ETH Zurich. The award citation refers to Prof. Sterman's development of concepts that "enable precise tests of the fundamental laws of nature in particle physics".

Prof. Ken Dill to Receive Biophysical Society’s 2026 Founder’s Award

The Biophysical Society has announced that Professor Ken A. Dill will receive the Society’s 2026 Founders Award for his work on the protein folding problem and the development of statistical mechanical theories and foundational principles in biophysics.

SBU Researchers Part of “Rival” Experiments Publish First Joint Analysis

Researchers from the Department of Physics and Astronomy are part of an international team of physicists conducting the T2K experiment and have provided joint analysis with another team of physicists conducting a different NOvA experiment.

In Memoriam, Prof. Frank C.N. Yang

With our heaviest hearts we share the very sad news for the department, Stony Brook University and the entire (particle) physics community in the world. Our beloved colleague, mentor and friend Frank C. N. Yang has passed away at age 103 in China.

Professor Neelima Sehgal Elected as an American Physical Society Fellow

SBU Professor Neelima Sehgal has been elected as an American Physical Society (APS) Fellow joining other APS fellows in the Physics & Astronomy Department.

Welcome New Staff Member Luis Rodriguez

Photo of Luis Rodriguez

Started at Stony Brook in the beginning of January 2026 as an Instructional Laboratory Technician, joining Frank Chisena and Rich Lefferts.
Graduated from CUNY in 2023 with a B.S. in Physics (Honors)
Has been working in fields related to college education since 2019
Started as a Math/Physics Tutor, then became a Supplemental Instructor for Physics (Ocean County College), and most recently served as Laboratory Coordinator for Adelphi University’s Physics Department

Stony Brook Physics Students Win National Recognition for Fourth Consecutive Year

Following their yearly review, the National Council of Society of Physics Students (SPS) has awarded the Stony Brook University SPS Chapter as a 2024-25 Outstanding Chapter, extending their streak to four years!

SPS Members

See: National SPS Website

The Society of Physics Students (SPS) is a professional association designed for students and membership is open to anyone interested in physics and related fields. SPS operates within the American Institute of Physics (AIP), an umbrella organization for professional physical science societies.

This is a great and well deserved recognition, given to less than 15% of SPS chapters each year, and Stony Brook's chapter has received it for four years in a row!

Congratulations once again to the SPS members! We are very proud of everything they continue to accomplish!

To learn more about our university's SPS chapter, visit their link here.

"A Legacy of Quantum" Article in the Latest Issue of Stony Brook Magazine

Quantum Legacy

A recent article in Stony Brook Magazine entitled "A Legacy of Quantum" highlights Stony Brook University's quantum history, including advances in Theory, Experiment, and Quantum Information Science and Technology.

Quantum Legacy

You can read the full article here.

Department News Archive

Physics and Astronomy in the News

Physics and Astronomy in the News Archive