CU Boulder Physics

10/15/2026

A conference by undergraduates, for undergraduates. 🤝

The second-annual Undergraduate Physics Conference of Colorado brought together more than 230 attendees from across the region to present posters, give research talks, and build community.

“It was an honor to showcase the incredible undergraduate research from across Colorado (and beyond) and celebrate these up-and-coming physicists,” said Zack Larter, one of this year’s organizers.

Thank you to the 30 students who gave research talks, and the 32 students who presented papers, representing 8 institutions across the region! 👏

Read more: https://www.colorado.edu/physics/2026/10/14/student-led-physics-conference-highlights-undergraduate-research

📸 credit: Tab Rodriguez

University of Colorado Boulder | CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | CU Boulder Engineering

10/07/2026

10/06/2026

10/05/2026

University of Colorado Boulder’s four physics Nobel laureates reminisce about winning the Nobel ⬇️ ✨

10/05/2026

In a recent interview with Physics Today, University of Colorado Boulder alumna Taryn Elliott (Phys’07) shares how her physics background helps her work with companies to protect and commercialize new technology ⚖️

“What can physicists do? ” is an interview series that profiles physicists who opted for careers outside of academia.

10/04/2026

New commentary by Associate Professor Keith Ulmer! ⬇️

The LHC produces an incredible amount of data and physicists have hundreds of theories about what new physics might look like.

The challenge? We only have moments to decide which collisions are worth keeping. If an unexpected signal doesn’t fit what we’re looking for, the potentially groundbreaking data could be discarded before we ever get to study them.

With more ideas than researchers and far more data than we can store, the big question is: how do we make sure we don’t throw away the discovery we’re not yet looking for?

👉 Read the full blog here: https://cylindricalonion.web.cern.ch/blogs/protected-nobody-knows-what-new-physics-will-look

10/02/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Ye! 🏆

Physicist Jun Ye has been named a 2026 Wolf Prize laureate in Physics! 🏆

One of the highest honors in the field, the Wolf Prize is awarded to scientists and artists worldwide for their outstanding achievements in advancing science and the arts for the betterment of humanity.

Ye, a fellow of JILA/NIST and the Monroe Endowed Professor in Physics , shares the 2026 prize with Immanuel Bloch, Max Planck Institute, for “transformative, widely applicable advances in the control of ultracold atomic systems.”

From developing the world’s most precise atomic clocks to advancing quantum science, Ye’s research is helping us understand the universe in entirely new ways. ⏱️🌍

Congratulations, Prof. Ye!

Read more: https://www.colorado.edu/physics/2026/10/02/jun-ye-named-2026-wolf-prize-laureate-physics

University of Colorado Boulder | National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) | CU Boulder Physics | CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | Wolf Prize

10/01/2026

Turns out 100 years of physics PhDs at the University of Colorado Boulder is a pretty good reason to celebrate ⚛️🎉

Thank you to our alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends for joining us at the CU Physics PhD Centenary and here’s to the next 100!

Check out a few highlights from the weekend ➡️

📸 credit: Zach Ulibarri (NPL tour); Glenn Asakawa (industry and Nobel panels)

CU Boulder Graduate School | CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | Forever Buffs: University of Colorado Boulder Alumni | JILA | Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

09/25/2026

09/23/2026

If you took physics labs at CU Boulder between 1967 and 2012, chances are you remember Jerry Leigh.

Hired by Frank Oppenheimer in 1967, Jerry spent 45 years supporting our undergraduate teaching labs and helping students troubleshoot experiments before retiring in 2012.

“Jerry had built many of the experiments used in the classes and could fix any problems that arose,” says John Cumalat, professor of physics. “He was legendary among the graduate teaching assistants and with the students as the go-to person to explain how the apparatus and physics worked.”

Jerry passed away in 2025, but his impact lives on through generations of students whose education he helped shape. 🖤💛

Read more about Jerry: https://www.colorado.edu/physics/2026/09/15/memoriam-jerry-leigh-legend-physics-teaching-labs

CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences | University of Colorado Boulder | Forever Buffs: University of Colorado Boulder Alumni

Jerry Leigh, who was hired by Frank Oppenheimer in 1967 and went on to devote 45 years to the Department of Physics’ undergraduate teaching laboratories, passed