CWRU Department of Physics

09/08/2026

Professor Robert (Bob) Brown and his teams are starting September 2026 strong with three new publications!

The first, “Prototyping CAPGLO: A Low-Cost Magnetic Cell Capture and Imaging Platform,” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Medical Devices. The project had the important leadership of Professor Susann Brady-Kalnay of the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and includes four undergraduate co-authors.

https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/medicaldevices/article/20/6/061007/1234571/Prototyping-CAPGLO-A-Low-Cost-Magnetic-Cell

A second paper, “Deep Learning-Based Automatic Delineation of Diaphragm Domes in kV-Triggered Images for Liver Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy,” will appear in Medical Physics. The leadership here included the collaborators at Cleveland Clinic and Professor Michael Martens, Former CWRU Physics PhD student Su Weragoda was lead author.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.15322

Finally, “Objects with three orthogonal symmetry planes: Oblique driving forces and Stokes flow motion,” was published this year in PLOS ONE, with Dr. Robert Deissler leading this work, as well as playing a critical role in the CAPGLO paper above.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0352508

Professor Brown is grateful to the collaborators and research teams who led these projects. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences Case Alumni Association

09/06/2026

Join us this Tuesday for our next Particle Astrophysics Seminar! We will be hearing from graduate student Yikun Wang. Her talk is titled “Beyond Halo Mass: Assembly History, Environment, and Baryonic Effects in the Galaxy-Halo Connection.”

She will discuss how halo clustering depends on more than just halo mass, including other secondary properties, a phenomenon known as halo assembly bias.

We hope to see you this Tuesday from 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. in Rockefeller 221. Everyone is welcome!

Case Western Reserve University The Alumni Association of Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

09/05/2026

It was great to have Professor Mustafa Amin of Rice University speak at our first Particle Astrophysics Seminar of the year! His talk, titled “Waving in the Dark: Noisy, Warm, and Spinning Dark Fields,” explored sufficiently light bosonic dark matter and the wave-dynamical effects it can produce on astrophysical and cosmological scales, as well as how these effects could be observed or constrained.
Thank you for starting us off strong Professor Amin!

Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences Rice University

09/02/2026

Members of the Starkman group recently represented Case Western Reserve University at the 29th International Conference on Particle Physics & Cosmology (COSMO-2026) in Leiden, Netherlands!
Distinguished Professor Glenn Starkman and Postdoctoral Scholar Deyan Mihaylov can be seen on the left-hand side of the group photo, along with Postdoctoral Scholar Anna Negro and former visitors Mikel Martin and Javier Carron.

IFT Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

08/30/2026

David Gerdes, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Physics, was recently featured in CNET reflecting on 20 years since Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet.

Gerdes discusses how our understanding and classification of objects in the solar system evolve as new discoveries are made, drawing connections between Pluto and objects such as Ceres, Pallas and Vesta, which were once considered planets before astronomers discovered the much larger population we now call the asteroid belt.

As the debate over Pluto’s status continues, Gerdes explains how new discoveries continue to challenge the ways astronomers define and categorize the worlds in our solar system.

Read more from here: https://www.cnet.com/science/space/20-years-since-astronomers-decided-pluto-isnt-a-planet/

Case Western Reserve University Case Alumni Association CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

08/21/2026

Distinguished Professor of Physics Robert Brown was recently interviewed by Cleveland.com, where he corrected a calculation concerning the speed of baseballs dropped from Cleveland’s Terminal Tower.

The original reports estimated that the baseballs were traveling about 138 mph when they reached the ground. However, that calculation did not take air resistance into account. Brown explained that air drag is critical in determining the actual speed of a falling baseball.

Using a more realistic calculation that includes air resistance, the baseball would reach approximately 90 mph, rather than 138 mph. As the ball accelerates under gravity, air resistance increases until it balances the force of gravity, producing what is known as terminal velocity (pun intended).

At roughly 90 mph, the baseball would be traveling at nearly the speed of a professional fastball. Brown also explained that although a professional baseball player might be capable of catching such a ball, it would be dangerous for an average person to attempt.

Professor Browns interview was also featured on todays copy of The Daily! https://case.edu/news/

Find the full interview here: https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2026/08/drop-a-baseball-off-terminal-tower-its-been-done.html

.com Case Western Reserve University cleveland.com CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

08/20/2026

Meet Phoebe, a CWRU Physics undergrad working with Professor Benjamin Monreal on Project 8 to help develop methods for measuring the neutrino mass.

Her research uses machine learning and PyTorch neural networks to analyze power spectral density data and identify frequency bands. Distinguishing central and side bands can help determine the electron’s incident angle and total energy, key information for measuring neutrino mass.

Her favorite part of research has been learning machine learning, exploring the Python packages necessary to do so, and discovering different techniques.

Her advice to students interested in research? Start early, even if you haven’t taken the prerequisites, attend lab meetings or talk with professors about their research. Getting involved early can give you a huge head start on a project.

Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

08/20/2026

Last week, the Starkman Lab took a trip to Niagara Falls and the Gerry Rodeo in Upstate New York. The group had a great time taking a break from their work and enjoying the weekend together! They are now back on campus and continuing their studies of the topology of the Universe as part of the COMPACT collaboration.

Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

08/17/2026

In honor of the 2026 total solar eclipse visible from Greenland, Iceland, and Northern Spain, we’re highlighting two Beauty in Physics submissions taken from the 2024 total solar eclipse. It’s especially fitting as Dean David Gerdes recently traveled to Spain to chase this year’s eclipse! ☀️🌒

The first attached imagine is from Jared May. He used composite images to capture the total solar eclipse over Cleveland on April 8, 2024. Combining more than 35 photographs taken with three cameras, the image follows the Sun as the Moon gradually covered and uncovered it, while telescope images reveal details of the eclipse and a wide-field exposure captures the colors of the sky during totality.

The second imagine is from Jack Cencula’s submission and uses multiple exposures to capture the full extent of the solar corona. Because cameras cannot capture the bright inner corona and faint outer corona in a single exposure, Jack blended images taken at different exposure lengths to reveal the extended corona without overexposing the regions near the solar disk.

Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

08/14/2026

Professor Stacy McGaugh, chair of the Department of Astronomy was also recently featured in The Daily for his insights on a Newsweek article examining Reflect Orbital’s plans for space-based mirrors designed to reflect sunlight back to Earth.

McGaugh warned that the proposed satellites could worsen light pollution, interfere with astronomical observations and research, and have broader effects on nocturnal wildlife. As the number of satellites in orbit continues to grow, astronomers are raising important questions about how these technologies could change our ability to observe and study the night sky.

Read more about Professor McGaugh’s perspective and the potential impact of Reflect Orbital’s plans in The Daily or below
https://www.newsweek.com/concerns-space-mirror-light-up-earth-reflect-orbital-12295679

CWRU Astronomy Case Western Reserve University CWRU College of Arts and Sciences

The new technology aims to reflect sunlight back to Earth to illuminate streets and neighborhoods without electricity after dark.