Luther College Department of Physics

04/10/2026

This beautiful photo highlights Japan's KEK, the national high energy physics accelerator laboratory where the Belle II Collaboration operates its ongoing experiment, on which Professor Todd Pedlar and his students work.

This is the curving underground passage at the SuperKEKB particle accelerator in Tsukuba, Japan. The flagship electron-positron collider at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) achieved the world’s highest instantaneous luminosity for a colliding-beam accelerator in 2020. https://www.quantamagazine.org/global-physics-photowalk-2025-winners-revealed-20260401/

01/26/2026

Thanks to the hard work of the and teams, we are ready to start 2026 operations! The Belle II Solenoid has been turned on and we’ll begin Main Ring operation today after the 2025-26 winter shutdown. Here’s to a 2026 with stable operation and bountiful data!

Belle IIとSuperKEKBチームのお陰で我々が２０２６年度ランを始まる！Belle IIのソレノイドはONになり、メインリングオペレーションは今日から開始する。２０２５−６年の冬シャットダウンの後、データ豊かかつ安定なランニングの２０２６年へ！

11/26/2025

A new run has begun on the experiment in Japan that Todd Pedlar and his research students at Luther College are working on! New data to study, and new things to discover!

06/20/2025

Super slow mo of one of our launches today

06/20/2025

Simultaneous launches from a couple Luther College Dorian Music Camps and Festivals campers!

06/20/2025

Luther College Dorian Camp Launch Pads #1 and #2

05/15/2025

And, batting cleanup, Duy Nguyen, presenting his work on studies of variable stars using data taken at the Luther College Valders Hall Rooftop Observatory

05/15/2025

Next up, a tag team duo of Ryan Holt and Jack Moriarty, presenting the results of their senior projects analyzing data to from the Belle II experiment to measure branching fractions of charmed mesons.

05/15/2025

Batting lead off is Mark Prince, presenting his Senior Project on simulations of proton-atom electron capture cross sections.

05/15/2025

Our annual end-of-year ritual is upon us: Four fine lads present their Physics Senior Projects today in Valders!

01/04/2025

professor shares his passions in a new book! 📚

Jeff Wilkerson, professor of physics, recently published “23 Woodcock in 22 Years: Reflections on Hunting, the Night Sky, and Our Place in the Universe,” a memoir interweaving Wilkerson’s thoughts on the relationship between astronomy and bird hunting and how these two passions shape his identity.

“In hunting, I feel a deep connection to the world around me. In astronomy, I feel a deep connection to the universe. In each of these, I feel connected to the people who have undertaken these activities before me and are doing so now elsewhere in the world and to the people who are yet to come, but will partake in observing the sky, modeling the universe and living off the land as much as possible.” – Jeff Wilkerson, professor of physics

Learn more 👉 https://bit.ly/3P34zIL