Physics Illinois

09/03/2026

“Urbana-style physics” was on full display last Friday! ⚛️

Illinois Physics graduate students and postdocs came together for Urbana-Style Condensed Matter, Condensed (USCMC), a mini-symposium showcasing the incredible breadth of condensed matter research happening across our department.

Through lightning talks and poster sessions, theorists and experimentalists shared their work, exchanged ideas, and found new opportunities to collaborate across research groups.

That collaboration is at the heart of Urbana-style physics: theorists and experimentalists working seamlessly together, bringing different perspectives and expertise to the same scientific questions. It’s a tradition we’re proud to keep alive at Illinois Physics. 🧡💙

Learn more about USCMC: https://icmt.illinois.edu/workshops/USCMC2026/home

09/02/2026

What happens when physics, biology, and AI come together to study how our brains age?

Illinois Physics Professor Aleksei Aksimentiev is part of a new interdisciplinary team receiving a 2026 Beckman Institute Research Seed Grant to develop an AI framework for studying the molecular pathways involved in brain aging.

The team will create a Center for Orchestrated Agentic Biology, bringing specialized AI models together with molecular simulations and experiments to tackle complex biological questions.

Aksimentiev will lead the structural biophysics portion of the project, using molecular-level simulations to test whether mechanisms proposed by the AI are consistent with how these systems actually behave.

Learn more about the project: https://beckman.illinois.edu/news/article/2026/08/25/beckman-announces-2026-research-seed-grant-project

08/28/2026

08/27/2026

Illinois Physics Professor Peter Abbamonte joins The UIUC Talkshow for a wide-ranging conversation about a career in science that hasn’t exactly followed a straight line.

From Bell Labs and founding Inprentus to competition, failure, challenging popular ideas, and the human side of science, Abbamonte reflects on the experiences that shaped his career. He also dives into strange metals and some of the biggest unanswered questions in physics. 🔬

▶️ Watch the full episode of The UIUC Talkshow: https://youtu.be/XIJeY0A2sFg?si=9H0shZCOoJJiKWlu

08/21/2026

Congratulations to Illinois Physics Professor Angela Kou, who has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award! 🎉🏆

Kou’s CAREER project, “Developing Platforms for Protected Qubits Using a Scanning Resonator Microscope,” will explore how existing and proposed qubit platforms interact with their environments, research that could help advance the development of quantum technologies.

The project will also help prepare students for careers in the growing quantum workforce, bringing together cutting-edge research and education.

Congratulations, Professor Kou, on this exciting achievement!

👉 Learn more about her CAREER project:

Kou's project, “Developing Platforms for Protected Qubits Using a Scanning Resonator Microscope,” will investigate decoherence in existing and proposed superconducting qubit platforms.

08/13/2026

New to Illinois? Illinois Physics Professor Smitha Vishveshwara has a few places she thinks you should see. 🧡💙

The News-Gazette asked faculty and staff to recommend must-stop spots for new students, and the Illinois Physics professor shared one of her favorite walking loops through campus.

First stop? Loomis Laboratory and its “wonders of physics,” of course. From there, the route winds through the Bardeen Quad, Grainger Library, Alma Mater, the Main Quad, Krannert Center and more.

For students getting ready to call Illinois home, it’s a pretty great introduction to everything waiting within and just beyond the doors of Loomis.

Check out Vishveshwara’s full route, along with more must-stop spots recommended by the Illinois community at the link in our bio!

08/06/2026

Last week we welcomed the IPaSS Teaching Fellows back to campus to continue building on the work they began earlier this summer.

Through a program led almost entirely by teacher facilitators, the group shared curricular ideas with one another through poster sessions, explored research-based approaches to equitable instruction in physics classrooms, and discussed how to approach emergent questions of generative AI use in their classrooms with students. They also participated in hands-on workshops covering topics from the "physics of music" and "vibe coding for beginners”, to teacher-created labs and collaborative curriculum planning. 🎵

The week wrapped up with a community showing of teachers’ favorite physics demos. These included a "butane gutter”, a card trick owing its magic to frictional force, and a breathtaking display of a cinderblock being smashed while resting on a fellow teacher’s belly! 😲

IPaSS is all about fostering teacher collaboration and responding to teachers’ practical needs. Seeing teachers learn from one another, refine ideas, and leave with fresh resources for their classrooms is what makes the program so special. In the age of chatbots and efficiency-maxxing, this has been a particularly refreshing couple of weeks of in-person interaction. As one teacher puts it, "This community makes me believe in humans again."

Thank you to all of the educators, and Illinois Physics faculty, staff, and students who helped make another incredible summer of IPaSS possible. We can't wait to see the impact these ideas will have in classrooms across the state! 🧡💙

07/29/2026

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Professor Emeritus Leland "Lee" Holloway Jr., a longtime member of the Illinois Physics community.

Professor Holloway joined the Department of Physics in 1967 and spent more than three decades advancing high-energy physics research while inspiring generations of students through his teaching and mentorship. He served as co-principal investigator for the experimental High Energy Group at Fermilab and continued his research after retirement, contributing to the Virgo Interferometer project for gravitational wave detection in Italy.

Known for his humility, Professor Holloway often introduced himself simply as a "teacher," a reflection of the dedication and care he brought to every student he mentored. His passion for physics, curiosity, and kindness left a lasting impact on our department and the many colleagues, students, and friends who knew him.

Our thoughts are with his wife, Edit, his son, Bryan, and all who loved him.

Read more about Professor Holloway's life and legacy:

View Leland Holloway Jr.'s obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

07/08/2026

What if one of biology’s most fundamental concepts wasn’t the whole story? 🧬

New research from Illinois Physics Professor Sangjin Kim and her team is challenging a long-held assumption about bacterial gene expression.

By combining physics, biology, imaging, and computational modeling, the researchers found that gene expression isn’t governed by a single universal strategy. Instead, it depends on two key physical factors: timing and location.

Their findings could reshape how scientists understand cells and help guide future advances in synthetic biology.

👉 Check out the full story: https://physics.illinois.edu/news/Kim-group-bacterial-gene-expression

07/01/2026

Join us in congratulating Illinois Physics undergraduate Cliff Sun on being named a 2026 Astronaut Scholar! 🚀🏆

Sun, a member of Professor Alexey Bezryadin's research group, is one of just 79 students nationwide selected this year by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The scholarship recognizes outstanding undergraduate students pursuing STEM degrees who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, research excellence, and leadership, while providing financial support and mentorship from astronauts and industry leaders.

In the Bezryadin group, Sun studies novel superconducting quantum devices and has already co-authored multiple research papers, serving as first author on three of them. Looking ahead, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics and a career in quantum information science, with the goal of helping develop scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Professor Alexey Bezryadin praised Sun's "research productivity and passion for research in physics," calling his creativity, dedication, and scientific achievements exceptional.

Congratulations again to Cliff on this well-deserved recognition!

👉 Learn more here: https://physics.illinois.edu/news/cliff-sun-astronaut-scholar