Event Time:
Thursday, November 19, 2026 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 201
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2026-11-19T16:00:00
2026-11-19T17:00:00
Department Colloquium with Joseph Sanderson
Event Information:
Abstract:
[coming soon!]
Bio:
Joseph (Joe) Sanderson is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, specializing in the study of matter interactions with intense femtosecond laser pulses. His research focuses on how these interactions can be utilized for imaging the smallest and fastest moving units of matter, including complex molecules. With a profound background in physics and astronomy, he has significantly contributed to the fields of Coulomb imaging of small molecules, mass spectrometry, and nano-science applications. His work involves the generation of nanoparticles through femtosecond laser irradiation and the development of analytical methods and optical systems for nanomaterials. Sanderson has also received several accolades for his research contributions, including the JSPS Fellowship and the Premier's Research Excellence Award. He actively engages in teaching various physics courses and has a commitment to advancing research in ultrafast laser-matter interactions.
Learn More:
Read more about Joe from his University of Waterloo profile page: https://uwaterloo.ca/physics-astronomy/profile/j3sander
See his personal website here: https://uwaterloo.ca/ultrafast-laser-matter/
Find him in the UofWaterloo experts pages: https://experts.uwaterloo.ca/joseph-sanderson
Event Location:
HENN 201
Event Time:
Thursday, January 21, 2027 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 200
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2027-01-21T16:00:00
2027-01-21T17:00:00
Department Colloquium with Steven Rayan
Event Information:
Abstract:
[coming soon!]
Bio:
Steven Rayan is a Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, specializing in algebraic geometry, mathematical physics, and quantum information science. He is the Director of the Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA) and has been involved in research across multiple areas, including quantum computing and quantum matter. Rayan completed his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford and has contributed significantly to the field of Higgs bundles and their moduli spaces. He has also been recognized for his work with the College of the Royal Society of Canada and is a member of various research consortia, including the NSERC Alliance Quantum Consortium.
Learn More:
See his researcher profile page from the University of Saskatchewan: https://researchers.usask.ca/steven-rayan/index.php
More about his research: https://researchers.usask.ca/steven-rayan/research/overview.php
Read UofSaskatchewan article, "'Art inside a material’: USask mathematician recognized for quantum research": https://news.usask.ca/articles/colleges/2023/art-inside-a-material-usask-mathematician-recognized-for-quantum-research.php
Steven explains the Signature Area: https://research.usask.ca/about/signature-areas/quantum-innovation.php
Read article from The Sheaf, "The coldest machine on campus: inside USask's quantum leap": https://thesheaf.com/2026/05/28/the-coldest-machine-on-campus-inside-usasks-quantum-leap/
Event Location:
HENN 200
Event Time:
Thursday, February 4, 2027 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 200
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2027-02-04T16:00:00
2027-02-04T17:00:00
Department Colloquium with Michelle Kuchera
Event Information:
Abstract:
[coming soon!]
Bio:
Michelle Kuchera is an Associate Professor of Physics and Computer Science and Director of the Applied Mathematics Program at Davidson College, where she leads the ALPhA (Algorithms for Learning in Physics Applications) research group. She is a computational physicist working at the intersection of machine learning, nuclear physics, and particle physics, with a focus on deep learning for the analysis of accelerator-based physics data. Her current research interests include modeling stochastic processes and developing pre-trained models to support a broad range of physics data analysis tasks. She collaborates extensively with scientists at major nuclear and particle physics facilities, including the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the upcoming Electron-Ion Collider, and CERN. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and Center for Nuclear Femtography. She has given plenary talks on artificial intelligence for nuclear science at conferences and workshops and is passionate about educating the next generation about AI, science, and their broader social impacts.
Learn More:
Read her Davidson College faculty page: https://www.davidson.edu/people/michelle-kuchera
Event Location:
HENN 200
Event Time:
Thursday, February 25, 2027 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 200
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2027-02-25T16:00:00
2027-02-25T17:00:00
Department Colloquium with Peter Armitage
Event Information:
Abstract:
[coming soon!]
Bio:
N. Peter Armitage is a condensed matter physicist experimenting with 'optical' techniques to investigate complexed condensed matter systems. His current main interest includes the exotic electron states of matter at low temperatures. Other areas of interest include biological physics, nanostructures, physical chemistry, and quantum optics.
Learn More:
See his Johns Hopkins University faculty page: https://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/directory/n-peter-armitage/
Review his Johns Hopkins University experts page: https://hub.jhu.edu/experts/profiles/peter-armitage/
Learn more about his Armitage Group: https://sites.google.com/site/nparmitagegroup/?pli=1&authuser=0
Read this Johns Hopkins article, "Peter Armitage and Collin Broholm receive grants to further our understanding of the ;weirdness' of quantum materials": https://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/2020/05/29/peter-armitage-collin-broholm-weirdness-of-quantum-materials/
Watch his videos: "Electrodynamics of quantum materials": and "Electrodynamics of quantum materials II"
Event Location:
HENN 200
Event Time:
Thursday, March 4, 2027 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 200
Add to Calendar
2027-03-04T16:00:00
2027-03-04T17:00:00
Department Colloquium with James Analytis
Event Information:
Abstract:
[coming soon!]
Bio:
James Analytis joined the UBC Berkeley faculty in January 2013 as the Charles Kittel Chair in condensed matter physics, and served as Department Chair from 2020-2023. He received his B.Sc. in physics from Canterbury University in 2001 and his D. Phil. from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes' Scholar in 2006. At Oxford, he worked with Stephen Blundell and Arzhang Ardavan on experimental and computational studies of quasi-two dimensional organic superconductors. Following his graduate studies, Analytis was a Lloyd's Tercentenary Fellow at the University of Bristol, where he worked on understanding the nature of anisotropic scattering in cuprate superconductors. In 2008 he became a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University where he worked on both pnictide superconductors and topological insulators. Analytis' current interests are unconventional superconductors, quantum critical systems, frustrated magnets and topological spintronics.
As Department Chair, Analytis created the Pi2 undergraduate fellowship program, the Physics Innovation Lab, and drove a number of transformative reforms in graduate admissions, the graduate PhD program, undergraduate mentoring, departmental finances and initiated new approaches to faculty hiring to ensure our department remained at the forefront of academic institutions. Analytis led the department through the peak of the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining the department's mission to provide a world class education to aspiring scientists and engineers.
Learn More:
See his UC Berkely faculty page: https://physics.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/james-analytis
See his research bio: https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/james-analytis
Learn more about the Analytis Lab: https://physics.berkeley.edu/research-faculty/research-groups/analytis-lab
Review his publications: https://profiles.lbl.gov/11280-james-analytis/publications
Read this UCBerkely article, "James Analytis awarded a 2024 national Brown Investigator award": https://physics.berkeley.edu/news/james-analytis-awarded-2024-national-brown-investigator-award
Event Location:
HENN 200
Event Time:
Thursday, March 18, 2027 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 200
Add to Calendar
2027-03-18T16:00:00
2027-03-18T17:00:00
Department Colloquium with Tim Maudlin
Event Information:
Abstract:
[coming soon!]
Bio:
Tim Maudlin (B.A. Yale, Physics and Philosophy; Ph.D. Pittsburgh, History and Philosophy of Science) has interests primarily focused in the foundations of physics, metaphysics, and logic. His books include Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity (Blackwell, 3rd edition now available), Truth and Paradox (Oxford) and The Metaphysics Within Physics (Oxford) and Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time. He is a member of the Academie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences and the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi). He has been a Guggenheim Fellow. He taught at Rutgers from 1986 to 2011, and has been a visiting professor at Harvard.
Learn More:
See his NYU faculty page: https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/tim-maudlin.html?challenge=d06e90d7-4d8f-4b88-9d8c-10b73beb60f1
Review his personal website: https://tim-maudlin.site/
Watch his videos:
Why physics can't explain mathematics
Why philosophers can't solve quantum gravity yet
Tim Maudlin: a masterclass on the philosophy of time
Read his book, Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time (2012): https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691165714/philosophy-of-physics
Event Location:
HENN 200