Accomplishments: Department of Physics and Astronomy
Michael Pravica (Physics) was awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct research into the mechanisms of X-ray induced photochemistry.
Experimental Investigation of the Control Mechanism of X-ray Induced Structural and Chemical Synthesis at Extreme Conditions (DE-SC0023248)
Craig Schwartz and colleagues (Nevada Extreme Conditions Lab) were recently awarded two grants from the Department of Energy:
1.) Next generation solar cells probed at the interface with exceptional precision (PIE): Towards new device design – Summary: Generating solar energy via photovoltaic (PV) devices is one of the most promising routes…
Ashkan Salamat (Physics and Astronomy) is the joint recipient of The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Grant, along with colleagues Ranga Dias (University of Rochester) and Audrey Grockowiak (CNPEM, Brazilian synchrotron). The project, “Exploring the Limits of High-temperature Superconductivity,” is funded at $1,624,838 for 48 months (of which $…
Jason Steffen (Physics and Astronomy) was the lead organizer for a major international conference on Exoplanets (planets that orbit distant stars). The conference took place the M Resort in Henderson, and brought together more than 500 scientists from around the world for a week of scientific talks, discussions, and collaboration.
David Rice, Jason Steffen (both Physics and Astronomy) and their collaborator, Chenliang Huang from the University of Arizona, published an open-source software package that models the interior structures of rocky and water-rich planets. This code was designed to facilitate the collaboration between UNLV astronomers who study extrasolar planets,…
Qiang Zhu (Physics and Astronomy) has been honored by the National Science Foundation with a Faculty Early Career Development Program for his proposal "Organic Materials Discovery with the Aid of Digital Crystallography". This CAREER award will support theoretical and computational research and educational activities to advance…
Shichun Huang (Geoscience), Min Li (Physics and Astronomy) and their colleagues published an article, Sulfur Isotopic Signature of Earth Established by Planetesimal Volatile Evaporation, in Naure Geoscience. Using sophisticated ab initio and thermodynamics calculations, they showed that the Earth's sulfur, an important volatile element, budget is…
Zhaohuan Zhu (Physics & Astronomy) received a $538,736 grant from NASA Exoplanets Research Program to carry out research on formation of young planets close to their host stars. Co-investigators include James Stone from Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and Nuria Calvet from the University of Michigan.
Tim Waters (Physics & Astronomy) and his latest work are the subject of a NASA press release, "Black Holes May Generate ‘Tsunamis’ in Escaping Gas." Based on a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal and co-authored with Daniel Proga and Randall Dannen (both Physics and Astronomy) this article describes how oceanic disturbances akin…
Qiang Zhu (Physics and Astronomy) has been honored by the U.S. Department of Energy's office of science with an Early Career Research Program Award for his proposal "Data-driven Discovery of Inorganic Electrides for Energy Applications." He is one of 83 scientists recognized nationwide. This award, now in its 12th year, is designed to bolster the…
David Rice, Zachary Grande, Ashkan Salamat, Jason Steffen (all Physics and Astronomy), and Oliver Tschauner (Geoscience), along with former UNLV postdoc Chenliang Huang (Physics and Astronomy) published a study on the properties of the interiors of distant, extrasolar planets in the "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society." This…
Ashkan Salamt (Physics and Astronomy) was awarded a grant from the Air Force office of scientific research. The grant, "The synthesis of supernitride compounds via extreme (pressure, temperature) conditions: a new generation of high-energy density materials," is for $452,184. Modern calculations reveal a novel group of binary…