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Hofstadter's Butterfly Confirmed
Assistant Professor of Physics Cory Dean and research teams from Columbia and three other institutions have definitively proven the existence of an effect known as Hofstadter's Butterfly.
The phenomenon, a complex pattern of the energy states of electrons that resembles a butterfly, has appeared in physics textbooks as a theoretical concept of quantum mechanics for nearly 40 years. However, it had never been directly observed until now. Confirming its existence may open the door for researchers to uncover completely unknown electrical properties of materials.
"We are now standing at the edge of an entirely new frontier in terms of exploring properties of a system that have never before been realized," said Professor Dean. "The ability to generate this effect could possibly be exploited to design new electronic and optoelectronic devices." More...
Artist's illustration of a butterfly as if Assistant Professor Cory R. Dean
departing from a moire pattern in
graphene formed on top of a sheet
of boron nitride. (Credit: James Hedberg)
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Research Honors Seminar and Awards Presentation
The Physics Department's Research Honors Seminar and Awards Presentation was held Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. Outstanding undergraduate physics students received recognition and prizes for academic excellence. Distinguished Professor Robert Alfano's student, Mr. Zabir Hossain, completed research: "Overview of the generation of supercontinuum in photonic crystal fibers," that contributed to his graduation with Research Honors. Other awards include the Zemansky Introductory Physics Prize, the Harry Soodak Scholarship, the Dr. Sidney Millman Scholarship, the Sonkin Medal, and the Bernard Hamermesh '40 Scholarship. For the awardees please see here (pdf). Congratulations!
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Physics Students Win Dissertation Fellowships
The Graduate Center of The City University of New York has awarded 83 level III doctoral candidates dissertation fellowships for the 2013-2014 academic year – over of $1,656,000 in stipends and tuition. This year the Provost's Office received a record number of proposals (299). Two physics doctoral students, Mr. Weikang Chen (CCNY - Prof. Joel Koplik) and Mr. Yury Dziashko (CS I- Prof. Anshel Gorohovsky), have been awarded a Dissertation Year Fellowship ($22,000 per award) for the academic year 2013-2014.
(Photo not available)
Weikang Chen (Physics) Yury Dziashko (Physics)
"Dynamics of Patchy Particles "Spectroscopy of Xe-implanted
Behavior Near Interfaces." optical center in diamond"
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Don't Let American Science Suffer From Federal Spending Cutbacks
Commentary by Michael S. Lubell, Professor of Physics, The City College of New York. Published in CQ Roll Call May 6, 2013
Name any issue, and you're likely to find President Barack Obama and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor miles apart. So when they come together on a topic of vital interest to the nation, official Washington should take notice.
In the coming weeks, as Democrats and Republicans begin their annual quest to achieve consensus on federal spending, they should reflect on the president and the majority leader's calls to scientific arms. More...Roll Call
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Robert Alfano Awarded the
Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science
Robert R. Alfano, Distinguished Professor of Physics and Engineering, has been awarded the 2013 Arthur L Schawlow Prize in Laser Science, endowed by the NEC Corporation. The Prize was established in 1991 to recognize outstanding contributions to basic research that uses lasers to advance our knowledge of the fundamental physical properties of materials and their interaction with light. It consists of a stipend of $10,000 and a certificate with the appropriate citation. The citation that will appear on the certificate reads as follows:
"For pioneering contributions to the field of ultrafast laser science, including the discovery of supercontinuum generation and new laser materials, as well as the study of pulse propagation in strongly scattering media."
The Council will bestow the Prize at the 2013 Division of Laser Science/Optical Society of America Annual meeting, October 6-10, 2013, in Orlando, FL. Announcement of the award will be published in the March 2014 APS News.
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1981 was shared by Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur L. Schawlow and Kai M. Siegbahn. Distinguished Professor Alfano (2013) joins outstanding Physicists such as Stephen Chu (1994) and William D. Phillips (1998), joint Nobel Laureates in 1997; and John L. Hall (1993) and Theodor W. Hänsch (1996), joint Nobel Laureates in 2005.
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Coinciding with the 2013 Year of Italian Culture, the "Educators Awards" of the Association of Italian American Educators were presented on April 28, 2013 in Carle Place (Long Island), New York.
Distinguished Professor Robert Alfano was knighted by the Confederazione Internazionale di Cavalieri Crociati, Guardiani de Pace of Assisi and Malta. The citation: "Cav. Dr. Robert Alfano is the Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering at the City College of the City University of New York. In 2012, Cav. Dr. Alfano was the recipient of 'The Lifetime Achievement Award in Science' by the Association of Italian American Educators (AIAE). In April, Cav. Dr. Alfano was awarded the 2013 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science, and OSA Charles Townes award 2008."
For more information please click here (pdf), or go to the CICC website.
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