skip to main content
College of Liberal Arts
University of Mississippi

Physics & Astronomy

Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss

University Celebrates Employee, Community Service

Annual program recognizes achievements in research, learning, service and scholarship APRIL 20, 2023 BY EDWIN B. SMITH The University of Mississippi Division of Diversity and Community Engagement recognized outstanding accomplishments in community-engaged research, learning, service and scholarship Tuesday (April 18) during its annual Celebration of Service. Honors presented included the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Service Award, the Excellence in […]

Jake Bennett

Physicist Helps Advance Understanding of Fundamental Particles

Professor’s work to measure lifespans of charmed baryons featured in prestigious journal MARCH 8, 2023 BY ABIGAIL MARTIN University of Mississippi physicist Jake Bennett studies a group of fleeting subatomic particles in hopes of advancing understanding of the fundamental building blocks that make up matter in the universe, and he is part of a team […]

Illustration of black hole: brown field with black amorphous shape in the middle.

Black Hole Researchers Make Progress in Gravitational Wave Research

UM-led scientists discover nonlinear elements enhance computational models FEBRUARY 21, 2023 BY EDWIN B. SMITH Finding a needle in a haystack might prove easier than finding the most accurate measure of gravitational waves, telltale ripples in space-time created when massive black holes crash into each other. Yet a University of Mississippi physicist and his team have made […]

Leo C. Stein

UM Physicist Named Alfred P. Sloan Fellow

Leo Stein is first university faculty member to receive prestigious award FEBRUARY 15, 2023 BY EDWIN B. SMITH Leo Stein, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Mississippi, joins a list of emerging leaders in research and STEM innovation as a member of the 2023 class of Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows. The Alfred P. […]

an infrasound array sensor

Researchers Developing Early Warning System for Tornadoes

Method uses tornadoes’ unique sound for detection and tracking JANUARY 18, 2023 BY ERIN GARRETT Tornado season in the South means increased anxiety, hours of televised storm coverage and watching the skies. Unfortunately, it can also lead to “warning fatigue.” A team of researchers at the University of Mississippi‘s National Center for Physical Acoustics is […]

Lorena Magaña Zertuche

2022 Advancing STEM Scholarship Recipient

JANUARY 13, 2023 BY MARGARET SAVOIE FOR THE UM GRADUATE SCHOOL WINTER NEWSLETTER In fall of 2021, the Graduate School launched a new scholarship opportunity, the Advancing STEM Scholarship. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This scholarship focuses on students whose background, achievements, and expertise demonstrate a commitment to contributing to the advancement […]

Stories published by the LA Times written by Kulkarni.

UM Astrophysics Student Interns with the LA Times

Building communications in science through AAAS fellowship DECEMBER 15, 2022 BY ABIGAIL MARTIN Sumeet Kulkarni is a PhD student with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Mississippi who interned with the Los Angeles Times over the summer writing science articles for the publication. Kulkarni applied and was accepted into the American […]

Donald Summers

Scholarship Endowments Honor Longtime Professor

Late Donald Summers helped build resources to support talented students in physics and astronomy NOVEMBER 5, 2022 BY TINA H. HAHN The late Donald Summers loved studying the universe and spent his career as a University of Mississippi professor teaching astronomy and conducting physics research. A new gift in his name will enable students to […]

A gift from the Kelly Gene Cook Charitable Foundation will help provide laboratory facilities in the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation at the University of Mississippi. One of the laboratories will be named for Kelly Gene Cook Sr.

STEM Facility Construction Nears Halfway Point

Largest academic building in university history to feature innovative lab spaces, TEAL classrooms OCTOBER 6, 2022 BY ERIN GARRETT Imagine standing in the atrium of the largest academic building in the history of the University of Mississippi‘s main campus. Looking up, four floors of laboratories and lecture halls are all dedicated to increasing STEM student […]

The Dr. Donald Summers Undergraduate Scholarship Endowment and the Dr. Donald Summers Graduate Student Fellowship Stipend Endowment will enable University of Mississippi students to pursue work in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The late professor dedicated his professional life to teaching and conducting research.

Helping Students Reach for the Stars

Longtime Professor Honored by Assistance for Students AUGUST 26, 2022 BY TINA HAHN The late Donald Summers loved studying the universe and spent his career as a University of Mississippi professor teaching astronomy and conducting physics research. Now, a gift in his name will enable students to reach for the stars. The $200,000 gift from […]