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Leading the Way for Quantum Research

From table-top experiments to theories about the universe, Berkeley Physics guides diverse efforts in quantum information science A century ago, science went quantum. In recognition of the progress made since this initial development of quantum mechanics, 2025 is being celebrated as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. According to the quantum view of nature, matter absorbs energy in tiny discrete packets....

Leading the Way for Quantum Research From table-top experiments to theories about the universe, Berkeley Physics guides diverse efforts in quantum information science A century ago, science went quantum. In recognition of the progress…

Alum Mike Garland Shines A Light On Future Leaders

Mike Garland (BA ’72) donates to Berkeley Physics to give back to the university that helped change his life. In addition to supporting the Michael M. Garland Chair in Physics since 2008, he and his wife, Gigi Coe, recently founded the Shining Lights Program—providing leadership training to women-identifying graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in Berkeley’s mathematical and physical sciences. “I’ve always felt women are equally capable, if not more so, than men....

Alum Mike Garland Shines A Light On Future Leaders Mike Garland (BA ’72) donates to Berkeley Physics to give back to the university that helped change his life. In addition to supporting the Michael M. Garland Chair in Physics since 2008, he and hi…

Leinweber Foundation Gives Over $100 Million for Theoretical Physics Research

Larry Leinweber has been intrigued by science ever since he was a young child growing up on a farm in rural Michigan. After success as a software entrepreneur, he founded the Leinweber Foundation to support impactful research and expand STEM education access to students from underserved areas. The Leinweber Foundation just made a transformative gift of over $100 million for theoretical physics research across seven top institutions: University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study....

Leinweber Foundation Gives Over $100 Million for Theoretical Physics Research Larry Leinweber has been intrigued by science ever since he was a young child growing up on a farm in rural Michigan. After success as a software entrepreneur, he founded the Leinweber Foundation t…

The bright yellow forklift crept forward, gracefully maneuvering the 20-ton steel tank through the entrance of Etcheverry Hall’s basement with only two millimeters to spare. Relying on the expertise of Berkeley Lab riggers, this tight squeeze was by design to maximize the size of the outer vessel of the Eos experiment. “Named for the Titan goddess of dawn, Eos represents the dawn of a new era of neutrino detection technology,” says Gabriel Orebi Gann, a Berkeley Physics associate professor, Berkeley Lab faculty scientist, and the leader of Eos, an international collaboration of 24 institutions jointly led by UC Berkeley Physics and Berkeley Lab Nuclear Science....

Eos: The Dawn of a New Era of Neutrino Detection The bright yellow forklift crept forward, gracefully maneuvering the 20-ton steel tank through the entrance of Etcheverry Hall’s basement with only two millimeters to spare. Relying on the expertis…

Pamela Caton (BA ’92) has always been a “maker.” As a young person, she took jewelry, machining, and programming classes. When her radio broke, her dad suggested, “Try to fix it. It’s already broken, so what’s the worst that can happen?” Working on hardware brings her joy, and she is especially drawn to multi-disciplinary projects. Caton has primarily worked on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)....

Alum Pamela Caton likes to get her hands dirty Pamela Caton (BA ’92) has always been a “maker.” As a young person, she took jewelry, machining, and programming classes. When her radio broke, her dad suggested, “Try to fix it. It’s already broke…

Despite gravity being the dominant force on large scales, the quantum nature of gravity remains elusive. Now, Berkeley Physics Professor Holger Müller’s group has built the most accurate instrument for measuring gravitational attraction between atoms and a small mass—enabling the search for deviations from Newtonian gravity due to quantum effects or hypothetical “fifth-force” dark energy. This novel lattice atom interferometer exploits both the particle-like and wave-like properties of matter....

Measuring Gravitational Attraction with Incredible Precision Despite gravity being the dominant force on large scales, the quantum nature of gravity remains elusive. Now, Berkeley Physics Professor Holger Müller’s group has built the most accurate instrument…

Stephen Hawking showed a black hole constantly emits radiation that contains almost no information about its interior, causing the black hole to slowly evaporate. This suggests some information is irretrievably lost when the black hole dies. Theorists ever since have struggled to resolve the Hawking Information Paradox, which states information can neither be emitted from a black hole nor preserved inside it forever....

Islands Protruding from Black Holes Are Key to Solving Paradox Stephen Hawking showed a black hole constantly emits radiation that contains almost no information about its interior, causing the black hole to slowly evaporate. This suggests some information is …

Scientists across the nation are both fascinated by the work done at the Department of Energy’s national laboratories and could make important contributions to that work. Still, many of them – especially those at institutions historically underrepresented in the research community – don't have the financial support or pathways they’d need to take part. Such was the case for Southern University and A&M College’s Fred Lacy and Skyline College’s Kolo Wamba – but this summer both got a chance to learn from and contribute to research at DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory through DOE’s…...

DOE summer program broadens visiting faculty-SLAC collaborations Scientists across the nation are both fascinated by the work done at the Department of Energy’s national laboratories and could make important contributions to that work. Still, many of them – espe…

AS AN UNDERGRADUATE at UC San Diego, I knew I wanted to work in science or engineering but I wasn’t sure what I specifically wanted to do “when I grew up.” That’s why I majored in physics–it’s versatile. After earning a PhD in physics at UC Santa Barbara, I worked for years as an academic researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL)....

Thinking Like a Physicist AS AN UNDERGRADUATE at UC San Diego, I knew I wanted to work in science or engineering but I wasn’t sure what I specifically wanted to do “when I grew up.” That’s why I majored in physics–it’s vers…

BERKELEY PHYSICS FACULTY ARE DRIVEN to understand the fundamental physics of materials. Theorists hypothesize the existence of new forms of matter and behaviors, and their experimentalist colleagues develop novel materials and tools to observe these exotic properties. “We can now control parameters to systematically study how a material goes from one quantum phase to another quantum phase,” says Berkeley Physics Professor Feng Wang, the Williams H....

Exploring the Mysteries of Exotic 2D Materials BERKELEY PHYSICS FACULTY ARE DRIVEN to understand the fundamental physics of materials. Theorists hypothesize the existence of new forms of matter and behaviors, and their experimentalist colleague…

Berkeley Physics was delighted to host the 2023 Rising Stars in Physics Workshop this spring, sponsored by the Heising-Simons Foundation. This event brought together 24 outstanding women physicists and astronomers for two days of scientific talks and informal discussions aimed at helping them navigate the early stage of their academic careers. The workshop was led by Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, associate professor of physics at MIT and founder of the workshop series, and Alessandra Lanzara, professor and Charles Kittel Chair in Physics at UC Berkeley....

Highlighting Rising Stars in Physics Berkeley Physics was delighted to host the 2023 Rising Stars in Physics Workshop this spring, sponsored by the Heising-Simons Foundation. This event brought together 24 outstanding women physicists…