MIT Department of Physics

Physics senior Sophie Vulpe and Bryan Sperry ’23 accept 2026 Fulbright awards https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24580

Into the Aurora: MIT Physics grad students, Noah Wolfe, Sasha Lukina, Leonardo Corsaro and Leon Nichols, join the 2026 Geophysical Plasma Observation Expedition to study plasma physics beneath the northern lights. https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24563
Photos: Noah Wolfe, with Leonardo Corsaro and Sydney Menne

Magnetic Topological Materials Could Revolutionize Energy-Efficient Electronics - https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24557

Magnetic Topological Materials Could Revolutionize Energy-Efficient Electronics Imagine a laptop that remains cool, a phone capable of lasting for days on a single charge, or a memory chip engineered to retain data permanently even during power loss.

MIT affiliates elected to National Academy of Sciences for 2026 - https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24545

MIT affiliates elected to National Academy of Sciences for 2026 » MIT Physics The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has elected 120 members and 25 international members for 2026, including six MIT faculty members and 10 additional alumni.  Among MIT professors, Bengt Holmström, Michale Fee, Gareth McKinley ’91, Keith Nelson, Fan Wang, and Catherine Wolfram ’96 were ele...

Zhurun (Judy) Ji Named CIFAR Global Scholar for 2026–2028 https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24532

Sunshine Jiang ’25 named 2026 Knight-Hennessy Scholar https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24499

A new way to spot signs of dark matter https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24466

Astronomers may have found a record-breaking pair of black holes - https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24460

Astronomers may have found a record-breaking pair of black holes At some 60 billion times the mass of the sun, this dark void could be home to a pair of black holes that are due for a cosmic collision.

Improving the reliability of circuits for quantum computers -- A new technique helps scientists measure a phenomenon that can cause quantum circuits to perform differently than expected, increasing the error in computations.
https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24453

Arup K. Chakraborty Honored with 2026 International Prize in Biophysics - https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24430

Arup K. Chakraborty Honored with 2026 International Prize in Biophysics » MIT Physics Arup K. Chakraborty, a distinguished faculty member at the MIT School of Engineering, has been recognized for his exceptional scholarship and contributions to the field of biophysics. In winter 2026, Professor Chakraborty was named a Laureate of the 2026 Tel Aviv University International Prize in Bi...

Astronomers pin down the origins of a planetary odd couple - https://physics.mit.edu/?p=24417

Astronomers pin down the origins of a planetary odd couple » MIT Physics Across the Milky Way galaxy, a planetary odd couple is circling a star some 190 light years from Earth. A normally “lonely” hot Jupiter is sharing space with a mini-Neptune, in a rare and unlikely pairing that’s had astronomers puzzled since the system’s discovery in 2020. Now MIT scientists...