The Department of Physics & Astronomy at George Mason University

Big win for the Physics and Astronomy family!

Our very own Emma Schwartzman just received the 2025 Doctoral Dissertation Award from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). Her award-winning research dives deep into the radio signals of merging galaxy clusters and dual active galactic nuclei.

Not only is she the winner of the best thesis, but she’ll also be heading to Charlottesville this spring to deliver a special colloquium and be honored by the NRAO and UVA faculty.

Join us in the comments in giving a huge "Congratulations!" to Emma!

From the ice rink to the X-ray sky ⛸️✨🔭 GMU Physics PhD student, Jessye Gassel, captures 25 years of Kepler’s supernova remnant racing at 2% the speed of light 🚀🌌

Read more 🔗 https://www.gmu.edu/news/2026-02/george-mason-phd-student-jessye-gassel-captures-timelapse-supernova

The new space economy starts here 🚀

George Mason University serves as the Lead Academic Partner for SpaceNEXT — connecting research, industry, policy, and investment to advance the next era of space innovation.

🗓 February 18–20, 2026
📍 Capital One Hall, Tysons, VA
🔗 https://www.spacenextglobal.com/news/george-mason-university-joins-spacenext-as-lead-academic-partner

George Mason’s Ilia Malinin claims Olympic gold Reigning world figure skating champion Ilia Malinin accomplished something no other George Mason University student has ever done on Saturday, February 7, when he powered the United States to a team figure skating gold medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Today we kick off our Dean's Award spotlights! 🏆 Congratulations to Ferah Munshi, Assistant Professor in The Department of Physics & Astronomy at George Mason University, for earning the Dean's Award for Early Career Excellence. 🌟 In just three and a half years at George Mason, Munshi has published ten papers, four led by her graduate students, and secured more than $1.2 million in competitive funding, including National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, a NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Theory Grant, and the prestigious Simons Emmy Noether Faculty Fellowship.

Her research on dark matter and galaxy evolution places her at the forefront of her field, leveraging supercomputer simulations and data from missions like Hubble and the Dark Energy Survey to inform upcoming observatories such as Rubin and Roman.

Her mentorship shines as well— advising four PhD students and three undergraduates. One student shared, ‘Thanks to her expertise, I was awarded a NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration FINESST fellowship.’ (valued at $225,000).

Ferah’s leadership is equally impressive. Last year as faculty secretary and now serving as Faculty Chair Pro Tem, she seeks common ground, bringing institutional wisdom and diplomacy to governance’ At the college level, she stepped up to actively serve on collegewide committees.

Learn more about Munshi and all the Dean's Award winners: https://science.gmu.edu/news/college-science-recognizes-excellence-2025-celebration-success

Our department is beaming with pride! 🌟 We are thrilled to celebrate the incredible achievements of one of our former students, Emma Schwartzman, Ph.D., who is making waves (radio waves, specifically!) in the world of astrophysics.

Now a Karles Fellow at the , Emma led the team that confirmed the first-known case of a triple radio active galactic nuclei (AGN). In simpler terms: she found three supermassive black holes actively "lighting up" within a single, massive galaxy merger. 🌌💥

This discovery is a "triple threat" for science:

It’s a rare look at how galaxies and black holes grow over billions of years.

It proves how essential multi-wavelength astronomy is for uncovering the "hidden" parts of our universe.

It helps the U.S. Navy improve precision navigation and timing by identifying stable sources in the stars. ⚓🛰️

We are so honored to have played a part in Emma’s academic journey and can’t wait to see what she discovers next. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Schwartzman! 👏✨

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Confirms First Known Triple Radio Active Galactic Nucleus Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and collaborating institutions have confirmed the first-known case of three radio-emitting active galactic nuclei (AGN) within a single ongoing

Fluids + Magnetism = Magnetohydrodynamics! 🌊✨ Master the core equations needed to understand planetary and stellar global magnetic phenomena. Graduate level course. Spring 2026 - PHYS 780 / ASTR 790.

Ready for the next level of quantum mechanics? ✨ Quantum Field Theory (PHYS 786) is coming Spring 2026! Master scalar/spinor fields, gauge theories, and QED. Essential for grad students in high energy and condensed matter. See you there!

Quantum is for everyone! 🚀 Explore the excitement and relevance of quantum technology—from sensors to communications—in PHYS 391/590. Designed for students across all majors with ZERO prior quantum knowledge required! Spring 2026, M/W 10:30 AM.