University of Idaho Physics Department

It is always exciting to see what our Alums go out in the world and accomplish!

A rising researcher: Tanner Mauseth helps unlock the secrets of irradiated materials The first thing people notice about Tanner Mauseth is his height. At 6 feet, 8 inches, he played Division I football for the University of Idaho while he majored in applied physics.

Hightlighting current faculty and students: Dr. Matthew Hedman and his research group. Jacob Hedman (graduate student pictured)

Researchers at University of Idaho help discover small moon orbiting around Uranus For researchers at the University of Idaho, spotting a moon 6 miles wide orbiting Uranus, a staggering 1.8 billion miles from Earth, may actually be easier than finding a white cat in a snowstorm.

Congratulations to U of I Physics Professor Matthew Hedman!

He has been awarded the 2025 DPS Alexander Prize for his groundbreaking contributions to planetary science; from revealing hidden structures in Saturn’s rings and Enceladus’s plumes to leading discoveries with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. ✨

Beyond his research, Prof. Hedman has been a mentor to early-career scientists and a leader in shaping the future of planetary exploration.

The award will be presented this September at the Division for Planetary Sciences / Europlanet Society Congress in Helsinki. 🚀

Hightlighting current students: Ethan Crosby

Hightlighting past students: Rabindra Khanal, PhD

Rabindra Khanal, PhD student, recieved an INTEL offer recently. He is the 5th student from You Qiang's group who got the job in the high-tech company, INTEL.

The Intel Corporation in Hillsboro, Oregon, is the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer which supplies microprocessors, motherboards, circuits, chips and flash memories for the likes of Dell and HP.

Congratulations and best wishes as he continues forward!