Physical Sciences

Four Alumni Honored with Penn State's Outstanding Science Alumni Award
The Alumni with Dean Dan Larson
Eight Penn State researchers named AAAS Fellows
Top row from left: Craig Eugene Cameron, Douglas R. Cavener, Joanna Floros, Andrea M. Mastro; Bottom row from left: B. Franklin Pugh, Teh-hui Kao, Christine Dolan Keating, Michael T. Green
NASA's Swift Satellite Marks 10 Years of Game-changing Astrophysics: Mission Control Is at Penn State
In the most common type of gamma-ray burst, illustrated here, a dying massive star forms a black hole (left), which drives a particle jet into space. Light across the spectrum arises from hot gas near the black hole, collisions within the jet, and through the jet's interaction with its surroundings. Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics Installs New Telescope in Rooftop Observatory
Christopher Palma, senior lecturer in astronomy and astrophysics, poses next to the new telescope, which was recently installed in the Davey Laboratory rooftop observatory.
In Disease Outbreak Management, Flexibility Can Save Lives and Money
Cows, a species susceptible to the contagious foot-and-mouth disease. Credit: Alec Brown
Kristina Kaldon Receives USRA Education Award
L-R: Donald Schneider, professor and head of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics; John Nousek, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, and director of the NASA Swift Satellite Mission Operations Center; Kristina Kaldon; and Kevin Luhman
Daniel Costantino Awarded C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching
Daniel Costantino
Krishna Kanti Dey Awarded First Prize at Postdoc Research Exhibition
Left to right: Dr. Paddy Ssentongo, Dr. Arnab Roy, Dr. Krishna Kanti Dey, Dr. Toral Zaveri, and Dr. Manoj Dubey. Credit: Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Smallest Possible Diamonds Form Ultra-thin Nanothreads
Diamond nanothreads promise extraordinary properties, including strength and stiffness greater than that of today's strongest nanotubes and polymers. Credit: John Badding Lab, Penn State University
Mystery of rare 5-hour space explosion explained with help from US/Russia and US/UK/Italy satellites
The X-ray image from the Swift X-ray Telescope of the gamma-ray burst GRB 130925. The white object in the center is the gamma-ray burst. The large diffuse region to the right is a cluster of galaxies. The other objects are X-ray-emitting celestial objects, most likely supermassive black holes at the centers of distant galaxies. The full image is approximately the size of the full moon. Credit: Phil Evans/ University of Leicester
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