Light Reveals Hidden Fractional Charges in Quantum Materials

August 14, 2026

When matter is cooled and confined in two dimensions, electrons can enter exotic quantum states where they behave as if they carry only a fraction of the usual electron charge. These “anyons” — named for their unusual statistics — are the signature of topological order and are central to proposals for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Detecting … More Light Reveals Hidden Fractional Charges in Quantum Materials

Professor Shashank Shekhar receives NSF CAREER and NIH MIRA award

June 29, 2026

Assistant Professor Shashank Shekhar has received the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER Award, with $1.2 million in funding over five years to support research and education initiatives focused on actin cytoskeleton dynamics. The CAREER Award will support his lab’s research investigating a newly discovered mechanism of actin filament growth that challenges a decades-old paradigm in … More Professor Shashank Shekhar receives NSF CAREER and NIH MIRA award

Physicists Find New, Improved Way to Control Light at the Nanoscale

May 30, 2026

For decades, the semiconductor transistor has been the workhorse of modern electronics, shrinking steadily to pack more computing power into less space. But transistors have now hit a physical limit, and researchers are turning to light as the next frontier. Photonic chips that process light instead of electrical current promise faster speeds and lower energy … More Physicists Find New, Improved Way to Control Light at the Nanoscale

Emory Physicists Win PNAS Cozzarelli Award

May 6, 2026

Emory physicists won the Cozzarelli Prize for Mathematical and Physical Sciences from the journal PNAS for their work using machine learning to discover surprising new twists on the non-reciprocal forces governing a many-body system. The prize is awarded annually to a singular PNAS article that represents an outstanding contribution to their field. The Emory team’s … More Emory Physicists Win PNAS Cozzarelli Award

Exploring nanoscale light and the impact on ultrafast computers

May 1, 2026

Hayk Harutyunyan works in a world where nothing behaves the way it does in everyday life. It’s called nanophotonics, where light interacts with matter on an almost unimaginably tiny scale. “The most important thing about light is that it’s a wave,” says Harutyunyan, a Professor and the Director of Graduate Studies in Emory’s Physics Department. “And … More Exploring nanoscale light and the impact on ultrafast computers

Prof. Shashank Shekhar recognized by the Biophysical Society

March 12, 2026

Emory Physics Professor Shashank Shekhar has won the 2026 Early Career Award from the Biophysical Society in the area of Mechanobiology. These awards recognize the research of members in specialized research Subgroups. The winners were honored at the Society’s 70th Annual Meeting, held in San Francisco, California from February 21-25, 2026. As part of the … More Prof. Shashank Shekhar recognized by the Biophysical Society

The Secret to Sliding Eggs Off Stainless Steel

March 10, 2026

Frying an egg in a high-quality, slip-slidey nonstick pan or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet is pretty straightforward. But when a stainless steel pan is involved, it can quickly turn into a sticky situation. Maki Yazawa from NYT Wirecutter recently investigated this problem with a hack using salt to prepare the pan and make it less sticky: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/stainless-steel-egg-slide Handling delicate … More The Secret to Sliding Eggs Off Stainless Steel

Physics major Yurok Song is a 2026 Bobby Jones Scholar

March 10, 2026

Emory University will send four outstanding graduating seniors to Scotland for additional study next fall through the elite Robert T. Jones Jr. Scholarship program. Emory College of Arts and Sciences seniors Claire Burkhardt, Josh Grand, Asmita Lehther and Yurok Song will complete a year of study at the University of St Andrews in honor of the … More Physics major Yurok Song is a 2026 Bobby Jones Scholar

‘Periodic table’ for AI methods aims to drive innovation

December 18, 2025

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to integrate and analyze multiple types of data formats, such as text, images, audio and video. One challenge slowing advances in multimodal AI, however, is the process of choosing the algorithmic method best aligned to the specific task an AI system needs to perform. Scientists have developed a unified view … More ‘Periodic table’ for AI methods aims to drive innovation