Purdue Physics and Astronomy

10/16/2026

Boilermakers, your health matters! 💛🖤

Looking for a way to prioritize your health? The No-Cost Vaccine Clinic is available through a collaboration between Purdue Pharmacy and the Prevention Research Collective in the Department of Public Health.

📍 Black & Gold gyms- Purdue CoRec
📅 Oct. 20
⏰ 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

This clinic is a free resource for Purdue students, faculty, and the Greater Lafayette community. Save the date, share this post, and help spread the word!

Walk-ins are welcome, but pre-registering is recommended: https://vaccineclinic-purduecorec.intend.io/

10/12/2026

Students took control of telescopes around the world during September's Saturday Morning Astrophysics at Purdue (SMAP)!

During the session, "Robotic Telescopes: You Take the Controls," students explored the Slooh platform, learning how to remotely operate telescopes, capture astronomical images and investigate the wonders of the cosmos.

🎥 Watch here: https://youtu.be/XXWNqsoF8Yo

🍎❗️Teachers and educators: Want to bring this experience into your classroom? Watch the recorded session to learn more about this exciting educational resource and look out for more SMAP sessions coming up! Learn more here: https://www.physics.purdue.edu/outreach/saturday-morning/index.html

Would you like a half-meter telescope at your fingertips?How about...

10/11/2026

Concealed within the molecular machinery of petunia flowers are metabolic, genetic and cellular processes that biotechnologists can engineer to improve crops and plant health and benefit pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Building on a large body of their previous research, Purdue University scientists, including Jing Liu of Purdue Physics and Astronomy, have launched a project to bring these advances closer to fruition. Learn more:

Concealed within the molecular machinery of petunia flowers are metabolic, genetic and cellular processes that biotechnologists can engineer to improve crops and plant health and benefit pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Building on a large body of their previous research, Purdue University...

10/11/2026

Congratulations to the 15 Purdue University professors earning National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awards!

The 8 faculty from Purdue Science are:

Ben Delaware, associate professor of Purdue Computer Science, for “Underapproximate Refinement Types for Program Exploration and Understanding.”

Michael Eddy, associate professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue, for “Building a Holistic Record of Upper Crustal Pluton Emplacement, Associated Deformation, and Volcanism from a Fossil Magmatic System.”

Rajiv Khanna, assistant professor of computer science, for “Algorithmic Advances in Structure-Aware Learning.”

Ahmed H. Qureshi, assistant professor of computer science, for “Learning for Robot Motion Planning Using Physics Priors.”

Jukka Vayrynen, assistant professor of Purdue Physics and Astronomy, for “Topological Quantum Devices as a Window Into Strongly Correlated Matter.”

Xiaotao Yang, assistant professor of Purdue Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, for “Characterizing detailed structural modifications of ancient continental lithospheres using full-wave seismic imaging methods.”

Raymond Yeh, assistant professor of computer science, for “Data-Centric Capabilities for Vision Models.”

Yongle Zhang, assistant professor of computer science, for “Causality-Driven Mitigation of Cascading Failures in Distributed Systems.”

Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gB2eNyUS

10/10/2026

Is your high school senior ready to become a Boilermaker? If your student is ready to apply, the Common App is now open.
Get started here: https://admissions.purdue.edu/become-student/guide/

10/10/2026

PhysAstro had a wonderful evening at our annual departmental picnic!

Great food catered by Outpost Catering and an even better time connecting with our PhysAstro family, including faculty, staff, students, and their families!

Thanks to everyone who joined us and made it such a great evening!

10/09/2026

Students who apply to Purdue by Nov. 1 can automatically be considered for Indy Scholars — a renewable $10,000 scholarship that also offers access to career resources.
To apply, students should select Indianapolis as their first or alternate campus choice on the Common App.
Learn more: https://admissions.purdue.edu/become-student/guide/

10/09/2026

Boiler Up for STEAM! 🚂
Join Purdue and the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium for the inaugural Colts STEAM Combine — an interactive experience where students and families can explore how science, technology, engineering, arts and math power sports.
🎟️ $50 includes the STEAM Combine + a ticket to a Colts game.
Come see where Purdue innovation meets the world of sports. 🔬🏈
Learn more & get tickets: Colts.com/STEAM

10/08/2026

What does the quantum world actually look like? Find out at Purdue Physics and Astronomy’s Quantum Open House on Oct. 24!

Meet researchers, tour labs, try quantum computer gaming, explore superconducting levitation and experience hands-on demonstrations that bring quantum physics to life.

📅 Oct. 24, 2026
🕐 1-4:30 p.m.
📍 Physics Building
Register here:
https://purduesci.com/4eet5AU

Open to students, faculty and the public. No prior knowledge needed.

10/07/2026

Purdue Physics and Astronomy PhD student Saumitra Phatak has created AMO Toolkit, a student-built educational resource for those entering atomic, molecular and optical physics and optical tweezer-based research groups!

The site introduces core experimental techniques and connects the field to the broader quantum computing landscape. Explore the resource here: https://amotoolkit.com/home.html