Faculty
Douglas Toussaint
Professor of PhysicsPh.D., 1978, Princeton University
doug@physics.arizona.edu
Office: PAS 386A
Phone: 520-621-2554
Personal Website
Dr. Toussaint's research involves the use of massively parallel computers to calculate some of the most fundamental quantities in high energy physics. He employs lattice gauge theory to calculate the masses and lifetimes of strongly interacting particles, the weak interactions of these particles, the behavior of nuclear matter at very high temperatures, and the structure of the electroweak interactions.
Bira van Kolck
Associate Professor of PhysicsPh.D., 1993, University of Texas
vankolck@physics.arizona.edu
Office: PAS 386B
Phone: 520-621-4230
Personal Website
Research interests are on Effective Field Theories applied to particle, nuclear, atomic, and molecular physics. Emphasis is on the development of systematic low-energy expansions allowing for an understanding of bound states. Of particular interest are nuclei, which are the simplest complex structures arising from interactions that lack a small coupling. The goal is to eventually predict the properties of light nuclei and nuclear matter at finite temperature from the underlying theory of strong interactions, QCD. This work is closely related to experimental programs at several national and international labs, including RHIC. There also have been applications to 4He molecular systems, and it is hoped that these ideas will find use in phenomenology beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.
Erich Varnes
Assistant Professor of PhysicsPh.D., 1997, University of California at Berkeley
varnes@physics.arizona.edu
Office: PAS 420K
Phone: 520-626-0217
I am currently working with the D0 experiment at Fermilab National Laboratory. This experiment records collisions bewteen 1 TeV proton and antiproton beams, allowing us to search for new particles more massive than those seen previously. This experiment already has discovered one such particle, the top quark, in 1995, and is currently starting a second run with higher beam intensity and an improved detector. Both of these changes substantially increase our ability to look for massive or rare particles, and increase our chances of learning something new about the structure of the universe.
Koen Visscher
Associate Professor of Physics and Director of Graduate StudiesPh.D., 1993, University of Amsterdam
visscher@physics.arizona.edu
Office: PAS 371
Phone: 520-621-4276
Personal Website
William Wing
Professor of Physics and Optical SciencesPh.D., 1968, University of Michigan
wwing@physics.arizona.edu
Office: PAS 571
Phone: 520-621-6827
Small satellites (design, dynamics, laser ranging and telemetry, research applications); optical communications; atomic, molecular, and optical physics (laser spectroscopy of molecular ions, structure and interactions of Rydberg atoms, atomic particle trapping); precision measurement and tests of fundamental physical laws (principle of relativity, experimental structure of two- and three-body quantum systems); science and technology policy; foreign affairs.
Shufeng Zhang
ProfessorPh.D, 1991, New York University
zhangs@physics.arizona.edu
Office: PAS 357
Phone: 520-621-6835
The current research is focused on theoretical calculations of magnetic and spin transport properties of nanomagnets. We develop both microscopic and phenomenological theories to understand and predict various spin phenomena in mesoscopic and nano scales. We are also interested in applying our models to various emerging devices such as magnetic random access memory and hard disk drives.
