Dear Physics Community,

Dear Physics Community,

I’m delighted to pass on the news that Deepto will take over as Department Head on Sept. 1.  In my time, Deepto has served as Astrophysics Division Head and Associate Head, and I have always valued his wisdom and forthrightness.

Deepto attended MIT as an undergraduate in the Class of 1988 and brings the important perspective as an alumnus of our Department.  I can say he remains deeply committed to our educational program   He has done a lot in our freshman subjects and has been a tireless advocate for them.

Deepto uses X-rays to study neutron stars as microsecond pulasr and serves as a major figure in the field.  More than that, he carries a deep love and interest in Physics and Astrophysics and will be a great advocate for our Department.

I wish Deepto the very best in the time ahead.  We’ve all learned that life can throw some curveballs and he’ll certainly get some, but I know he will listen to and advocate for us.  I wish him every success and satisfaction as Physics Department Head.

Peter

Announcements

• 51 Pegasi b Fellowship in Planetary Astronomy: Now Accepting Applications here
• Announcing the 2022 Quantum Creators Prize Symposium here

Dear Physics Community,

As July ends, Fall remains a month away but still seems soon.  I’ve been noticing odd things more, a return to normal.  For example, I was looking out the window of Terminal C at Logan last week and noticed across the water in Winthrop (?) an odd building I had seen before that looked like a control tower.

Close up:

A control center for shipping (weird place, away from the harbor), a secondary tower for Logan?

Having some time before the flight, I connected to Google Earth and had a look.  It took me a long time to find:

Still not super informative, so I went around in back (via Google Earth):

Boy, I did not get that right: the “control tower” holds a shrine to Madonna, the Queen of the Universe, a famous place in Orient Heights.  Everyone probably knows about this except me. Definitely worth a visit.

Ain interesting incident: I thought the building held a control center looking out over the harbor because I was across the harbor and have an interest in control centers, leading to my assumptions.  Instead, the building faces the other way and holds a deeply spiritual statue.

Thoughts for deep summer.

I believe we will hear of the next Department Head soon, and my next and last message to the community will welcome them.  My new Office of Research Computing and Data, ORCD (pronounced “orchid,” like the flower), may have a similar weekly message, but about computing and data, not physics (well, maybe some).

Enjoy summer,

Peter

Above the Fold

• Misha Ivanov currently at the Institue for Advanced Study will join the faculty in July 2023 as an Assistant Professor.  Misha’s has broad interests in applying field theory to astrophysics and cosmology.
• Eluned Smith, currently at University of Zurich, will join the faculty in January 2023, as an Assistant Professor.  Eluned (pronounced “Ellened”) works at the LHCb experiment at CERN, where she has studied rare particle decays.

We undertook two very strong searches this year, and I send my compliments and gratitude to all involved.

Physics

• Fast Radio Burst detected in a distant galaxy by Kiyo Masui and collaborators here
• “Living Crystal” of starfish embryos observed by Nikta Fakhri and her group MIT News here, Nature paper here, News&Views here

• “Computer Science Proof Unveils Unexpected Form of Entanglement” – interesting article from Quanta

• Earlier posts have mentioned our alum David Wargo’s biopic about Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan.  Principle photography has finished, and editing has begun.  Update here.

Announcements

• Professional Development courses and seminars offered by MIT here
• Congratulations to MathWorks Fellows Yuchao Chen, Jixang Yang and Ykun Lu.
• Open-Rank Tenure-Line Professor of Physics at Lewis and Clark here
• Deadline is Aug 1st: 2022 FUTURE of Physics – call for nominations here
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowships here
• NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships (AAPF) Program solicitaiton here
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for for Launching EarlyCareer Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) here

Dear Physics Community,

I recently learned from Deepto that torpedo initially referred to an electric eel through the word torpor.  A few things have raised me from my torpor to send out this week.

Mainly, I’d like to welcome Prof. Julien Tailleur to the Department.  Julien was a senior researcher and Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris and started at MIT on July 1.  He will begin faculty duties on Sept. 1 and join our Biophysics and Condensed Matter Theory groups, soon co-located in Building 6/6C.  Julien works on non-equilibrium thermodynamics and frequently collaborates with Mehran Kardar.  I’m very excited to have Julien with us – his email is jgt@mit.edu.

Peter

Above the Fold

• First images from COSPAR 2021-130A (JWST) here (from Globe, here from NASA).  That JWST will start carrying out science constitutes a technical, bureaucratic, and organizational miracle.
• Congratulations to Tracy Slatyer and Jesse Thaler, new Simons Investigators

Physics

• From Quanta, “Controversy Continues Over Whether Hot Water Freezes Faster Than Cold,” here.
• Airbus Zephyr breaks the record of the longest unpersoned flight – 26 days!

Announcements

• Interesting Notre Dame program for senior graduate students here
• Faculty engagement for MIT President search here

Dear Physics Community,

As June ends, I feel like most people have stepped back a little and begun prioritizing things for themselves and their families.  I believe we have entered a “recovery” phase of the pandemic.  COVID-19 remains with us – the US records about 300 deaths daily, and I hear of a steady stream of friends and colleagues who fall ill.  These rates have become normalized.  I feel way, way into uncharted territory.  We have suffered six years of once-in-a-generation calamities but have kept going about, sometimes finding joy in various ways.

To me, the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade lies only second to the pandemic as one of the calamities.  I do not have a word for it.  I want to write, “It will be okay,” but I can’t because I don’t know it will.  Not knowing what to say has also become normalized, and I can only acknowledge the pain many of us feel about the ruling.  As a trusted colleague said, “It’s hard just to get up and go to work as though nothing happened.”

The start of July brings the new fiscal year.  The Department made several recent requests for this year’s budget based on community input and existing and previous suggestions from across the Department.  New things we can fund this year are:

• A Department community officer to support our student groups, graduate advising, DEI activities, and other things.  PVC and the Department produced a short document describing the position, and we will now work with HR to get it posted.
• Continued funding for the Mentoring program started two years ago by Ed Bertschinger with Kerstin Perez, Erin Kara, Peter Dourmashkin, and others.  This program supports our undergraduates in our first and second-year subjects.
• Initial support for the Basic Service, the Departmental computing plan committed to bringing access to high-performance computing across the Department.
• A Staff Development Fund that supports our staff in community events and professional development.
• Bridge support for MKI and LNS for pandemic-related delays in projects and other funding shortfalls.
• More funds to support student travel for research and to present papers at conferences.
• A poster printer (though we need to figure out where it will go)
• Additional resources for Junior Lab and our Tech Services group, with the goal of enhancing the teaching experiences of our students.

We have always supported our student and post-doc groups, which will continue.  The Department continues robust hiring with four faculty offers this year and a good yield for our incoming graduate class.

I have had a hard time writing this and hesitated for several days: with some much bad news, writing about good news provides a challenge, but these messages serve to report what happens.

I hope everyone continues to have a restorative summer.

Peter

Above the Fold

• Message about events surrounding the Supreme Court ruling here

Physics

• The predicted coincidence between fast radio bursts and X-ray emission here
• Starlink: Elon Musk’s 2,200 Starlink satellites bringing low(wish) cost internet to the world could wreck astronomy and make a mess in low Earth orbit.

Announcements

• Lecturer position at Trinity University here

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program for Submission in Years 2022 – 2026

Dear Physics Community,

We had three Commencement/Celebration events starting ten days ago: Hooding on Thursday, OneMIT and awarding of degrees Friday, and the Celebration for the classes of 2020 and 2021 on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.  All three reminded me of how far we have come from the dark times of March 2020.  I found the Saturday Celebration tremendously meaningful, especially since over half of our undergraduates returned.

Rafael (aka President Reif) made a few remarks, including, “Our society is like a big, complicated family, in the midst of a terrible argument..” This captured a sense of the times for me and my hope that the Sturm und Drang of these times will resolve before too much longer.  Trying times have fixed in the past, including the (even now) underreported 1918 flu pandemic that pitted masks, and wearers, against non-maks wearers, occasionally violently.

I thank all the staff who showed up for all the events, especially Lindley Winslow and her crew of undergraduates who made the ice cream party in the Pappalardo Room go.

Now we have summer, and I have to wrap up my time as Department Head and clear out my office, 4-304, that has been home for almost nine years.  I hope the next inmate enjoys it as much as I have.

Peter

Physics

• Neutrinos from black holes here

Announcements

• The DEN Dynamic Education Node, is a new amenity for meetings and collaboration, open to everyone.  Slides here
• Texas A&M-Commerce University Teaching Assistantships Available here
• Tuition subsidy increase from Cindy Barnhardt and Glen Shor here
• Congratulations to Kylie Yui Dan and Karna Morey for their Fullbright Fellowships

Dear Physics Community,

I listen to the MIT Wind Ensemble practice various pomp and circumstance marches out in Killian Court.  Hooding will be tomorrow, Friday will be Commencement, and then Saturday will be a Celebration for the classes of 2020 and 2021.  We have traveled a long road to get here: the pandemic started for me on March 12, 2020, when our wonderful staff put to gather a short ceremony for our seniors as we all left to begin working from home.  Here is a picture from that day:

We have something to celebrate that we can all gather again for commencement — things did not have to turn out this way.  It feels good to hear them practicing that dopey “Hail to MIT” piece that ends Commencements.

See you there,

Peter

Above the Fold

• MIT News Story about Pablo Jarillo-Herrero’s election to the National Academy of Science
• What the hell is the commencement schedule?  Cathy Modica’s summary here, Thanks, Cathy!

Announcements

• DoD paid internships from ORISE
• NSF Addresses the Helium Shortage, helps for PIs

Physics

• Haystack Observatories observations of our weird black hole from Quanta and MIT News
• Two black holes merged and got kicked out of their galaxy from Salvo Vitale.

Dear Physics Community,

Every Spring in mid-April, I begin to hear the sounds of Commencement. Outside my office on Killian Court, a group of carpenters show up and begin to build all the various platforms for Commencement. Here is today’s picture:

We have passed the last day of classes and will have finals next week.  I’m strongly encouraging everyone, instructors, staff, and students, to wear masks in the coming weeks to ensure that we can all take part (if we wish to) in Commencement.  A positive test next week means being in the gulag while everyone else celebrates the first commencement in 1,069 days.

In exchange for wearing your masks, I promise I will not dun you all again about mask-wearing (or anything else) — we have come a long way, and this looks like the last hurdle.

Peter

Above the Fold

• Congratulations to Pablo on being elected to the National Academy of Sciences!
• Lina Necib is running a hackathon for astronomy data – students welcome here!

Physics

• NSF and Event Horizon Telescope to announce groundbreaking news tomorrow about black holes here
• Black Hole Echos from Erin Kara and her group here
• Congratulations to Frank Wilczek, 2021 Winner of the Templeton Prize

Announcements

• Lecturer position at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology here
• Teaching and Learning Lab Fellowships, summer school, and other resources here

Dear Physics Community,

I hope everyone had a good three-day weekend.  Patriots Day always signals the start of the end of the term to me.  This year, I ran the BAA 5K road race for the first time in 1,099 days, which I found disconcerting.  Thousands of people, no real sign of COVID protocols, except while riding the T.  We still have to think about new COVID variants – the Deer Island data shows a steady increase in wastewater rates.  I doubt this will result in anything more that having to wear masks and perhaps change large gatherings, but we will live with this kind of contingency in our lives for a time.

The Physics Values Committee, PVC, has worked hard this year and produced a report for the Department about what good graduate advising looks like, with several recommendations for the Department, faculty, and students.  This week, the PVC will finalize the report and it will circulate in the Department.  I believe we can act on their recommendations for the Fall.

I reported in an earlier columns that the Department had requested funds in our FY2022 budget for programs to expand services.  We solicated input from the Physics Community and the PVC priorized the list.  We have received our budget letter that covers faculty and staff salaries and existing operations and been told more funds were coming.  Rather than wait, we have started work on the Basic Service for departmental research computing and begun the hiring process for a new staff member tasked with supporting the Physics Community, with a focus on staff and DEI support.  I’ve asked the PVC to make a prioritized list of the main responsibilities for a new staff member, with particular attention to supporting our staff.

Things seem to go well, but we remain very busy.  Despite this, I want to continue the advising work, bolster the Basic Service plan, and get the job description for our new staff hire underway.

Welcome to Spring (the season, no the term),

Peter

Above the Fold

• Obituary for Physics Alum Sidney Altman sent by Ed Friedman here
• MIT Values Statement released here

Physics

• Congratulations to Long Ju for winning the Outstanding Young Researcher Award (Macronix Prize)
• New W mass measurement from Christoph Paus’ CDF group here
• MIT welcomes two from the Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellowship for 2022, Drs. Eva Scheller and Malena Rice, here

Announcements

• Event: “Can We Talk? Difficult Conversations with Underrepresented People of Color: Sense of Belonging and Obstacles to STEM Fields.”, film and discussion, details here
• NSF graduate fellowships announcement here
• Professional and team development resources from HR – timely update here
• Commonwealth School seeking a physics teacher here
• NSF Early Career Award announcement

MIT’s New Paul and Daisy Soros Winners – Wenjie Gong

Dear Physics Community,

On today’s 8 am phone call,  we heard that the number of MIT positive PCR tests shot up last week, despite the wastewater rate flattening or perhaps going down.  Based on this, the COVID-19 team recommends that everyone in the community wear masks when in the presence of others.  Although the COVID Team does not feel the present situation warrants a mask mandate, many of the 400+ people on the call disagreed with the decision and wants a mask mandate imposed on-campus.

This sudden rise in COVID-19 cases comes close enough to finals week and commencement to make us concerned about those testing positive missing exams or commencement itself.  The Department cannot impose, much less enforce, a unilateral mask mandate.  I strongly encourage everyone to wear masks whenever they can and make use of the MIT testing service at least weekly.  Further, if instructors feel the need to move their lectures, recitations, or other contact times to zoom, they should do so in consultation with Associate Head Deepto Chakrabarty.  Any move to zoom must consider any additional burden placed on students and instructors.

I view this situation as the first of many times we will have to react, sometimes on short notice, to changing circumstances.  How we respond will improve with time, and we always have to keep in mind people hold a spectrum of views around balancing public health and the other things people feel they need to get through the day.

Peter