physics phd ucsb

Physics - PHD - Astrophysics Emphasis

Requirements download.

• Physics - MA PhD, Astrophysics - 2023-24.pdf

Learning Outcomes

• Physics - PhD - PLO.pdf

Program Type

Program description.

The Physics graduate program at UCSB is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 physics programs in the US. Faculty members in the department are engaged in research in particle physics/gravity, astrophysics, condensed matter physics, atomic, molecular, and optical physics, and the physics of soft and living matters. Interdisciplinary research with faculty in engineering and the biological sciences is a hallmark of UCSB's campus culture. Graduate students in the department work toward their Ph.D. degree by pursuing cutting-edge research under the supervision of one or more faculty members.

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Graduate and professional pathways, top employers.

High Tech companies, eg, Google, Apple

Universities, eg, University of Chicago, Caltech

National Laboratories, eg, Fermilab, JPL

Program Highlights

While our Department is relatively small, it's now ranked among the top 10 graduate programs in the nation

Related Disciplines

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Associated Interests

Data science

Engineering

Learn More!

https://www.physics.ucsb.edu/education/graduate (a new one will be lauched in Summer 2023)

Leon Balents

David Berenstein

Tengiz Bibilashvili

Lars Bildsten

Ania Bleszynski Jayich

Dirk Bouwmeester

Mark Bowick

Timothy Brandt

Frank brown.

Claudio Campagnari

David Caratelli

Jean Carlson

Nathaniel craig.

High Energy Physics, Particle Phenomenology, Cosmology

Zvonimir Dogic

Douglas Eardley

Matthew Fisher

Deborah Fygenson

Robert Geller

Steven giddings.

Quantum gravity, Quantum Field Theory, Black Holes, Quantum Cosmology, Elementary Particles

David Gross

High Energy Physics, Quantum Field Theory, String Theory

Sathya Guruswamy

Joseph hennawi.

Gary Horowitz

Andrew howell.

Andy Howell

Joe incandela.

Andrew Jayich

Chenhao Jin

Clifford Johnson

His research focus is in quantum gravity,  superstring theory, quantum field theory,  and  particle physics , specifically related to strongly coupled phenomena.

Georgios Koutroulakis

Everett lipman.

Hugh Lippincott

Matthieu Louis

Philip Lubin

Andreas ludwig.

M Cristina Marchetti

Donald Marolf

Crystal Martin

John martinis.

Benjamin Mazin

Maxwell millar-blanchaer, david morrison, chetan nayak, harry nelson.

David Patterson

Jeffrey Richman

Cyrus safinya.

Cyrus R. Safinya is a Distinguished Professor of Materials at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His home department is Materials in the College of Engineering and he has joint appointments in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology department, and by courtesy, in the Physics department and the Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program.

Omar A. Saleh

Joan-emma shea.

Mark Sherwin

Boris shraiman.

Mark Srednicki

Sebastian streichan.

David Stuart

Wim van dam, tejaswi venumadhav nerella.

Sagar Vijay

Sagar Vijay graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in physics in 2013, and received his Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018.  He was subsequently a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University, before joining  UCSB’s physics department in 2020.  He is the recipient of a Sloan Research Fellowship, and the 2023 William L. McMillan Award for outstanding contributions to condensed matter physics.

Pierre Wiltzius

Andrea Young

Anthony zee.

Applications of Quantum Field Theory in Physics and Biophysics

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Graduate Student Life

Ucsb physics, frequently asked questions.

This is a page with excerpts from the Physics Graduate Student Handbook addressing frequently asked questions. We are also in the process of adding more original content. Please email us if you would like to contribute.

Class Requirements

• Teaching expectations (coming soon)
• Advancing to Candidacy
• Research and Thesis defense(coming soon)

What are the GPA requirements?

Maintaining graduate status includes paying fees, registering each quarter, maintaining an overall GPA of 3.0 and maintaining timelines set by the department and graduate division for obtaining a research advisor, advancing to candidacy, and graduation. Failure to maintain academic standards results in probation or dismissal; failure to pay fees and register (unless on approved leave of absence) results in lapse of status as a graduate student. Only work taken when in good standing as a graduate student may be counted toward a graduate degree.

What is the minimum number of units I can take?

For purposes of reporting graduate enrollment to UC Systemwide, 12 units is considered full time status. Since resources come to the campus based on the 12 unit formula, students are required to be enrolled for a minimum of 12 units each quarter. Students may not drop below 12 units. First year Ph.D.students must enroll in the course schedule suggested by the graduate advisor except in special circumstances. After the first quarter, the 12 units may be made up of core courses, other academic courses, 596 (Directed reading and research) or 599 units (thesis/dissertation research and preparation) as to maintain full-time status. All first year students must register for the Graduate Seminar course, Physics 260G, every quarter.

In very special circumstances, 8 units may be allowed. For more information, talk to the Staff Graduate Student Advisor, Jennifer Ferrar ,

What is the maximum number of units I can take?

There is no upper limit on the number of units a graduate student may take in their graduate courses, but it is recommended that students not exceed 12 units per quarter when employed. It is advised that students (except those advanced to candidacy) take at least one 200-level course per quarter. Almost all the 500-level courses will be graded S/U only. There is no upper limit to the number of 500-level units students may take.

Can I take a leave of absence?

Continuous registration is expected of all graduate students. Leaves of Absence may be granted under special circumstances, and must be approved by the Faculty Graduate Advisor, prior top etitioning Graduate Division. Complete information on the types of leaves of absence and the ramifications of taking a leave will be found in the Graduate Division Student Handbook.

Advancing to candidacy

How long do i have to advance.

Physics graduate students must advance to candidacy by the end of Winter Quarter of their third year. Keep in mind that the objective of the advancement exam is not a measure of your research; the purpose is to determine whether you have gained sufficient knowledge of your particular field to begin research.

What do I have to do before the advancement exam?

Choose a committee: The committee should consist of three Physics faculty members: the research advisor who serves as committee chair, and two other faculty members, one of whom should be outside the student's area of research. In addition, a wiseperson will be assigned by the Department to be present at the exam. After these primary members, the student may choose to add additional members either from Physics or another department.

Synopsis: Students should be able to discuss the key questions that need to be addressed in their field and propose a possible line of research. To ensure that the student and the committee agree on what constitutes an acceptably broad definition of field, the student will submit a brief synopsis of his/her presentation at the time the exam is scheduled. The synopsis must be approved by both the chair of the committee and the wiseperson assigned to the exam.

Set a date and schedule a room.

Practice your talk -- possibly by giving a gradloquium.

Who is the wise person?

The wiseperson is present at every exam to ensure the appropriate level of difficulty. The wiseperson asks questions as any other committee member and advises the committee on how the student compares with others who have been examined. The wiseperson can require the exam to be redone if he/she feels that the exam does not conform to the guidelines given above.

What is the exam like?

Students should be able to discuss the key questions that need to be addressed in their field and propose a possible line of research.

Students will be evaluated on:

Howmuch does the exam cost?

$65 paid to the cashier office.

What else do I need to know?

When a Ph.D. candiddate completes his/her oral candidacy the Ph.D. form II is completed by the Staff Graduate Advisor and forwarded to the graduate division. If the student has registered for three consecutive quarters, has a GPA of at least 3.0 with no incompletes, takes the receipt for $65 from the cashier's office to the GradDiv office, then the student is formally advanced to candidacy.

Do I receive a masters after advancing to candidacy?

Yes, if you've completed the core requirements and a minimum of 36 units in graduate level physics, and you pay $20.You have to fill out a Graduate Student Petition When adding the MA upon advancing to candidacy, check the boxes for "adding MA" and "remain in Ph.D." Master's degree petitions must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the Department. Please inform the staff graduate advisor when petitioning for the MA degree.

Taxes: Tax information about fellowships, TA-ships, Student Loans is available in the physics handbook starting on page 41. Note that we are not tax professionals, so be sure to consult an IRS professional if you are unsure about your taxes.

What should I do if I have no idea how to file my taxes?

Begin by picking up your W2 form from your mailbox when it arrives (sometime before April 15th). Then, if your finances are relatively simple (i.e. you don't have many investments or other sources of income besides your TA or fellowship pay) the easiest way for you to complete your taxes may be for you to "efile", that is, use a web-based tax program that will literally interview you and file your taxes for you. For information about such programs, which are free or cheap to use if your income is low enough, see the section on free tax help below.

How can I get free tax help?

If you have an adjusted gross income of $52,000 or less (i.e. you are a typical grad student) you are eligible for the IRS's freefile program. For more information and a list of specific companies that offer this service, visit the IRS website . Note that many of the companies will let you do your federal filing for free but will still charge you for your state return, so read the terms and conditions carefully before you begin.

What sort of deductions may be available to me as a grad student?

Emergency loans:.

Due to the rather modest TA pay here at UCSB, the low number of TA appointments available over the summer or the timing of your paychecks (or any number of other reasons), you may find yourself in need of a loan. Fortunately, the UCSB financial aid office provides emergency loans to students in need (for a bit more info, see their website ).

As an example of what you can expect, I (Miles Stoudenmire) took out a loan in August 2006 for about $1500 and had to pay it back in two payments over the next two months with about $12 interest.

A word of warning though: be aware that not all of the financial aid employees know that these loans exist. I was initially told that they didn't and had to talk to a few people to get mine. After that it was a straightforward process, though, and very easy to manage. Hopefully you won't ever need one of these but they con be a useful tool in a pinch!

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Graduate Degrees

UCSB offers master’s degree and Ph.D. tracks in diverse disciplines, with top programs in engineering, the sciences, social sciences, humanities, education and the arts. Many of them are inherently interdisciplinary, such as Materials Science, Global and International Studies, and Media Arts and Technology.

Graduate Degrees - General Catalog

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A world-class education and the opportunities, resources, and support for career attainment — that’s what we provide our graduate students. We strive to cultivate individual strengths and talents and welcome every student as our partner. We value collaboration and discovery across disciplines and recognize the critical role of diversity in realizing our potential for excellence and innovation. 

Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

Striving to solve environmental problems by integrating science, management, law, economics, and policy — a unique and celebrated interdisciplinary approach. Meet the Bren School.

Bren School of Environmental Studies & Management

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Getting smart about educational issues. Innovating new educational models. Developing future leaders of public education. Ensuring high-quality education for children. We are The Gevirtz School. 

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UCSB Graduate Statistics

The reports below provide campus and academic program-level information on aspects of the student life cycle, ranging from applications and admissions to employment outcomes upon graduation. Use the filters on each page to view data for various years, departments, programs, and objectives.

• Admissions:  Information on all prospective students who submit an application to a UCSB graduate program.
• Student Enrollment: Aggregate demographic information for currently enrolled graduate students.
• Time to Degree and Advancement: Provides data on whether students are meeting or exceeding  time standards  for advancing to candidacy or completing a master’s or doctoral degree ( what is time-to-degree? ). This data includes only students who completed a degree, and the date of completion of the degree was between 2010 and the present.
• Exit Survey: Summary of post-graduation employment plans for doctoral students who submitted an exit survey upon completion of their graduate program (learn more about the Exit Survey here ).

Use the links below to navigate through these report pages.

Admissions    |    Student Enrollment    |    Time to Degree and Advancement    |    Exit Survey

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Salary Scales for the 2023-24 Academic Year

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NOTES AND INDICES

Prior year scales.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates Department of Physics - UC Santa Barbara

Summer Research in Physics and Astronomy at UC Santa Barbara   ( PROGRAM FLYER )  Applications open now!

June 24, 2024 to august 23, 2024.

This 9-week Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Summer Research Program for undergraduates. Students will work with faculty and graduate students on a variety of cutting-edge research projects in Physics and Astronomy. The program also aims to provide all-round professional development through weekly activities, and a strong cohort experience through shared housing and social activities.

Program Overview

Research Projects This program aims to provide opportunity for a diverse group of undergraduates to conduct summer research in areas that span a broad range of topics in contemporary Physics. Research will be conducted under the supervision of UCSB Physics faculty working at the forefront of their field. Research areas include Astronomy/Astrophysics, Elementary Particle Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Physics of Soft and Living Matter, and General Relativity and Quantum Gravity. Students will work on individualized projects, and will be expected to give a presentation to the Physics REU group at the end of the program, and will also have the opportunity to participate in a common poster session for all UCSB REU participants from a variety of fields

Professional Activities Along with doing research, a rich program of activities is planned: these include close mentoring by REU program faculty, practice sessions for presentations, lunchtime seminars by faculty/researchers, lab visits, career development workshops, and information sessions on applying to Graduate School and preparing for the Physics GRE.

Social Activities We plan several social activities and local trips intended to facilitate interaction and community-building among REU students, and with UCSB Physics faculty, graduate students and UCSB Physics undergraduates. 

Travel, Stipend and Housing

Students will receive a $700/week stipend, free shared housing, and some support towards round-trip travel to Santa Barbara. The provided shared housing will be in the San Joaquin Apartments apartments at UCSB.

Eligibility

(please read closely before applying)

• Students must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents to receive funding from our National Science Foundation funded REU program.
• Students must be enrolled in a 2-year or a 4-year academic institution, and may not have graduated by Summer 2024. That is, participants must be continuing with their undergraduate education in Fall 2024, after the REU.
• Strong preference is given to students who have at least completed a one-year Calculus-based Introductory Physics sequence.
• Women and students from traditionally underrepresented groups and institutions are encouraged to apply.
• Students are expected to attend the entire program to receive the full benefit of all activities. Accommodation for arriving and departing up to 1 week early will be considered for students with a college academic calendar that requires them to depart early, and such requests should be made clearly at the time of application.

Graduate Admissions

Applying to UC Berkeley's Physics Graduate Program

The application deadline for Fall 2024 admission to the Berkeley Physics Ph.D. program is:

December 11 2023, at 8:59 PM (Pacific Standard Time)/11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

Your application should be complete — meaning that all of your letters and supplemental materials should be uploaded — by this deadline. Application review commences immediately after the deadline; as such, we cannot guarantee that materials received after the deadline (including letters of recommendation) will be fully reviewed.

Apply for graduate admission online (click here to go to online application)

Updates for Fall 2024 graduate admissions

• Submission of a  Physics Subject GRE score is  OPTIONAL
• General GRE scores will  not be reviewed . Please do not submit your general GRE scores to Berkeley Physics.

At this time, no determination has been made if the GRE and/or Physics GRE scores will be required application materials for graduate admission in fall 2025 and beyond.

Our graduate admissions committee conducts a holistic evaluation of all applications, which takes into consideration recommendation letters, academic achievements, research experience, a record of leadership and outreach activities, efforts to promote diversity, personal history, and more.

We require a minimum of three letters of recommendation. You will invite your recommenders to submit their letters through the online application. All letters should be uploaded by the application deadline.

Please do NOT send updated transcripts, publications, etc. after the application deadline. Applications will not be updated after the December 11th deadline with transcripts showing fall grades. Letter writers are still able to upload letters of recommendation via the Slate submission links, but we cannot guarantee that the committee will have them available for review since the application deadline has passed.

Please read the application instructions thoroughly. All supporting materials, including your transcript(s), should be uploaded to your application. Your application will be reviewed with your unofficial transcripts. If you ultimately are admitted and enroll at Berkeley, you will submit official transcripts prior to matriculating.

You must submit a course and textbook list of all the third- and fourth-year physics, astrophysics, and mathematics courses that you have completed. Download our  "Course and Textbook List" form here  ( alternate link 1  /  alternate link 2 ). You may complete our form directly, or you may use our form as a template to create your own document; please save the completed document as a PDF and upload it to the Physics Program page in the online application.

We typically begin making offers of admission in mid-February. Our final offers of admission will be made no later than mid-March.

Please check our  frequently asked questions (FAQ) , compiled from inquiries by prospective graduate students. 

To contact our staff regarding graduate admissions, please email  [email protected] . 

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Generalized symmetries in quantum field theory: high energy physics, condensed matter, and quantum gravity, coordinators: maissam barkeshli, michele del zotto, sakura schafer-nameki, and shu-heng shao.

Generalized symmetries have recently emerged as a unifying theme in high energy theory, phenomenology, condensed matter physics, mathematics, and quantum gravity. This field has witnessed a literal explosion of new results within all these different areas. This program will bring together experts from this diverse set of fields, to first consolidate recent progress and more importantly, to find common ground to explore, across disciplines, the exciting physical implications of generalized symmetries. To date, the isolated development has led to several related concepts being developed independently, in different contexts and without much cross-interaction. The program aims to consolidate these divergent approaches and foster interactions between researchers in high energy, condensed matter physics and mathematics, hopefully identifying synergies that drive future joint developments. Due to the truly interdisciplinary character of this subject, this program will convene scientists to discuss 1. Generalized Symmetries: hep-th meets cond-mat 2. Non-Invertible Symmetries 3. Topological Order 4. Generalized Symmetries in String Theory, Holography and Quantum Gravity 5. Phenomenological Applications, and, 6. Mathematics, in particular Higher Category Theory.

UCSB’s Kacie Ring triumphs at UC Grad Slam, places second, wins people’s choice

With her three-minute talk, Kacie Ring finishes the Grad Slam season holding three awards.

That’s what they call a hat trick.

After winning the campus competition, UCSB Grad Slam Champion Kacie Ring scored two more prizes in the UC Grad Slam , taking second place overall and the People’s Choice Award at the systemwide event in San Francisco. 

“Throughout the talks, I did not imagine that I would take home a prize, and I didn't even know it was possible to take home two awards,” said Ring, a Ph.D. student in ecology, evolution and marine biology . “I was ecstatic to receive the People’s Choice. Throughout this process, I have been overflowing with gratitude to those who have supported me, but to have that even further validated by this award made me emotional. That award meant so much to me.”

“We are all so proud of Kacie,” said Interim Graduate Dean Leila J. Rupp. “I was a little disappointed when the People’s Choice award was announced because I thought that meant she hadn’t won one of the first three places, which I knew she deserved. So it was even more exciting that she scored a double win. Her talk was everything a Grad Slam entry should be: smart, accessible, and leaving you with something important you didn’t know before. All in three minutes.”

It was a Grad Slam milestone for UC Santa Barbara, with Ring receiving both the $4,000 prize for second place and the $1,000 People’s Choice award for her talk “Healthy forests, healthy humans.” UC San Diego’s Iris Garcia-Pak won the first place “Slammy” for “The Brain: An Exclusive VIP Club,” while UC Riverside’s champion Shannon Brady took third place for her pitch, “Thinking out Loud: Is self-talk a secret to success?”

UCSB champions Leah Foltz (2017), Mengya Tao (2018), and Logan Kozal (2021) won the audience vote for People’s Choice in previous years. In 2015, campus champion Daniel Heeber placed second. 

“The support from the Graduate Division, my department and UCSB blew me away,” Ring said of her Grad Slam experience. “I met the other winners from all the UCs and was wildly impressed with them. They were mostly neuroscientists, and their research felt revolutionary, so sharing the stage with them was an honor. I couldn't believe I was there with them. It was a joy chatting and laughing with them nervously. Presenting at LinkedIn Headquarters was also surreal in its own right. In short, it was an exhilarating, fulfilling, nerve-wracking whirlwind!”

Most importantly, her family and friends were in the audience to cheer her on when she took the stage last week. “San Francisco is an exceptionally special place to me,” she said. “My grandparents and parents grew up there, and I lived in the city for a few years while working towards my master's at SFSU. It is a home base, and it felt like I was returning with something new and exciting to share! My parents, prior master's advisor, old roommates and friends were all in the audience. So, it truly felt like a pure moment of serendipity.”

Debra Herrick Associate Editorial Director (805) 893-2191 [email protected]

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Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2024

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The National Academy of Sciences has elected 120 members and 24 international members, including five faculty members from MIT. Guoping Feng, Piotr Indyk, Daniel J. Kleitman, Daniela Rus, and Senthil Todadri were elected in recognition of their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” Membership to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest honors a scientist can receive in their career.

Among the new members added this year are also nine MIT alumni, including Zvi Bern ’82; Harold Hwang ’93, SM ’93; Leonard Kleinrock SM ’59, PhD ’63; Jeffrey C. Lagarias ’71, SM ’72, PhD ’74; Ann Pearson PhD ’00; Robin Pemantle PhD ’88; Jonas C. Peters PhD ’98; Lynn Talley PhD ’82; and Peter T. Wolczanski ’76. Those elected this year bring the total number of active members to 2,617, with 537 international members.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and — with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine — provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

Guoping Feng

Guoping Feng is the James W. (1963) and Patricia T. Poitras Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. He is also associate director and investigator in the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and director of the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research.

His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the development and function of synapses, the places in the brain where neurons connect and communicate. He’s interested in how defects in the synapses can contribute to psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. By understanding the fundamental mechanisms behind these disorders, he’s producing foundational knowledge that may guide the development of new treatments for conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.

Feng received his medical training at Zhejiang University Medical School in Hangzhou, China, and his PhD in molecular genetics from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He did his postdoctoral training at Washington University at St. Louis and was on the faculty at Duke University School of Medicine before coming to MIT in 2010. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2023.

Piotr Indyk

Piotr Indyk is the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He received his magister degree from the University of Warsaw and his PhD from Stanford University before coming to MIT in 2000.

Indyk’s research focuses on building efficient, sublinear, and streaming algorithms. He’s developed, for example, algorithms that can use limited time and space to navigate massive data streams, that can separate signals into individual frequencies faster than other methods, and can address the “nearest neighbor” problem by finding highly similar data points without needing to scan an entire database. His work has applications on everything from machine learning to data mining.

He has been named a Simons Investigator and a fellow of the Association for Computer Machinery. In 2023, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Daniel J. Kleitman

Daniel Kleitman, a professor emeritus of applied mathematics, has been at MIT since 1966. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his master's and PhD in physics from Harvard University before doing postdoctoral work at Harvard and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Kleitman’s research interests include operations research, genomics, graph theory, and combinatorics, the area of math concerned with counting. He was actually a professor of physics at Brandeis University before changing his field to math, encouraged by the prolific mathematician Paul Erdős. In fact, Kleitman has the rare distinction of having an Erdős number of just one. The number is a measure of the “collaborative distance” between a mathematician and Erdős in terms of authorship of papers, and studies have shown that leading mathematicians have particularly low numbers.

He’s a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has made important contributions to the MIT community throughout his career. He was head of the Department of Mathematics and served on a number of committees, including the Applied Mathematics Committee. He also helped create web-based technology and an online textbook for several of the department’s core undergraduate courses. He was even a math advisor for the MIT-based film “Good Will Hunting.”

Daniela Rus

Daniela Rus, the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, is the director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). She also serves as director of the Toyota-CSAIL Joint Research Center.

Her research on robotics, artificial intelligence, and data science is geared toward understanding the science and engineering of autonomy. Her ultimate goal is to create a future where machines are seamlessly integrated into daily life to support people with cognitive and physical tasks, and deployed in way that ensures they benefit humanity. She’s working to increase the ability of machines to reason, learn, and adapt to complex tasks in human-centered environments with applications for agriculture, manufacturing, medicine, construction, and other industries. She’s also interested in creating new tools for designing and fabricating robots and in improving the interfaces between robots and people, and she’s done collaborative projects at the intersection of technology and artistic performance.

Rus received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her PhD in computer science from Cornell University. She was a professor of computer science at Dartmouth College before coming to MIT in 2004. She is part of the Class of 2002 MacArthur Fellows; was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and is a fellow of the Association for Computer Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

Senthil Todadri

Senthil Todadri, a professor of physics, came to MIT in 2001. He received his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and his PhD from Yale University before working as a postdoc at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, California.

Todadri’s research focuses on condensed matter theory. He’s interested in novel phases and phase transitions of quantum matter that expand beyond existing paradigms. Combining modeling experiments and abstract methods, he’s working to develop a theoretical framework for describing the physics of these systems. Much of that work involves understanding the phenomena that arise because of impurities or strong interactions between electrons in solids that don’t conform with conventional physical theories. He also pioneered the theory of deconfined quantum criticality, which describes a class of phase transitions, and he discovered the dualities of quantum field theories in two dimensional superconducting states, which has important applications to many problems in the field.

Todadri has been named a Simons Investigator, a Sloan Research Fellow, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2023, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

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Physics Ph.D. Graduate Xin Shi Receives Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award

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May 12, 2024

Award Recognizes Significance and Impact of Research

Each semester, the Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award is presented to a graduating doctoral student who has performed outstanding research and submitted the best dissertation to the College of Natural Science and Mathematics. The Spring 2024 recipient was Xin Shi, a physics Ph.D. graduate.

The award was announced on May 10 at the University of Houston Commencement for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Shi received a certificate and an award of $1,000.

Shi’s dissertation is titled “Advancing Nontoxic, Antimony-based 1–2–2-type Thermoelectric Zintls.” His research focuses on the direct conversion of thermal energy, which is abundant in our environment, to electrical energy, which powers our society. Shi’s research was conducted under the supervision of Professor Zhifeng Ren, director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH.

Current thermoelectric materials that can help accomplish this conversion have been laborious to design, and they often contain toxic or scarce elements. Shi has made efforts to contribute in-depth understandings to the properties of promising thermoelectric materials fundamentally, and he has researched a new strategy to simultaneously design a series of nontoxic, highly performing thermoelectric compounds for potential applications. These advances will have an ongoing positive impact in future environmentally friendly energy sources.

He will next pursue postdoctoral research with the goal of becoming a research-active faculty member.

For the award, nominated dissertations are evaluated for the:

• Significance and impact of the research
• Originality of the work
• Quality of the scholarship, and
• Quality of the presentation and organization of the dissertation

- Kathy Major, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics