The National Research Council rankings of graduate programs has placed UH Mānoa Department of Physics and Astronomy in the top 12 of all US programs. The department has an extensive laboratory and classroom building, Watanabe Hall. It has about 37,000 square feet of research and teaching laboratories, shops, classrooms with special demonstration facilities, and student study rooms. The Institute for Astronomy building, located above the Mānoa campus, is a greatly expanded facility for research in astronomy and astrophysics.
Academic Programs
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Department of Physics & Astronomy hosted distinguished accelerator physicist Vladimir Shiltsev.
Department of Physics & Astronomy hosted distinguished accelerator physicist Vladimir Shiltsev. His visit created an opportunity for students and faculty to jointly brainstorm on expanding the potential of UH Mānoa’s electron linear accelerator housed in Watanabe Hall. The accelerator is undergoing technical upgrades by Professor Peter Gorham and Assistant Professors Siqi Li and Niels Bidault. The machine is expected to accelerate beams later this year and contribute to many scientific research fields.
UH Mānoa physics research group makes waves in Quanta
Professor Susanne Still and her research group, recently featured in Quanta Magazine, study how systems process information to make decisions. Professor Still’s team studies “information engines,” versions of heat engines, and the strategies by which these engines collect and use information to directly impact their energy efficiency.
Space Weather Stations
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa held a blessing for two new neutron monitor stations atop Haleakalā on January 8, 2025. The two stations are the Haleakalā Neutron Monitor Station (HLEA) and the Thailand-Hawaiʻi Monitor (THIMON) and funded by a $2.5 million National Science Foundation grant. The ribbon-cutting ceremony of the neutron monitor facility was preceded by a workshop attended by more than 40 scientists from around the world, from Europe and Asia to South America.
Machinist Roy Tom was awarded Jean Takamura Staff Excellence Endowment Fund.
The physics department’s machinist, Roy Tom, was awarded the Jean Takamura Staff Endowment Fund for his exceptional dedication and service.
New UHM Physics Professors, Siqi Li and Peter Lewis, win DOE EPSCOR grants
New UH Manoa Physics Assistant Professors Siqi Li and Peter Lewis win DOE EPSCOR grants. Assistant Professor Li awarded $994,320 over the next four years to study how electrons and light interact in a free-electron laser. At the same time, Assistant Professor Peter Lewis has also been awarded $906,897 to investigate further gaseous detectors that can detect particles in various fields, from dark matter to particle physics.
A new detection system could determine whether extracted materials from nuclear reactors are for weapons.
Professor John Learned co-authored a detailed detector system in a new AIP Advances study. The new detector system for nuclear reactors could help officials determine whether materials from the reactor were re-purposed to make weapons.