Chair's Letter

Chair’s Letter

December 13, 2023

Dear UF Physics Alumni and Friends,

I am pleased to share our Fall 2023 Physics newsletter. This is an exciting year, with five new faculty joining the department and several searches in progress. We are joined this fall by two new assistant professors in high energy theory: Rachel Houtz comes from Durham University (UK), and Jeff Dror comes from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Siyao Xu has joined in astrophysics theory. She was recently a Hubble Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. Yuta Takahashi joins as an assistant professor in high energy experiment, coming from CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Later in the spring of 2024, Edwin Eduardo Pedrozo Peñafiel will arrive from MIT, where he has been doing research in quantum information science and AMO physics.

This year the department is also benefiting from several new gifts in support of physics research and education. The William Oegerle Scholarship in Physics and Astronomy is providing a full year of research participation for two undergraduate students. The David R. Griggs Award is being used to recognize an outstanding undergraduate researcher. Our new Advanced Theoretical Physics Fund will support a range of activities — workshops, visitors, lecture series and more — across all areas of theory in the department.

We are always grateful to the alumni and friends of the department for your generous support!

Best wishes from everyone at UF Physics!