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A summer of research at ��ɫ��Ƶ

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 23:20:00 +0000

A summer of research at ��ɫ��Ƶ Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 09/22/2025 - 17:20

Kirsten Apodaca

This summer, 10 undergraduates came to ��ɫ��Ƶ from across the country to conduct cutting-edge research through the ��ɫ��Ƶ Physics and JILA Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.

Now in its 38th year on the Boulder campus, the program is part of a nationwide network of sites funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), designed to provide hands-on research experiences for undergraduates. Students are matched with faculty mentors in physics or a related discipline and spend 10 weeks engaged in a research project.

“The program's core mission is to educate and train the next generation of physicists by providing valuable research experience that is essential for students aiming to attend grad school or for those looking for a competitive edge in the job market,” said Mike Litos, associate professor of physics and principal investigator for the REU program.

Along with Litos, Christine Morrow and Professor Dan Dessau serve as co-principal investigators for the program, providing support and guidance for the program’s ongoing success.

This summer’s REU cohort explored a broad range of research areas including atomic, molecular and optical physics, condensed matter, liquid crystals, plasma physics, and nano-optics.

“We pride ourselves in our record of offering these opportunities to many students coming from institutions that may have limited or no research programs of their own,” said Litos.

In addition to research, REU students participated in professional development activities including courses in machining and electronics, seminars, and lab tours. “Our program goes beyond the laboratory experience by incorporating broadly useful training and skill-building sessions to prepare them for a future as research professionals,” added Litos.

The program culminated with a day of lab tours and presentations, where each student put their research on display. And after their summer of research, these students left Boulder with new skills, lasting connections, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a scientist.

Check out some photos from this year's REU lab tours:

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From Quantum Physics to Quantitative Finance

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 16:09:24 +0000

From Quantum Physics to Quantitative Finance Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 09/22/2025 - 10:09

Kirsten Apodaca

To alumnus Gal Weitz (EngrPhys, ApMath’22), Boulder was a “dream destination” for undergrad. Now working in quantitative finance, Weitz shares how his education at ��ɫ��Ƶ set him up for success in the finance world.

Finding his path

After spending several years in the military, Weitz had to decide what to study. “I remembered that the only two subjects I truly enjoyed in high school were physics and math. That was my sign,” he said.

An avid cyclist who competed for the Israel National Cycling Team, Boulder provided the perfect setting for Weitz to complete his undergraduate studies –– a “world-class” physics department and a bike-friendly environment.

Weitz was at CU during the COVID pandemic, which disrupted the traditional college experience with a sudden shift to virtual learning. For many students it was a difficult transition.

“I felt so lucky to be a physics student,” Weitz said. “Our professors were so dedicated –– hand-writing perfect notes on iPads during lectures instead of using pre-written PDFs or PowerPoints. It felt just like a normal lecture with a good old blackboard, minus the breaks to mop the boards which were so satisfying to watch.”

Discovering research

At CU, Weitz explored several research areas before landing on quantum computing.

He conducted research in condensed matter physics with Professor Dan Dessau where he worked on experimental hardware for superconducting materials. He then shifted to experimental quantum information with the Kaufman Group before settling into a focus on quantum computing with Professor Joshua Combes.

In the Combes group, Weitz developed a novel probabilistic algorithm which achieved superior performance over conventional benchmarking techniques in quantum optimization algorithms.

Weitz earned summa cum laude for his undergraduate honors thesis titled “A Classical Performance Benchmarking Scheme for the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm.”

His work from that research group was recently published in Physical Review A, with Weitz as first author.

Pivoting to finance

Until late in his junior year, Weitz was set on pursuing a PhD in physics. That is until he discovered “the dark side” of quantitative finance.

“Like many math and physics majors, I was drawn to solving hard quantitative problems,” said Weitz. But at that point it was too late in the recruiting cycle to land a full-time role after graduation.

Weitz pivoted. After graduating in 2022, he worked as an NLP Software Engineer at Magnifi, a tech company in Boulder, while applying to graduate schools.

He went on to complete a master’s degree in financial engineering at Baruch College. He completed an internship at AQR Capital Management, a global investment management firm, where he now works as a Portfolio Implementation and Research Analyst.

A day-to-day in quantitative finance

Weitz says he spends about 50% of his time on portfolio management, 45% on coding, and 5% in meetings.

“On the portfolio management side, I help rebalance portfolios through a quantitative optimization process — aligning them with our signals, risk models, and constraints — and send the trades to the execution team. On the coding side, I work on projects to improve our systems or implement new capabilities that help us analyze how portfolios and signals behave in real-world conditions. This often involves applying math and economics concepts to develop analytical tools. I also collaborate closely with researchers to implement new strategies and with software engineers to integrate our code into production systems.”

Advice for aspiring quants

For anyone looking to get into quantitative finance, Weitz recommends taking electives in applied math and statistics. He adds, “concepts from Markov Chains, Applied Regression, and Mathematical Statistics show up constantly in interviews and on the job.”

Weitz says the interview process usually involves multiple rounds starting with coding and brainteasers.

“Start practicing on LeetCode as early as freshman year, buy the “green book” and learn it inside and out, take the introductory C++ courses offered at CU, and avoid relying on ChatGPT right away. Try to solve problems yourself first, then use it to check and learn from your mistakes.”

Weitz adds having a few technical projects you can discuss in detail, and a computationally focused internship or research experience as a strong resume booster.

Biggest life lesson & final advice

Weitz said “it’s natural to focus on what’s next — the next role, the next milestone — but it’s just as important to pause and appreciate where you are now and what you’ve accomplished. Your past efforts built the person you are today. And above all, make time for family and friends.”

When asked about advice for current or future students, he emphasized that difficult things will inevitably come. “Develop a tendency to embrace them and push through them,” he said. “Like my old unit’s motto, ‘who dares wins’ – dare yourself to take on challenges, and you’ll develop a lifelong winner’s mindset.”

To students at CU, Weitz says “you are in a great place. I would go back in time to sit in your seats in a heartbeat. Sko Buffs!”

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��ɫ��Ƶ spinout Infleqtion to go public with $1.8b valuation

Kirsten Apodaca — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:07:44 +0000

��ɫ��Ƶ spinout Infleqtion to go public with $1.8b valuation Kirsten Apodaca Wed, 09/17/2025 - 12:07

Infleqtion, a ��ɫ��Ƶ quantum technology spinout founded by Professor and JILA Fellow Dana Anderson, has announced a merger to go public, becoming the 10th "unicorn company" out of ��ɫ��Ƶ.

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Daily Camera: CU space dust device to study origins, evolution of solar system

Kirsten Apodaca — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:57:19 +0000

Daily Camera: CU space dust device to study origins, evolution of solar system Kirsten Apodaca Tue, 09/16/2025 - 13:57

Professor Mihály Horányi is the principal investigator of IDEX, a space dust instrument built at ��ɫ��Ƶ's Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics that will launch on board a NASA spacecraft on Sept. 23.

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Physicists have created a new 'time crystal'—it won't power a time machine, but it could have many other uses

Kirsten Apodaca — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:15:17 +0000

Physicists have created a new 'time crystal'—it won't power a time machine, but it could have many other uses Kirsten Apodaca Fri, 09/05/2025 - 10:15

A team at ��ɫ��Ƶ including physics graduate student Hanqing Zhao and Professor Ivan Smalyukh, have made a curious state of matter in which particles move constantly—like a clock with hands and gears that spin forever, even without electricity to keep them going.

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Twice a Buff: Kerrie Ellzey’s path to physics

Kirsten Apodaca — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 15:44:06 +0000

Twice a Buff: Kerrie Ellzey’s path to physics Kirsten Apodaca Thu, 09/04/2025 - 09:44

Kirsten Apodaca

Returning to college for a second degree takes grit and determination – and Kerrie Ellzey (Psyc’12, Phys’17) had both.

After completing her degree in psychology from ��ɫ��Ƶ, Ellzey taught preschool for several years before deciding to make a change. In high school, she loved physics and missed the sciences.

“I specifically wanted to study physics because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as a career, but I wanted to understand how the world worked at a very basic level,” she said.

That curiosity shaped not only her academic focus but also how she engaged with the ��ɫ��Ƶ community the second time around.

Reimagining the college experience

During her first bachelor’s degree, Ellzey wasn’t involved in many extracurriculars. Returning for a second degree allowed her to approach school differently. While an undergraduate in physics, she conducted undergraduate research and worked to improve community in the department.

“I completed an undergraduate honors thesis, got involved in CU-Prime, helped plan the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, and volunteered on other community building efforts in the department,” said Ellzey.

Ellzey’s undergraduate research with Professor Alysia Marino focused on neutrinos – the most abundant and smallest particles with measurable mass in the universe.

As part of her research, Ellzey evaluated detector options used to monitor muons, a byproduct of creating the neutrino beam sent from Fermilab, a national laboratory that specializes in high-energy particle physics.

“We put commercial and prototype detectors into the beamline at Fermilab and compared their performance to simulated performance predictions. I did both the simulation analysis and the hardware data analysis.”

After defending her honors thesis and graduating with her second bachelor’s degree in physics, Ellzey looked to what was next for her career.

From academia to aerospace

She briefly worked at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) conducting arctic ice research before joining Ball Aerospace (now BAE Systems, Inc) as a material science engineer.

“Material science and detailed engineering was a fantastic way to become familiar with the company and technology, but after about a year I was feeling a desire to understand the larger context of what I was working on,” she said.

She then transferred into a tactical modeling and simulation group.

“I have had the incredible opportunity to create performance prediction models of RF Mission Systems and then attend flight and field test events that proved out the performance of these systems.”

She’s now expanding her work experience into a broader systems engineering role, but still with an emphasis on modeling and simulation as well as occasional test events. Ellzey also mentors earlier career engineers in performance prediction modeling and test data analysis, which she finds incredibly rewarding.

Her day-to-day in her current role varies depending on the project she’s working on.

“Sometimes I’m at a computer debugging code and crunching data, and sometimes I’m in a lab troubleshooting test hardware,” she said. “Every day I collaborate with folks from different disciplines, and periodically I make presentations and brief customers on the big picture impacts of our systems and their performance.”

Lessons from a non-traditional path

In a competitive job market, it’s not always enough to have the technical know-how.

“Show you are a well-rounded human and get technical work experience,” Ellzey advised.

As someone who now interviews others, she assumes candidates will have a research experience or internship. But those that also do something else with their time – like volunteering, leading a student organization, working as a learning assistant – are the ones that stand out.

Physics taught me how to persevere, self-teach, and gave me the technical foundation for a career in systems engineering.
- Kerrie Ellzey

“Those experiences help show that you will thrive in a team environment,” Ellzey added. “I didn’t put my preschool teacher work experience on my resume, but hiring managers asked about the gap in time. When I told them, that ended up being a huge selling point!”

Ellzey said she has frequently dealt with impostor syndrome because of her non-traditional career path and background. But after considering her collective experience, her mindset shifted.

“I realized all the seemingly random things I have done actually make me an asset to my team. Physics taught me how to persevere, self-teach, and gave me the technical foundation for a career in systems engineering. I also have the people skills to work well with folks of any background and that came from so many of the experiences and learning opportunities I had outside of the classroom,” said Ellzey.

Advice for future students

To make the most of your college experience, Ellzey recommends doing more than just going to class.

“College and early career can be difficult and isolating but having a community can help you be resilient during the challenges,” she said. “You will meet more people, be part of a larger community, and grow as a person.”

Ellzey’s journey is a testament to the power of curiosity and persistence. From her first degree at ��ɫ��Ƶ, to teaching preschool, pursuing physics, and now launching her career in aerospace – her path has led her to success. For students considering a second degree or a career change, her advice is simple: pursue your curiosity and embrace your unique experiences. They just might be your greatest strengths.

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Dune research by geophysics graduate student Stephanie McNamara featured in ��ɫ��Ƶ Today

Kirsten Apodaca — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:29:26 +0000

Dune research by geophysics graduate student Stephanie McNamara featured in ��ɫ��Ƶ Today Kirsten Apodaca Thu, 08/28/2025 - 08:29

Stephanie McNamara, geophysics graduate student, is conducting research with Nathalie Vriend, associate professor at the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at ��ɫ��Ƶ. Among other questions, the lab explores how dunes evolve over time.

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Professor and JILA Fellow Jun Ye awarded AB Nexus grant for Anschutz-Boulder collaboration

Kirsten Apodaca — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 23:18:26 +0000

Professor and JILA Fellow Jun Ye awarded AB Nexus grant for Anschutz-Boulder collaboration Kirsten Apodaca Wed, 08/27/2025 - 17:18

Jun Ye and collaborator Lilliam Ambroggio (CU Anschutz) have been awarded a 2025 AB Nexus seed grant for their project "Using Quantum Sensing to Detect Pneumonia and Asthma in Children."

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JaeBeom Park awarded Sambamurti Memorial Lectureship at Brookhaven National Laboratory

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 19:57:25 +0000

JaeBeom Park awarded Sambamurti Memorial Lectureship at Brookhaven National Laboratory Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 08/18/2025 - 13:57

Kirsten Apodaca

JaeBeom Park (Image Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Postdoctoral Associate JaeBeom Park was recently awarded the Sambamurti Memorial Lectureship from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for his work on the sPHENIX experiment. Park delivered the lecture, “The Final Mission of RHIC: Unveiling the Last Chapter of the Quark-Gluon Plasma with sPHENIX” to a packed audience at the BNL Physics Department on July 31, 2025.

The lectureship was established “in memory of Aditya Sambamurti, a young high energy experimentalist working on rare kaon decays at the BNL AGS, who died in 1992,” according to the BNL website. The lectureship is awarded yearly for “outstanding achievement” to high energy or heavy ion experimentalist researchers within 20 years of their PhD, and includes a $1,000 honorarium.

“I am honored to receive the Sambamurti Award and to have the opportunity to share my work with a broad audience, including many enthusiastic young students who are curious about science,” said Park.

After receiving his PhD from Korea University, Park joined the experimental nuclear physics group at ��ɫ��Ƶ in 2023, working closely with Professors Dennis Perepelitsa and Jamie Nagle on sPHENIX.

sPHENIX is a large detector housed at Brookhaven National Laboratory, designed to learn more about quark-gluon plasma — a state of matter that existed for a brief moment after the Big Bang. The detector collects data on millions of particle collisions per second from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).

Park delivers the 2025 Sambamurti Lecture. (Image Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Hundreds of scientists and engineers have collaborated on building and operating the experiment. The detector is about two-stories high, weighs 1,000 tons, and requires round-the-clock support in the control room during data-taking periods.

��ɫ��Ƶ’s experimental nuclear physics group is deeply involved in sPHENIX, with Nagle serving as Run Coordinator during the 2024 collision data-taking, and Perepelitsa serving as Deputy Spokesperson. And since 2023, Park has spent extensive time in person at the experimental site.

“JaeBeom was a regular fixture in the sPHENIX control room, and a particular expert on the trigger and readout electronics, the data acquisition system, and on critical checks of the data integrity. He was even the designated “on-call” expert for large periods of time,” said Perepelitsa.

sPHENIX recently released its first physics results after three years of data-taking, setting the foundation to further explore the structure of quark-gluon plasma. The results lay the groundwork for future studies as scientists look to uncover properties of the early universe.

“JaeBeom has been instrumental in making three-years of data-taking at sPHENIX a success,” said Perepelitsa. “He has been making crucial contributions at a fundamental, technical level and really “living and breathing” the experiment.”

Park added “working on sPHENIX has been one of the most unique, challenging, and energetic experiences in my career. The Collaboration is full of passionate and dedicated people, and I’m constantly learning from them every day, especially from my group members from ��ɫ��Ƶ.”

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Dr. JaeBeom Park delivers the 2025 Sambamurti Lecture at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Image credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory.

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Welcoming new assistant professor of physics, Ivy Tan

Kirsten Apodaca — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:12:48 +0000

Welcoming new assistant professor of physics, Ivy Tan Kirsten Apodaca Tue, 08/12/2025 - 15:12

Kirsten Apodaca

The Department of Physics at the ��ɫ��Ƶ is thrilled to welcome Ivy Tan as a new Assistant Professor of Physics this fall.

Her interest in the field started with a love for physics and mathematics in high school. “I enjoyed understanding phenomena at a fundamental level,” said Tan.

She went on to major in physics and mathematics at the University of Toronto, where she was introduced to atmospheric and climate physics. She said, “it was a natural fit for me as it allowed me to apply my background in physics to my growing interest in climate change.”

Tan completed her doctoral studies in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Yale University in 2016. After her graduate studies, she was awarded several prestigious research awards at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

A geophysicist with interests in climate and atmospheric physics, Tan’s research is centered on Earth’s clouds, radiation and climate. She studies the formation and dissipation of small-scale processes associated with clouds, their interactions with radiation and how they in turn influence the large-scale climate system.

For Tan, Boulder presents a vast opportunity for collaboration with other academic departments, institutes, and national laboratories in the area. She added, “from modelling at all scales to satellite remote sensing, there is so much potential for collaboration right here in Boulder with colleagues in atmospheric and oceanic sciences, applied mathematics, LASP and CIRES at ��ɫ��Ƶ, in addition to NCAR and NOAA.”

She’s also looking forward to inspiring more students to pursue climate physics through teaching and research. “��ɫ��Ƶ and its surrounding institutions are a powerhouse in physics and climate science, and I can’t wait to collaborate with its leading researchers,” said Tan.

For more information about Ivy Tan’s research, visit the Climate Physics Group website.

The Department of Physics at the ��ɫ��Ƶ is thrilled to welcome Ivy Tan as a new Assistant Professor of Physics this fall. A geophysicist with interests in climate and atmospheric physics, Tan’s research is centered on Earth’s clouds, radiation and climate.

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