Department of Physics and Astronomy

Faculty Spotlight

Evan Kirby

Evan Kirby, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, research focus examines where elements on the periodic table come from. One aspect of his current research involves identifying the origins of manganese and nickel. Like most elements, manganese and nickel come from cosmic explosions. Specifically, these two elements can be formed from a white dwarf explosion that occurs at a high density. Kirby studies what causes white dwarfs to explode and has shown that there are more than a few pathways for these explosions, opening up a greater number of possibilities for how to create elements on the periodic table. 

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Faculty Spotlight

Xiaolong Liu

Professor Xiaolong Liu has been named a winner of a 2022 Blavatnik Regional Award for Young Scientists in the category of Physical Sciences & Engineering. The award was announced today by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences. The Awards honor outstanding postdoctoral scientists from academic research institutions across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Prof. Liu joined Notre Dame Physics & Astronomy Department in January 2022, coming from a postdoctoral position at Cornell University.

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Faculty Spotlight

Graham Peaslee

In yet another example of the prevalence of the hazardous chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in consumer products, industrial products and textiles, researchers have found notably high levels in school uniforms sold in North America.

In a study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, scientists at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, the University of Toronto and the Green Science Policy Institute analyzed a variety of children’s textiles. Fluorine was detected in 65 percent of samples tested.

But concentrations were highest in school uniforms — and higher in those uniforms labeled as 100 percent cotton as opposed to synthetics.

“What was surprising about this group of samples was the high detection frequency of PFAS in the garments required for children to wear,” said Graham Peaslee, professor of physics at Notre Dame and a co-author of the study. “Children are a vulnerable population when it comes to chemicals of concern, and nobody knows these textiles are being treated with PFAS and other toxic chemicals.”

Full story here.