Happenings — from the Chair , Prof

I am pleased to say that we have had a very active and productive year in terms of both research and education here at Duke Physics. This is my first year as Chair, as many of you know, and it was a year of challenges and learning for me personally. Certainly the most interesting things I learned came from finding out what my colleagues in other subfields are doing; this broad view – from biophysics to particle physics, from optics to gamma rays, from teaching introductory physics to advising graduate students – has deepened my appreciation for our department. Six of the more significant research achievements are highlighted in this newsletter. News about undergraduate and graduate education are covered in their respective sections. Here I want to highlight some general news about the department and faculty: