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Department of Physics and Astronomy News

The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers comprehensive programs on two of the most basic and fundamental sciences–physics and astronomy. Physics is the study of matter, energy, motion, and force. Its concepts help us understand how the universe behaves. Astronomy studies the universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere, including celestial objects and the formation and development of the universe.

Current Physics and Astronomy News

Fall colors 2025
Campus News |

Some of the biggest news headlines featuring UNLV faculty and students.

Artist depiction of cosmic black hole merger
Research |

The mergers, measured one month apart in 2024 by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration, advance scientific understanding of the nature of black hole formation and fundamental physics; offer evidence of "second-gen" black holes.  
 

artist conception of planets near large star
Research |

In new study, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, collaboration of scientists detail recent observations explaining how planets form over time.

Students on campus.
Campus News |

A selection of top news headlines featuring UNLV faculty and students.

Pratheesh Kumar
People |

The assistant professor helps launch career-focused engineering technology program designed with student success in mind.

Spring flowers
Campus News |

The students and faculty of UNLV are springing into headlines around the country.

Physics and Astronomy In The News

The Brighter Side of News

For the first time, scientists have detected two black hole mergers with spins so unusual they may reveal a new generation of cosmic collisions. The twin discoveries, labeled GW241011 and GW241110, were announced by the international LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA collaborations—teams that have been tuning their instruments to detect the faintest ripples in space and time. Each signal, lasting less than a second, was a final whisper from black holes that collided billions of years ago.

The Dave Glover Show

Michael Pravica talks about how consciousness can transcend the physical realm.

Phys.org

In a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the international LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration reports on the detection of two gravitational wave events in October and November of 2024 with unusual black hole spins. This observation adds an important new piece to our understanding of the most elusive phenomena in the universe.

Science Mag

In an extraordinary advancement for astrophysics, the international LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration has announced the detection of two gravitational wave events from last year that showcase unprecedented black hole spin characteristics. Published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, their findings unravel intricate details about black hole mergers, significantly deepening our understanding of these enigmatic cosmic phenomena. These detections open new frontiers in the quest to decode the fundamental physics governing black holes, their formation, and evolution in the universe.

Space.com

Scientists have "heard" the symphony of two newborn black holes — each created when its respective parent black holes crashed together and merged. One of those collision events, in fact, was the first of its kind.

IFLScience

The international LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration reports the observations of two record-breaking events in gravitational wave observations. They were detected in October and November 2024, and they might be a crucial step forward in our understanding of the ripples in space-time and the events that create them.

Physics and Astronomy Experts

A physics professor, whose specialties include high pressure science, explosives, and high radiation flux.
An expert in physics and chemistry.
An internationally recognized expert in astrophysics.
An expert in astronomy, dark matter, and general physics.

Recent Physics and Astronomy Accomplishments

Jason Steffen (Physics and Astronomy) gave a public lecture as part of the science series for the Goettingen Literary Festival in Germany. This invitation was for his book "Hidden in the Heavens" about NASA's Kepler mission. The festival spans two weeks in October and November. Several dozen speakers, including journalists, athletes, authors,…
Jason Steffen (Physics and Astronomy) published a book, Hidden in the Heavens, with Princeton University Press. The book is about the NASA Kepler mission, which was instrumental in the discovery of over 5000 planets that orbit distant stars. Steffen was a member of the science team for that mission and was co-chair of one of the working groups.
Zhaohuan Zhu (Physics and Astronomy) has been awarded two grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and one from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), serving as Principal Investigator for all three. These grants will support his cutting-edge research in astrophysics and planetary science. The NSF Astronomy and…
Graduate student Simon Matin (Physics and Astronomy) was recently awarded a fellowship as part of the Nevada NASA Space Grant Graduate Fellowship program. This award recognizes Matin's accomplishments thus far and the strength of his proposed ongoing research work. The specific proposed project will simulate measurements of galaxies made with the…
During the spring 2024 semester, Yan Zhou (Physics and Astronomy) was invited to present his research on quantum sensors and information at: Center of Fundamental Physics colloquium, Northwestern University, February 2024. ECT (European Center for Theoretical studies in nuclear physics and related areas) workshop, Trento, Italy, March …
Bernard Zygelman (Physics and Astronomy) presented the April 9 Pittsburgh Quantum Institute (PQI) seminar titled "Effective Magnetic Monopoles, Molecular Dynamics, and Holonomic Quantum Computing" in addition to the U. Pittsburgh Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) undergraduate colloquium, "The Second Quantum Revolution." Zygelman…