Physics & Astronomy Professor David Tománek is one of ten recipients of MSU's 2017 William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award.

An article published on 31 January 2017 in MSU Today features MSU Physics & Astronomy Associate Professor Tyce DeYoung and his research connections with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. Measurements of neutrino properties have traditionally been very difficult, and the IceCube detector is refining those measurements in an unprecedented way. This may allow comparisons of natural results with theoretical models which can help scientists to understand relationships between certain fundamental particles and forces.

The MSU Center for Gender in Global Context has announced that Physics-Astronomy Professor Filomena Nunes has received its 2017 Inspirational Woman of the Year Award in the Professional Achievement category.

In a recent Nature Physics article, an international research group including MSU P-A faculty members Alexandra Gade and Hironori Iwasaki, working at the NSCL, describe the results of their study of the structure of the nucleus of the isotope silicon-34.

In October 2016, Professor Megan Donahue and Associate Professor Brian O'Shea were named Fellows of the American Physical Society.

Physics & Astronomy Professor Lisa Lapidus and her colleagues have published a paper in the 04 August 2016 edition of the journal ChemPhysChem which describes their work using lasers to observe the behavior of a number of peptides (strings of amino acids) which are associated with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Physics & Astronomy University Distinguished Professor and Dean of Lyman Briggs College Elizabeth Simmons has been appointed MSU's Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Development.

The origin of the elements in the Universe is one of the big unsolved questions in science. Nuclear fusion reactions in stars are responsible for creating most of the light elements up to iron. Heavier elements are produced in a network of nuclear reactions and decays, mainly involving the capture of neutrons by unstable nuclei that only exist for fractions of a second. Therefore, it is essentially impossible to measure the majority of these rates directly in the laboratory because the unstable nuclei involved cannot be made into targets for irradiation with neutrons.