I invite you to learn about the Department's many facets. Brown Physics continues to thrive and hone its interdisciplinary endeavors through cutting-edge research in diverse fields of physics. This research will shape our future understanding of matter and ultimately help humanity solve some of the pressing problems of our time. The research done by our faculty and students has transformed our daily lives.
Our 27 faculty members engage in six different research areas. Our academic programs comprise 179 graduate students: 66 undergraduate physics concentrators (juniors and seniors), 83 Master’s students, 96 Ph.D. students, and 20 post-doctoral fellows. Our students’ achievements span the range of physics awards, from Goldwater Scholarship awardee Lucas Brito, an undergraduate concentrator, to Ph.D. students Danielle Germann, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowship awardee, Lecheng Ren, the 2023 Galkin Award recipient; Rutendo Jakachira, awardee of a Google Fellowship; Ilija Nikolo, University of Bologna Fellowship awardee; and Calvin Bales, awardee of the 2023–2024 Chateaubriand Fellowship. The Department consistently sees the highest caliber of student accomplishment; it is particularly rewarding to see them supported in their pursuit of physics research by generous awards.
Continuing the tradition of excellence, in 2022 – 2023 our faculty earned some of the highest accolades in physics and research. For example, Assistant Professor Jia Li, whose research focuses on the quantum properties in 2D materials, received an early-career Sloane Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloane Foundation, Stephon Alexander received the prestigious Isaac Asimov Science Award from the American Humanist Association and Brad Marston was elected to the presidential line of the American Physical Society to name just a few.
In our administrative staff, we are fortunate to have a group of seasoned, talented individuals from across Brown and all walks of life who are collectively leaders in their areas of administrative expertise. They have my thanks as they manage the components of our department critical to our success: grants management, operations, student affairs, and our department seminars and colloquia.
As chair, I am committed to upholding the vision of a more diverse department and continuing to champion underrepresented groups and women in physics. I work daily to ensure that these goals will be realized during my tenure.
Vesna Mitrović
Department Chair