Department Of Physics And Astronomy

Hunting for black holes sounds like the premise of a new Hollywood blockbuster, but at Vanderbilt University, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Karan Jani works with students in a lab to do exactly that. Last year, Jani’s group at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, along with the university’s Data Science Institute, jointly launched the AI for New Messengers postdoctoral fellowship. The fellowship, one of the first of its kind in the U.S., seeks to apply AI techniques to analyze data from cosmic events (such as black hole collisions) using information from the Nobel Prize–winning Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) experiment. Read More

Taylor is one of only six scientists nationwide appointed to the LISA team, a joint mission between the European Space Agency and NASA. LISA is a space-based gravitational wave detector constructed of three spacecraft separated by millions of miles in a triangle shape as big as the sun. Read More

Meet some of our new faculty members and learn about their fascinating research. Read More

Thomas Weiler, professor of physics and astronomy, emeritus, died December 17, 2023, after enduring a progressive neurodegenerative variant of Parkinson’s disease. He was 74. Read More

Dennis G. Hall, Vanderbilt’s first associate provost and later vice provost for research, dean emeritus of the Graduate School, professor emeritus of physics and professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer science, died Jan. 6 in Nashville. Read More

Led by Stephen Taylor, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, a collaborative effort across 88 institutions has identified evidence of slowly undulating gravitational waves passing through our galaxy. Read More

Vanderbilt astrophysicist Karan Jani helped prove Einstein's theory of relativity as it relates to black holes and gravitational waves. Learn how he's using his expertise to teach undergrads with diverse majors who are eager to learn about space. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers are scheduled to reveal an exciting update in the realm of pulsars and gravitational waves from National Science Foundation headquarters on June 29. On June 30, they will return to Nashville to share what they found and what the discovery means for our future understanding of the cosmos. Read More

Vanderbilt University has created a laser safety program and appointed a certified laser safety officer, significant steps in the university’s ongoing efforts to establish its Environmental Health and Safety Department. Vanderbilt announced it would transition its research EHS function from Vanderbilt University Medical Center to the university earlier this year. Read More

David Weintraub’s commitment to equal opportunity in astronomy inspired his latest book, The Sky Is for Everyone. The autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy include a chapter by alum Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew. Read More

Vanderbilt Ph.D. candidate Antonio J. Porras Valverde found a need to expand support for students of color—especially for Central American and Caribbean students studying astrophysics—inspiring him to launch the Cenca Bridge program, which provides academic guidance to undergraduate students from these areas who are interested in the field. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty are working together to produce a series of children’s science books aimed at fourth grade–level readers. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Orchestra, conducted by Robin Fountain, and Vanderbilt Treble Choir, directed by Mary Biddlecombe, present Gustav Holst’s "The Planets," in conjunction with astronomer and visual artist José Francisco Salgado and KV 265 Science Through Art, at 8 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music. Read More

Through a partnership with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Vanderbilt astronomers use big data to see the cosmos as a stop-motion movie instead of a snapshot. Read More

Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy Savanna Starko originally intended to become a high school math teacher. But when a battle with thyroid cancer disrupted her first year of college, a professor helped her see how physics might be a better fit. Read More

The intermediate-mass black hole first observed in May 2019 presents an entirely new category of black hole. Read More

Dianna Cowern, from YouTube’s "The Physics Girl," will be featured at a talk on Thursday, Feb. 28, in the Stevenson Center, Room 4309. Cowern will discuss using videos to share science and enrich the learning experience, in and out of the classroom. Read More

Vanderbilt faculty and alumni are featured at the free Southern Festival of Books, happening this weekend at War Memorial Plaza and the downtown Nashville Public Library. Read More

Astronomers have come up with a new and improved method for measuring the masses of millions of solitary stars, especially those with planetary systems. Read More

The Office of the Provost, as part of the Provost's Initiative to Enhance Research and Scholarship (PIERS), is providing a campuswide educational workshop Oct. 9 to support the diversification of faculty research portfolios. Read More