Faculty and Staff
Robert Amme
Research Professor
My research is in the area of granular particle physics and the compaction of granular materials.
These materials are used for the stabilization of nuclear waste. We are studying applications of vibrational shock compaction to the recycling of granular wastes from demolition and mine tailings and uses of scrap tire rubber in asphalt. I am Manager of the Environmental Materials Laboratory in the Department of Physics & Astronomy.
Davor Balzar
Associate Professor and Chair
My research interests are mainly in studies of materials' properties by diffraction methods. The focus is on strain and defect determination through the measurement and modeling of diffraction line broadening, and development of methods for analysis of residual strain/stress, texture, and defects in materials. Materials currently of interest include ferroelectrics, wide band-gap semiconductors, and nanocomposites for biomedical applications.
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Recent Publications
Kingshuk Ghosh
Assistant Professor
My research interest is in the area of theoretical statistical mechanics of biopolymers. I am
particularly interested in developing theoretical models for thermodynamics and kinetics
of protein folding and protein aggregation to better understand origin of several neurodegenerative
diseases and help in the formulation of protein therapeutics. My other interest is to model non equilibrium
systems where fluctuations are important. This is particularly important to study dynamics in the field of nano
and bio-science where small number fluctuations are important. The focus of our work is both to lay foundation
for dynamical processes where fluctuations are significant, and more importanly, to apply the theory to the
types of single molecule experiments that are beginning to appear routinely in biology.
Jennifer L. Hoffman
Assistant Professor
My research focuses on the study of circumstellar material surrounding stars, particularly massive stars, throughout the course of their lifetimes.
Steven Iona
Lecturer
My research interests are in the areas of teacher preparation and student conceptual development specifically of physics topics. My background includes degrees in mathematics and science education from the University of Chicago and the University of Denver. My goal is to see the improvement of high school physics and math education in grades 6-16.
Short CV
Frank Murcray
Research Professor
Kevin G. Murcray
Experimental Physicist
My position here is primarily one of supporting the research projects of the atmospheric physics group in the department. My current large project involves extracting old data off of photographic glass plates that were obtained from the Smithsonian Institute. My other current project is assisting in the preparation of our data and entering it into the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change web site (http://www.ndsc.ncep.noaa.gov/).
Sean Shaheen
Associate Professor
My background is primarily in the field of organic semiconductors, in particular the development of organic photovoltaic devices or "plastic solar cells" for low-cost solar energy harvesting. My postdoctoral research was done at the Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells in Austria, where I focused on polymer-fullerene blend "bulk heterojunction" devices and published a seminal paper on the topic. I subsequently returned to the U.S. to work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to continue my work on organic photovoltaics by exploring new systems of self-assemblying molecules and nanostructured materials. My other field of interest is in the area of complex systems and networks. Understanding the nonlinear behavior of dynamical networks has become an important fundamental problem with application to biological systems such as neuronal, gene regulatory, protein-interaction, and ecological networks. My interests in these areas involve investigations of the dynamics of model systems to examine phenomena such as emergent pattern formation, synchronization and bursting, scaling laws, and plasticity.
Zeev Shayer
Research Professor
My research area includes: application of Monte Carlo methods to physics and engineering problems and optimization algorithm, advanced nuclear fuel cycle and reactor concepts, transmutation of nuclear waste and plutonium disposition, including minimization and stabilization of nuclear waste using shock compaction technologies, nuclear technology for space application, reactor core physics and radiation protection design.
Robert Stencel
Associate Professor and Womble Chair
I am privileged to hold the William Herschel Womble Astronomy Professorship at the University of Denver, and am Director, Chamberlin and Mt.Evans Observatories. Research interests include stellar evolution and infrared instrumentation. Visit my homepage
for much more information about astronomy classes, telescopes, projects, light pollution and local activities.
Toshiya Ueta
Assistant Professor
My research interests include stellar evolution (especially the late stages from the Red Giant to the Planetary Nebula phases), astropaleontology (study of past evolution of astronomical sources through investigation of the circumsource material distribution), radiative transfer in dusty media, infrared observations of dusty media, and astromineralogy (composition and formation of circumstellar and interstellar dust). I am an active user of various space- and ground-based observatories around the world such as Hubble Space Telescope and Mauna Kea and ESO Observatories.
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Barry L. Zink
Assistant Professor
My research group uses micro- and nanofabrication techniques to control and measure the thermal, magnetic and electronic properties of systems to study the fundamental physics of new materials and apply this knowledge for new technologies. Our current emphasis is on two areas: measuring thermal transport and thermopower of thin films and nanostructures from 300 mK to above 300 K, and studying new physics and new applications of high resolution microcalorimeter x-ray and gamma-ray detectors. The possible applications of our work range from improved thermoelectric materials for solid-state power generation and cooling, to better tools to identify and control illicit nuclear materials.
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Adjunct Faculty
John D Newell Jr
Adjunct Associate Professor
David Trott
Adjunct Assistant Professor
I have a background in Physics and Nuclear Engineering but my true love is Astronomy. I am completely nuts about looking at the night sky and understanding what I see there. I have been teaching astronomy for about 14 years and I love it! Check out my webpage to see the crazy telescopes I have designed and read some of my publications. http://hometown.aol.com/davetrott/page1.htm
Emeritus Faculty
Herschel Neumann
Professor Emeritus
I am especially interested in teaching techniques. My scholarly interests include computer applications in physics instruction. For example, I have developed Mathcad Professional templates to solve for Schrödinger bound state energies and wave functions with high accuracy, and I introduced computer-based examples throughout our graduate Electricity and Magnetism course.
John Olson
Research Professor Emeritus
Alwyn van der Merwe
Professor Emeritus
Bert Van Zyl
Research Professor Emeritus
I am developing a computational model to estimate the role of molecular vibrational excitation in electron-capture reactions involving proton impact on vibrationally excited hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen molecules. For low proton energies, the cross sections for such process can be remarkably different if the initial target molecules are vibrationally excited (for example, at elevated temperatures), but currently we have little experimental evidence of the magnitude of the effect.
W. John Williams
Research Professor Emeritus
M.S., University of Denver, 1963. Research interest/specialty: Upper atmospheric physics.
Staff
Ronald Blatherwick
Senior Research Scientist
My work focuses on the measurement and analysis of infrared spectra of the atmosphere,
both in transmission and emission. Such spectra contain a great deal of information about
many of the atmospheric trace constituents important in ozone photochemistry and in the
"greenhouse" effect. Current projects of interest include analysis of very high spectral
resolution (~0.002 cm-1) atmospheric transmission data from Mauna Loa, Hawaii,
and high resolution (~0.1 cm-1) atmospheric emission data from the Antarctic.
Aharon Goldman
Senior Research Scientist
My research has been concentrated on quantitative analysis of infrared and ultraviolet absorption of solar radiation by the earth's atmospheric gases, atomic and molecular solar lines, and infrared emission by the earth's atmosphere, from high resolution spectra obtained with ground-based and air-borne spectrometers. As part of this research, I have demonstrated the detection and quantification of several new molecular species in the lower stratosphere. I have authored or co-authored over 300 journal articles related to atmospheric and solar spectroscopy.
Recent Publications
High Resolution Atlas
Peter Hallam
Laboratory Manager
I manage the undergraduate academic laboratories and graduate teaching assistants, and I teach laboratory courses in data acquisition, computerized instrumentation, uncertainty analysis and modern physics. Currently, I am researching organizational performance and productivity in physics instruction.
Tom Hawat
Senior Research Scientist
My research interests include the design of electro-optical instrumentation applied to atmospheric spectroscopy and radiometry. I am currently focusing on the design and service of 6 ground stations deployed around the globe and stretched from the Arctic to the Antarctic. As part of this research, I am working on the calibration of space sensors for the validation of a new generation of Earth Observing Satellites. Very high resolution (0.00185 cm-1) infrared spectra are used in the quantification of several new molecules, as well as the analysis of atmospheric trace constituents.
Kathleen Murcray
Research Office Manager
I handle day-to-day operations for the research part of the Physics and Astronomy Department.
Barbara Stephen
Assistant to Chair
I am the Assistant to the Chair and provide support in a wide range of areas: budget management, personnel matters, purchasing, as well as preparation of research proposals and publications. Please call me if you have any questions or need information regarding the Department of Physics and Astronomy - (303) 871-2238.
Renate Van Allen
Research Associate