Faculty C.D. Hoyle, Holly Leopardi Physics & Astronomy Together with NASA collaborator Dr. Holly Leopardi, Dr. C.D. Hoyle (Physics and Astronomy) received a grant from NASA’s MOSAICS program, whose purpose is to increase research opportunities for undergraduates. Students, trained in Dr. Hoyle’s lab, will spend summer internships in Dr. Leopardi’s QuEST laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center. This work will focus on developing space-based systems using cold-atom interferometry and atomic clocks to improve the mapping of Earth’s water and ice movement, perform fundamental physics measurements, and improve navigation systems of future spacecraft. Dr. Leopardi is a CPH graduate, recognized as an Outstanding Student of the Year in 2014.

Faculty C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy Dr. C.D. Hoyle, in conjunction with the APS Executive Committee, organized and hosted the 2024 American Physical Society Far West Section Meeting that was held at Cal Poly Humboldt on October 25-26th. Attendees from all over the western USA presented over 100 research works in physics, astronomy, and physical/mathematical sciences through oral and poster sessions, including many CPH students and researchers. Invited speakers included scientists from national laboratories, private industry, and large research universities. Corey Gray of LIGO, who graduated with CPH Physics and Applied Mathematics degrees in 1997, gave an engaging after-dinner lecture to over 120 meeting attendees.  

Faculty C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy Together with NASA collaborator Dr. Holly Leopardi, Dr. C.D. Hoyle (Physics and Astronomy) received a grant from NASA’s MOSAICS program, whose purpose is to increase research opportunities for MSI undergraduates. Students, trained in Dr. Hoyle’s lab, will spend summer internships in Dr. Leopardi’s QuEST laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center. This work will focus on developing space-based systems using cold-atom interferometry and atomic clocks to improve the mapping of Earth’s water and ice movement, perform fundamental physics measurements, and improve navigation systems of future spacecraft. Dr. Leopardi is a Cal Poly Humboldt graduate, recognized as an Outstanding Student in 2014.

Student Alexandra Papesh, Taylor Juchau, Kelsey Sako Physics & Astronomy Physics & Astronomy majors Alexandra Papesh, Taylor Juchau, and Kelsey Sako presented Cal Poly Humboldt gravitational physics research at the national 2024 April Meeting of the American Physical Society in Sacramento. In addition, Papesh was recognized with a prize for an outstanding poster presentation!

Congratulations to all!

Student Alyssa Johnson, Claire Rogers, Noah Dunkley, Michael Gengo, C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy Physics & Astronomy alumni (Alyssa Johnson ('21), Claire Rogers ('23), Noah Dunkley ('18), and Michael Gengo ('22)) and faculty member C.D. Hoyle recently published a peer-reviewed paper describing a technical advancement for the stabilization of the apparatus used for precision gravitational physics measurements at Cal Poly Humboldt. The article, titled "Optimization of an Active Leveling Scheme for a Short-Range Gravity Experiment," was published in the Journal of Undergraduate Reports in Physics and may be found here: 

https://pubs.aip.org/aip/jurp/article/33/1/100002/2929427/Optimization-…

Student Kevin Geumhan Physics & Astronomy Kevin Geumhan (‘24) coauthored a paper that was recently accepted for publication in Physical Review E. Kevin’s work was carried out in collaboration with researchers from UC Merced and is titled “Maximally Mixing Active Nematics.” Kevin also recently presented this work at the 76th Annual American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Faculty C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy The LAG (Liquid-Actuated Gravity) Collaboration that includes Dr. C.D. Hoyle recently published work in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments titled "Measurement of gravitational and thermal effects in a liquid-actuated torsion pendulum." The work discusses measurements taken to test and characterize a novel system for making precision tests of gravity at short distance scales. In addition to Cal Poly Humboldt contributions, the collaboration includes researchers from the University of Naples and University of Rome Tor Vergata, as well as the Italian INFN (Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare). 

The article can be found here:  https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0162604

Faculty Prof. C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy Dr. C.D. Hoyle is a co-author of a new publication that discusses the results of a 15-year campaign to map the moon’s orbit at the millimeter level. Such measurements can be used to test the validity of General Relativity and test theories that predict new physics. https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/aceb2f

Student Abby Keltz, Alexandra Papesh Physics & Astronomy Physics & Astronomy majors Abby Keltz and Alexandra Papesh presented research at the 2023 April Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS), held in Minneapolis, MN from April 15th - 18th. Keltz presented the talk "Testing Gravitational Interactions Below 50 Microns," while Papesh presented a poster describing a collaborative project with Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis (IUPUI) entitled "Improved Measurement of the Newtonian Gravitational Constant G." Keltz was recognized as one of the "Outstanding Undergraduate Presenters" by the conference organizers. Both projects are supported by the National Science Foundation.

Student Alexandra Papesh and Tanner Hooven Physics & Astronomy Congratulations to Physics & Astronomy majors Alexandra Papesh and Tanner Hooven who presented Cal Poly Humboldt gravitational physics research at the 2022 Far West Section Meeting of the American Physical Society. This year around 100 researchers were welcomed by the University of Hawai'i, Manoa in Honolulu to share knowledge, network, and learn about recent groundbreaking results. Great work!!

Student Alfredo Calderon, Kevin Chung, Steven Gracy, and Taylor Juchau Physics & Astronomy Four Physics & Astronomy majors were selected to be Cal-Bridge Scholars for the upcoming academic years. The Cal-Bridge program creates opportunities for historically underrepresented groups and first-generation students to participate and advance in STEM fields including physics, astronomy, computer science, and computer engineering, in order to increase their representation in PhD programs. Each scholar is provided a CSU as well as a UC mentor to help prepare them for graduate school applications and secure research opportunities. Students are awarded a scholarship up to $10,000 per year on a need-based assessment.

Congratulations to all!

Student Catherine LeDesma, Michael Ross, Benjamin Daly, C.D. Hoyle, and Monty Mola Physics & Astronomy Together with faculty members, a group of Cal Poly Humboldt Physics and Astronomy students (now all alumni) recently published a peer-reviewed article in the journal AIP Advances published by the American Institute of Physics. The work, titled "A modified Michelson interferometer to measure sub-milliradian changes in angle," that describes technical advances in measuring miniscule angular deflections for use in fundamental physics experiments, can be found in open-access format at the following link:

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0100720

Faculty C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy Professor C.D. Hoyle of the Department of Physics and Astronomy was awarded a National Science Foundation Collaborative Research Grant to continue the development of an experiment in conjunction with Professor Ricardo Decca of Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis (IUPUI) that seeks to perform the world's most precise measurement of Newton's gravitational constant, G. In addition to technical R&D, this 3-year grant in the amount of $127,923 will support Cal Poly Humboldt student involvement through summer research opportunities and funded conference travel. 

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2207801

Faculty C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy Dr. C.D. Hoyle received a continuing grant from the National Science Foundation to support an ongoing collaborative project with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The project, which is physically based at IUPUI, is dedicated to developing an apparatus to measure the gravitational constant, G, with unprecedented precision. This constant is the least-well-known fundamental constant in nature, and its precise determination is of broad interest to a wide variety of disciplines from precision measurement to cosmology. The project will provide the opportunity for Cal Poly Humboldt students to be involved through summer research and conference presentations.

Student Claire Rogers, Jesse Mendez, Ana Sammel Physics & Astronomy Three Cal Poly Humboldt students presented research at the 2022 April Meeting of the American Physical Society that was held April 9-12 in New York City. Physics and Astronomy majors Claire Rogers ('23) and Jesse Mendez ('22) presented work related to research being done in the Gravitational Research Laboratory, while Ana Sammel ('22 Applied Mathematics major, Physics minor) presented work done in conjunction with Vanderbilt University. 

Faculty C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy

Professor C.D. Hoyle has been elected to serve a 2-year term on the Executive Committee of the Far West Section of the American Physical Society.

Student Emily Ord Physics & Astronomy

Emily Ord ('21) was presented with the "Best Poster Award" by the American Physical Society (APS) for a presentation given at the 2021 APS Far West Section Meeting that was held in October. Emily presented research work done in collaboration with our partner institution IUPUI that focuses on developing an experiment to measure the Newtonian gravitational constant, G, at the 2ppm level (G is the least well-known fundamental constant of nature).

Faculty C.D. Hoyle Physics & Astronomy

Professor C.D. Hoyle received a Fundamental Physics Innovation Award from The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the American Physical Society that will support a 6-week research collaboration with Dr. Luciano Di Fiore and the gravitational physics group in Naples, Italy during the summer of 2021. This work, that is supported by the INFN and the University of Naples, will focus on developing a novel experimental platform for testing the fundamental properties of gravity at short distance scales, as well as solidifying a longer-term international collaboration.

Student Kassandra Weber, Adam Turk, Emily Ord, Darian Karadjov, Frank Trombetta, Alyssa Johnson, Berlin Del Aguila Physics & Astronomy

Students presented a poster and three talks at the American Physical Society Far West Section Meeting held at Stanford University on research being done in the Gravitational Research Laboratory.

http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/FWS19/Session/E04

Student Jackson Stillman ('19) Physics & Astronomy

Jackson Stillman was granted a travel award by the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Gravitational Physics to present his research on "Progress on Short-range Tests of Gravity at Humboldt State University" at the 2019 APS April Meeting in Denver, CO April 11-16.