Chakraborty Lab Receives $1.82 Million NIH R35

Tonmoy Chakraborty, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of New Mexico, has received a five-year, $1.82 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (R35) to further his research on development of new microscope modalities.

Advances in microscopy and imaging technology have spurred important discoveries in biology, both in health and disease. However, current imaging methods have limitations in acquisition speed, spatial resolution, and the number of possible labels that can be imaged which restrict the types of biological questions that can be addressed.

With this grant Chakraborty and his team will develop new user-friendly imaging modalities that will not only improve the spatiotemporal resolution of the current state-of-the-art but will also enable researchers to probe biological questions that span several orders of magnitude in scale.

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Next Generation Very Large Array unites NRAO & UNM

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)/Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and the University of New Mexico (UNM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore collaborations in support of future U.S. radio astronomy initiatives.

Read the UNM Newsroom article and the NRAO article.

Distinguished Professor Mansoor Sheik-Bahae, 1956-2023

The department is greatly saddened by the passing of Distinguished Professor Mansoor Sheik-Bahae. Mansoor died of lymphoma on July 10. We send our deepest condolences to his wife, Sherry, and his daughter, Anahita.

Mansoor had an incredible research career in laser physics and was internationally renowned. We have lost a greatly valued colleague and friend.

Here is the UNM Newsroom article, UNM Department of Physics and Astronomy mourns the loss of Distinguished Professor Mansoor Sheik-Bahae. Read a heartfelt tribute from two emeritus professors: former chair Wolfgang Rudolph and former Associate Vice President for Research Initiatives Kevin Malloy.

On Saturday, September 30, from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, there will be a special event to honor Mansoor's legacy at PAÍS 1100.

P&A Celebrates Faculty Promotions and Review Milestones

Congratulations to our faculty who have been promoted or passed milestone reviews. What a lot of advancement this year!

• Ivan Deutsch was promoted to Distinguished Professor, UNM's highest faculty title
• Mousumi Roy becomes a Full Professor
• Jessica Dowell becomes a Senior Lecturer

The following faculty passed their Midpro reviews:

• Diana Dragomir
• Tara Drake
• Tonmoy Chakraborty

Also thanks to those who served on their promotion/milestone committees.

Towards a New Campus Observatory

We want to make sure our educational, outreach, and research activities are preserved, expanded, and able to continue for a long time to come

The UNM Campus Observatory has initiated a crowdfunding campaign in an effort to raise funds for the planning of a new Campus Observatory. The current Campus Observatory was built in the 1950s and is now outdated among other concerns.

Read the UNM Newsroom article about the planning for this new facility.

Find out how to donate to our goal.

Job Opportunities at UNM Physics & Astronomy

• Adjunct Teaching Positions
• NIH FIRST: Assistant Professor
• Post Doctoral Fellow - Gold