Hello PandA Alumni!

I hope you have all been staying safe and healthy! A lot happened in our department this semester. And we're hopeful that things may return to normal, well almost normal, in the fall. Vaccinations proceeded at a rapid rate in New Mexico and new cases are falling, so things are looking up.

Instruction was mostly remote again this semester, and our faculty rose to the challenge. But I think all would agree that it’s simply very difficult to teach and learn physics and astronomy remotely, and we’ve been looking at ways to mitigate the impact on student learning as we go forward. We were unable to hold an in-person convocation so we’ve made a video again.

One of our biggest pieces of news is the awarding of a Micius Quantum Prize to Carl Caves, for his work on quantum metrology which crucially improved the performance of gravitational wave interferometers. We’re also very excited to have established two endowments made possible by an estate gift of over two million dollars from UNM alumnus Robert Young: the Origins of the Universe Chair Fund and the Origins of the Universe Program Fund. The endowed Chair is our first ever and the funds are going to enable a lot of excellent research. You can read about these stories below.

We had nearly twice the number of applications to our graduate program as we’ve had in recent years, with some combination of our excellent new building, expanded faculty, and removal of the GRE requirement being responsible. As a result, we’ll have a very large incoming class this fall.

Speaking of PAÍS, it has already been attracting attention as a unique location in the current filming boom in New Mexico. We had our first filming event in PAÍS in May, and it will appear in an upcoming production for one of the big streaming services, with a major Hollywood name in the lead. Can't say much more now, but it was a fascinating experience and it felt very strange to have such a celebrity wandering the halls of PAÍS.

That filming occurred days after our old building was sadly demolished (see below). We hope to put more images of the demolition up on our website soon. A new hospital -- UNM's tallest building, we understand -- to be built in its place, along with a new parking garage, will mean that our venerable Campus Observatory will be so severely hemmed in by tall, bright structures that it will no longer be able to serve its purpose. It was already hampered by an outdated design and a lot of maintenance. We’re beginning to lobby for a new facility but there is a long road ahead.

All this is part of the history of the department, which has been committed to writing recently by Bernd Bassalleck, after a heck of a lot of research with help from others. You can link to the full and abridged versions below.

Finally, our excellent Lecturer Leandra Goldflam decided to leave UNM to devote more time to her family. She will be greatly missed. Arash Mafi was named interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences for the 2021-22 academic year. Congratulations to Arash on this important appointment. Our staff also experienced retirements and new hires, which you can read about below. We already miss Sandra Ortiz, Gary Harrison, and Tom Hess very much. They have been fixtures in the department for decades!