H i PandA Alumni!

It's been a super busy semester for us, as we try to come up with a Strategic Hiring Plan for the next several years and prepare for an Academic Program Review in December. On top of that, we had candidates for three faculty positions coming through. All this put huge demands on our faculty's time. Somehow we got through it.

A highlight late last semester was Anthony Gravagne receiving a Gerald W. May Outstanding Staff award for his many years managing the Machine Shop. The shop is a unique and valuable resource not only for our own PIs, but also for many units around campus, including Health Sciences, and even for some clients beyond UNM. Anthony has done an excellent job running the shop, which is known for its high-quality, professional work, always done in a timely manner.

Quantum Progress

A major event was the establishment of the Quantum New Mexico Institute (QNM-I), a Category 3 (spanning Colleges/Schools) research center which is also a partnership with Sandia National Lab. QNM-I greatly enhances the presence of Quantum Information Science at UNM and in New Mexico, and really helps put us on the world Quantum map at such an exciting time for the field. A few faculty hires in the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering are associated with the expansion of this effort. We hope to have news soon about two new hires in our department. Also starting up is a national search for the first Director of QNM-I. It is not clear which department this person will call home, but we will be strongly advocating for P&A!

We still have irons in the fire for a few other hires in the next year. We need them badly. Stay tuned. Also on the quantum side, Victor Acosta led the establishment of a new interdisciplinary graduate certificate program called QPAQT, for Quantum Photonics and Quantum Technologies, with a $3M grant from NSF. It will start this fall. This is going to be a great addition to our preparation of students to work in the quantum sector.

New Emeritus Faculty

Two departures of special note. Dave Dunlap decided to retire after 35 years in PandA, carrying out research in theoretical solid state physics. He will be remembered for his roles with our Society of Physics Students chapter and his Demo Shows, for which the imploding barrel was always a highlight. Kevin Cahill also retired after a long and distinguished 43-year (!) career in the department, where he studied a wide range of topics in theoretical particle physics.

Design Study Progress for Campus Observatory

Thanks largely to the eclipse event last October, we are a quarter of the way toward funding the full design study for the new Campus Observatory. You can help us get closer to this goal. As always, there are many other ways to donate using the link at the end of this newsletter, which I hope you enjoy.

I hope everyone is having a great summer!