Geoff Greene’s lifetime is inextricably linked to that of the neutron. His tireless pursuit of this scientific mystery—finding out how long a neutron lives and what that reveals about the weak force, the Big Bang, and other fundamentals of science—has earned him the Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics from the American Physical Society. Greene was recognized “for foundational work establishing the field of fundamental neutron physics in the US, for developing experimental techniques for in-beam measurements of the neutron lifetime and other experiments, and for realizing a facility for the next generation of fundamental neutron physics measurements.” He will accept the award at a ceremony in April.

Two University of Tennessee, Knoxville, graduate students have received Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) awards. Since its inception in 2014, UT ranks number one in the country for SCGSR awards with 19 recipients.

“I am proud to celebrate our graduate students’ accomplishments,” said Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Matthew Mench. “This recognition by the Office of Science is an indication of the high caliber students UT is able to attract, the dedication of our faculty mentors, and our vibrant research community.”

Record Number of Haslam Students Studying Abroad

An increasingly globalized market requires professionals with international knowledge and experience. The Haslam College of Business aims to provide the opportunities and support needed to gain such experience. Sara Easler, Director of the Office of International Programs and Study Abroad, leads the effort to increase student participation in faculty-directed, summer and semester-length programs The numbers demonstrate her team’s success.

Four UT graduate students have received Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) awards. This is the highest number of SCGSR awardees UT has had in one year.

SCGSR, a program of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science, grants supplemental awards to graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields who demonstrate potential for advancing scholarship and innovation in areas critical to the Office of Science’s mission. The goal of the program is to better prepare students for scientific and technical careers.

What does creating materials atom by atom have to do with the iPhone X? A condensed matter physicist would tell you that the microscopic understanding of silicon led to transistors, computers, and now the smartphones we know and use every day. In other words, sometimes you (literally) have to look at the small picture to understand the big.

Tyler S. Smith is a graduate student in condensed matter physics within the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Tennessee. He conducts his research at the Joint Institute for Advanced Materials, where he is focused on the creation of novel 2D materials and subsequent in-situ characterization within a clean ultra-high vacuum environment. Smith’s experiments start by optimizing growth parameters for different surface reconstructions, which involves growing sub-monolayers of metallic elements on readily available substrates. Structural and electronic properties of the surface are then probed.

“To understand how materials are structured and the electronic interactions that drive emergent properties in them is to understand the world in front of us at a very fundamental level,” said Smith.