Welcome From Our Department Head

Dear Alumni and Friends,

A new look, a new name, an unwavering commitment to excellence and impact

This is a time of big changes and big challenges at the University of Illinois and in the Department of Physics. As you read our newsletter about some of the exciting and transformative activities and people in Illinois Physics, what you will notice first is the new look and the new name.

The new look is part of a major effort over the last year to create a fresh, vibrant, and modern style for the Illinois Physics website and communications, a look better aligned with the energy and vision of the department and the faculty, staff, and students who shape our program.

The new name—condensate—was selected to describe our legacy and our style that is unique to our program. More than a scientific term, condensate is a concept, a way of thinking and interacting that promotes the emergence of ideas and discoveries. First used to describe states of matter, it was redefined in the BCS Theory of Superconductivity to characterize the Cooper pairs in the ground state. It is now widely used to characterize a wide variety of emergent coherent states in Physics and has leaked into almost every area of Physics. It is a manifestation of the “Urbana style” of research that provides a framework for addressing key problems in Physics and in many ways defines our program.

The recent changes in the department go far beyond the new name and new look of our newsletter. This year will be particularly active as we move forward on many fronts:

Hiring. For the first year in quite a while, we do not have any new Physics faculty starting this year—the one hire we made last year, Barry Bradlyn, a condensed matter theorist from Princeton, will arrive in fall 2018. We have had several departures in the last year—Shinsei Ryu (Condensed Matter theory) to the University of Chicago, Verena Martinez Outschoorn (High Energy experiment) to UMass-Amherst, and Peter Schiffer (Condensed Matter experiment and Vice Chancellor for Research) to Yale University. All told, our faculty size has dropped from ~65 faculty, our optimum size, to only 57, creating pressure on covering teaching assignments and maintaining research productivity in some areas. To restore our size, we are carrying out faculty searches in High Energy and Nuclear theory, Biological Physics experiment, and Condensed Matter experiment this year. We are also looking to grow our program in Physics Education Research.

Infrastructure. We are completing an extensive project to provide energy-efficient heating and cooling to our buildings, remodeling research space for our faculty, opening a new outdoor patio on the south corner of Loomis Laboratory, and launching a massive remodeling project in ESB to expand our upper-level labs and provide additional space for the Institute for Condensed Matter Theory.

Diversity and Inclusiveness. The Department of Physics is passionately committed to providing opportunities for people of all genders, race, beliefs, and backgrounds. We have made great progress in gender diversity, with 10 women currently holding tenure or tenure-track positions, and 25% of our graduate student population being women. Our current efforts are focused on increasing the diversity of our Physics majors and increasing participation at all levels by underrepresented minorities. We are also committed to providing a friendly, welcoming, and productive environment for all of our faculty, staff, and students. We firmly reject those at all levels who seek to stand in the way of such progress.

Student activities. We welcomed 53 new graduate research students and 168 new undergraduate Physics majors to our department this year. The talent of these students is remarkable, and we expect great things from them in the next few years. They are also very engaged and active—this year we will see the launch of two new undergraduate student organizations, Society for International Physics Students and Society for Underrepresented Physics Students, joining the long-standing Society of Physics Students, Society for Women in Physics, and Physics Van. These groups are strong allies in helping to shape our curricula and in our quest to build a vibrant, productive, safe, friendly, and inclusive environment within Illinois Physics.

Curriculum upgrades. We are continuing with our strategic plan to move the majority of our Physics majors into the College of Engineering so that we can provide better educational and research opportunities for them and sustain the vitality of our department. Part of that will be the creation of a new Applied Physics degree and the development of a suite of new technical courses for the growing segment of our student population interested in industrial or entrepreneurial careers.

New Initiatives. In research, we continue to work toward the formation of a center in Quantum Information Science and Technology to leverage our interests and expertise in Condensed Matter, Quantum Physics, and Atomic Molecular Optical Physics. We are also exploring the development of online courses to propagate our experience and success in physics education to students and teachers beyond the U. of I.—to different age groups, including high school, and to locations across the state, the nation, and the world.

New budget models. In the midst of uncertainties and reduced funding in the state budget, the campus is undergoing an extensive change in the way resources are allocated to the departments. This change was achieved through an interactive effort involving all department and research units; the colleges and departments on campus were not just asked to deal with the pressures of declining budgets, but to offer solutions for focusing the goals and operations of the campus and reinventing the financial model. The Department of Physics has taken this opportunity very seriously, approaching this problem with creative thinking and collaboration, in the same way we have approached much harder problems in our research programs. What emerged  is a commitment to the very values and principles that build our record of achievement and reputation—an unwavering commitment to excellence in everything we do and to advancing science and science education.

New leadership. As seems to be the case each year, we will see changes in the campus leadership. We will soon have a new provost when Andreas Cangellaris, currently dean of the College of Engineering, assumes that role; a new vice-chancellor for research, and a new dean of the College of Engineering. There will also be a new leader of the Department of Physics. This will be my last year as head of the department—my plan is to step down on June 30, 2018, at the end of my 12th year as head and 37th year on the faculty at Illinois. I am not going anywhere except to my lab to focus on some unfinished research projects, to my home to spend more time with my family and my wine cellar, and to places around the world that I have always wanted to see. This is not an easy decision for me—I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of this position and especially the opportunity to work with the faculty and staff in Physics to advance our shared vision of excellence in research and education. However, I think it is the right decision for me, for my family, for my research program, and for the department. It has truly been a great honor and privilege to serve in this role, which I believe to be the best position in the university because of the unique combination of scholarship, interactivity, and camaraderie, which characterize our program. I look forward to enjoying the year ahead and to working to accomplish a number of important things on my agenda before turning over the leadership to a new head, whom the dean will select later this year.

Yes, there are many challenges ahead. There are real challenges to our environment, culture, and society arising from population growth, healthcare needs, climate change, and external threats to our security. There is a toxic political and social climate in our country: There are unnecessary challenges being created by our highest leaders because of their self-serving greed, lack of understanding of science, disregard for the truth, and disrespect for the cultural diversity of our world community. And there are financial issues facing the State of Illinois and the nation. However, physicists—especially the faculty, students, and alumni of Illinois Physics—are good at solving all kinds of problems, and we will meet all of these challenges with energy, creativity, and teamwork.

The popularity of Physics is at an all-time high, as demonstrated by recent discoveries about our universe, rising student enrollments, and the demand for trained STEM researchers, which continues to grow. The Department of Physics will continue to be a leader in the education of Physics and STEM students, a major player in the quest for discovery and creativity in scientific research, and a beacon for truth and the inclusion and respect of all people. There is a right side of history, and we will be on it.

With warm regards,

Dale J. Van Harlingen