Department of Physics and Astronomy | Stony Brook University

The Condensed Matter Group Repeats as Chair's Cup Soccer Tournament Champions

The Condensed Matter Group has won the 5th Annual P&A Chair's Cup Soccer Tournament!

Condensed Matter celebrates winning the 2026 Physics Chair's Cup Soccer Tournament

The awards presentation will be held during the first Friday Social of the summer (May 29), hosted by our Department Chair and the Condensed Matter Group.

Condensed Matter Wins the 2026 Physics Chair's Cup Soccer Tournament

Condensed Matter Wins the 2026 Physics Chair's Cup Soccer Tournament

Beyond the competition, here are individual and team contributions:

MVP (Most Valuable Player): David Frenklakh
MSP (Most Scoring Player): Daniel Cazorla
Best Goalkeeper: Raymond Blackwell
Fair Play Award: Nuclear for their sportsmanship and inclusivity
Commissioner Award: Social Media Manager Team (Mariia Mitrankova, Gillian Winters, Yuri Mitrankov)

Huge thanks to all players, organizers, and fans. This tournament wouldn't be possible without your high energy and dedication.

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Retirement of Professor Frederick Walter

Professor Frederick Walter has retired after 37 years as a Professor of Astronomy at Stony Brook University. Prof. Walter is an observational/stellar astronomer. He found the closest known neutron star to the Earth, and measured its 165 light-year distance, a discovery astronomers will forever associate with Stony Brook. He also started a course in science fiction which he has taught for 20 years.

Professor Walter Retirement Party

Professor Walter is a past president of the Stony Brook University Senate, and has been a statewide SUNY Senator. He is a former Vice President for Academics for the UUP Stony Brook West Chapter. He represents Stony Brook in the Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), where he was formerly a member of the Board of Directors, and is the Stony Brook representative to the Astronomical Society of New York (ASNY).

We thank Professor Walter for his service to the department and wish him well in his retirement!

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Undergraduate Research Day and the 4th Annual Undergraduate Colloquium

Undergraduate research is an important part of undergraduate education and plays an increasingly important role in developing future pioneering researchers, graduate school admission and even non-academic employment. On April 7, we celebrated the research done by our own undergrads.

Undergraduate Research Day

A team of judges at our Undergraduate Research Day chose students to present at this year's Undergraduate Colloquium. These students were also presented with the Barry Barish Undergraduate Research Travel Award. The awardees and their presentation topics are listed below:

Zachary Cheslog (Advisor: Neelima Sehgal) - Current and Future Constraints on the Primordial Power Spectrum
Rose Hoffren (Advisor: Michael Zingale) - Double-detonation of oxygen-neon white dwarfs
Rojae Mighty (Advisors: Zhoudunming Tu, Arjun Kumar, Abhay Deshponde) - Geometric Scaling and Gluon Saturation at EIC
Maria Sazonova (Advisor: Jesus Prez Rios) - Buffer gas cooling of charged fullerenes