Stony Brook University’s Patented Quantum Memory Technology Makes TIME’s Best Inventions List

It is our great pleasure to pay tribute to Distinguished Professor Dima Kharzeev’s illustrious 16-year career at Stony Brook, beginning in 2010 with a joint position at Brookhaven National Laboratory. A pioneering force in theoretical nuclear physics and distinctive leader of the Nuclear Theory Group, Dima is renowned for intellectually brave, testable predictions, a deep commitment to experiment, and a remarkable ability to work across disciplinary boundaries. His warmth has inspired both excellent science and a strong sense of belonging.



He first formulated the Chiral Magnetic Effect and developed ways to test its dynamics in heavy-ion collisions, work that led to a dedicated RHIC run. He later connected the effect to negative magnetoresistance in Dirac semimetals with Prof. Qiang Li and BNL colleagues, and more recently has bridged quantum information science and high-energy physics. His ideas and mentees will help shape the Electron-Ion Collider’s future discoveries. A recipient of the Humboldt Research Award and an AAAS Fellow, Dima leaves not only a remarkable body of work, but a way of doing physics—curious, brave, cross-disciplinary, accountable to experiment, and fun. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors!

As is our tradition, our first colloquium every Fall semester is given by our Department Chair, Distinguished Professor Chang Kee Jung.  At this year's event on August 25, the Chair shared department news and accomplishments from the past year, along with  an overview of the research done by members of the department.