News 2026
CU*iP in Denver
March 15th -- Undergraduate physics major Marissa Godoy presented a poster this past weekend in Denver, CO as part of a 2026 Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics (CU*iP). Godoy's presentation, entitled "Coherence Lengths of Laser Pointers," summarized recent efforts at SJSU involving a team of students working under the direction of Associate Professor Christopher Smallwood to develop new kinds of interferometric devices based on low-cost hardware like laser pointers. CU*iP events are organized across the nation on a periodic basis, and they offer an avenue for undergraduate physics majors to meet, network, and present research in an environment supportive to gender diversity. All undergraduate students who want to see broader participation in physics and connect with others who share this vision are encouraged to attend.
Ehsan Khatami Wins the SJSU President's Scholar Award
March 13th -- Professor Ehsan Khatami has been named as the 2026 President's Scholar
Award, picking up an amazing university-level distinction. The award, which is announced
as part of the President's Annual "Celebrating Spartans" event, recognizes established
scholars or artists who have achieved national or international recognition based
on the quality of their scholarship, performance, or creative activities. Congratulations,
Ehsan!
SEA Change Bronze Award
January 16th -- The Department of Physics and Astronomy has been awarded a prestigious SEA Change Bronze Award by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)! The award is part of the broader SEA Change program at AAAS, which aims to advance institutional transformation that supports success for all in STEMM — science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine — fields. SEA Change Awards recognize institutions and their academic units for interrogating the policies, processes, culture, programs, and practices that promote or impede success for all.
"We are excited to start 2026 with announcing that San José State Physics and Astronomy earned a Bronze Award," said Alexis Knaub, who is the Physics and Astronomy SEA Change Director. "They did a terrific job in thoroughly exploring their department, and leveraging those data to create a robust action plan. Some highlights from the department’s action plan include creating departmental resources to support faculty in mentoring and advising all students, as well as improving hiring practices for faculty and staff. The committee is eager to see how the department improves over the next 5 years."
For more information on the award and the SEA Change program more generally, see this press release posted to the American Association of Physics Teachers website.
Learning Assistant Retreat
January 16th -- Professor Cassandra and Associate Professor Gina Quan joined up last week with SJSU Chemistry Professor Resa Kelly, and with collaborators Laura Ríos from CalPoly San Luis Obispo (SLO) and Kim Coble from San Francisco State University to lead a faculty Learning Assistant Retreat on the Cal Poly SLO campus. Many other faculty from SJSU joined, including Assistant Professor Brianne Gutmann, Lecturer Danny Olson, and physics graduate student teaching assistants Trong Nhan Le, Huu Nguyen, and Connor Wills. Attendees discussed how to have productive partnerships with LAs and how to create learning-assistant-worthy lessons and generally build community around working with learning assistants.
While there, Professors Paul, Quan, and Gutmann also had an opportunity to go visit
the "moon tree" in downtown San Luis Obispo. The tree started as a seed that actually
traveled to the moon in one of the Apollo missions, with a storied history that has
been chronicled by RadioLab. There are hundreds of the trees planted all around the US!
American Astronomical Society Meeting
January 9th -- Master's students Zac Coustier and Brittney Shavor attended the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix this past month along with Professor Aaron Romanowsky. Shavor was a finalist for the Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Award.
