Physics Colloquia
The Society of Physics Students (SPS) and student group Optica regularly hosts speakers from academia, industry, and beyond. Below is a list of anticipated speakers for the coming semester and past visitors to UMW.
Spring 26 (Anticipated)
Kris Davidson, PhD and Roberta Humphreys, PhD, University of Minnesota: April 17, 2026
Women in STEM panel co-hosted by UMW WeSTEM and the James Farmer Multicultural Center: March 13, 2026
Candice Chua, PhD Candidate at Harvard University/MIT: March 13, 2026
Mariama Dias, PhD, University of Richmond: Feburary 6, 2026
Andrew Howard, PhD, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow: January 23, 2026
Fall 25
Lana Chaleunrath-Pham, MS Physics, Kansas State University: November 21, 2025
Ruaridh Forbes, PhD, University of California-Davis: October 3, 2025
Morgan Heckman, PhD Candidate, Duke University Augusta University: September 12, 2025
Spring 25
Brendan Casey, PhD, APS Fellow and Senior Scientist at Fermilab: April 25, 2025
Rasha Makkia, PhD, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University: April 11, 2025
Women in STEM panel co-hosted by UMW Optica Chapter and the James Farmer Multicultural Center: March 14, 2025
Jordyn Nicole Strasberg Smith, PhD Graduate Student at Stanford University: March 14, 2025
Tom Weinacht, PhD, Stony Brook University: January 31, 2025
Fall 24
Erin E. Hackett, PhD, Department of Marine Science at Coastal Carolina University: November 21, 2024
Dalton Echard, PhD, Technical Sales Specialist in Rheology: October 25, 2024
Robin Santra, PhD, University of Hamburg, CFEL, DESY: September 20, 2024
Spring 24
Rama Bala, PhD, CEO of Chance to Change Lives and APS National Career Mentoring Fellow: April 26, 2024
Carl Rodriguez, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: April 12, 2024
Margaret Gregory, PhD Graduate Student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: March 29, 2024
Shraddha Agrawal, PhD Graduate Student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: March 15, 2024
Fall 23
Digesh Raut, PhD, Professor in High Energy Physics at St. Mary’s College of Maryland: Dec 1, 2023
Ryan Barlow, CEO and Founder, GeoPulse Solutions, Inc.: November 10, 2023
Joseph S Francisco, PhD, President’s Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, the University of Pennsylvania , Atmospheric Chemistry, Molecular Physics, & Climate Change: October 06, 2023
Susan E Mullally, PhD, Associate Scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute, An Extrasolar Planet Story: September 22, 2023
Fall 22- Spring 23
Travis Severt, PhD, Principal Optical Engineer at Northrop Grumman: April 14, 2022
Women in STEM panel discussion (hosted by Optica), March 24, 2023
Carlos Trallero, PhD, Professor in AMO physics at University of Connecticut: March 10, 2023
Nicole Yunger Halpern, PhD, Physicist at NIST, QuICS Fellow, Adjunct Assistant Professor at UMD: January 27, 2023
Elizabeth Bennewitz, PhD Student at University of Maryland: November 18, 2022
Matt Fleenor, PhD, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UMW: November 02, 2022
Gwen Grinyer, PhD, Associate Professor of Physics at University of Regina: September 23, 2022
Notable visitors from past colloquia.