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.
Fall 26
Mojgan Agakhanloo, VITA-Origins Postdoc Fellow, December 4, 2026
Carina Luo, PhD Candidate at MIT Department of Chemistry, November 13, 2026
Erica Sutcliffe, PhD, Postdoc at Caltech Department of Chemistry, October 16, 2026
Laura Akesson, PhD Candidate at GMU: September 18, 2026
Spring 26
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.