2025 is an eventful year for the physics department at Lehigh. First of all, we are welcoming two new faculty members, Elliott Rosenberg and Cora Fujiwara. They were both hired after an extremely competitive search focused on quantum physics systems and have started their activities here in July 2025. They were hired into faculty slots that are being vacated by two long-standing faculty members, Yong Kim and Jean Toulouse, who are retiring at the end of the year after many years of service to the department and to the University.
But this is not all. Also in 2025, a trio of other recent hires have received Tenure and been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. These are Ariel Sommer, Bitan Roy, and Chinedu Ekuma. In addition, Rosi Reed and Sera Cremonini have been promoted to Full Professor.
Last but not least, in 2025 our Research Experiences for Undergraduate Studnets (REU) program has restarted with fresh funding from the National Science Foundation, thanks to a successful proposal shepherded by PIs Rosi Reed and Aurellia Honekramp-Smith. The program welcomed 10 undergraduate students who participated in a number of research projects over the Sommer.
Prof. Fujiwara will establish a new laboratory dedicated to the experimental study of quantum-degenerate matter composed of cold atoms in optical lattices produced by interference between different laser beams and other means, leveraging her expertise in non-equilibrium physics and in controlling the interaction between fermionic atoms. Fujiwara’s future research will complement the experimental work in Prof. Sommer’s group with potential future synergy with the theoretical and computational groups of Prof. Roy and Prof. Ekuma.
Prof. Rosenberg will establish a new laboratory for studying materials at low temperatures and large magnetic fields, bringing with him a powerful experimental technique that allows to study new quantum phases of matter that could form the basis for the next generation of quantum applications. His experimental work will also nicely complement the work of the theoretical and computational groups of Prof. Roy and Prof. Ekuma.
Other Recent Faculty and Research Highlights
The following list is incomplete and will be updated over the next few weeks:
- Our NSF-funded R.E.U. program has been renewed.
- Prof. Vavylonis NIH grant has been renewed.
- Prof. Sommer has obtained a new grant from the National Science Foundation.
- Prof. Dierolf was named senior member of the national academy of inventors.
- Prof. Cremonini was the main organizer of a 2025 workshop on black hole physics from strongly coupled thermal dynamics at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, Stony Brook University.
- Prof. Ekuma obtained a new grant from the Department of Energy.