Our Physics Faculty
Dr. Sally Hicks
Dr. Sally Hicks has devoted her career to studying neutron-nucleus interactions through neutron scattering
and neutron-induced reactions. She and her students collaborate primarily with scientists
from the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Kentucky. Her teams investigate
collective and few-particle excitations of stable nuclei and neutron reaction probabilities.
Currently, Dr. Hicks studies neutron interactions with materials that are important
for energy production using nuclear fission. These include: Iron, Carbon, Silicon,
and Sodium, which are important for transporting heat from the reactor core, structural
materials, or shielding. These studies are important as the Department of Energy works
to develop next generation nuclear reactors and for our basic understanding of neutron-nucleus
interactions. Dr. Hicks currently serves as the Interim Dean of Constantin College
and recently completed her term as Chair of the Texas Section of the American Physical
Society.
Dr. Jacob Moldenhauer
Dr. Jacob Moldenhauer studies cosmic acceleration of the universe's expansion. As the universe expands,
other galaxies accelerate away from us. Physicists do not yet know the cause of this
accelerated expansion. It could be due to an unknown repulsive energy, such as dark
energy, or perhaps an incorrect formulation of the current theory of gravity. As a
theoretical cosmologist, Dr. Moldenhauer uses data gathered from telescopes in space
and around the world to test models of gravity. He uses supercluster computers and
several programs to make testing more efficient.
At the 2019 Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics in Portsmouth, England, Dr.
Moldenhauer presented a 30 minute talk on his work on CosmoEJS, an interactive cosmology
simulation that allows users to fit cosmological models to actual data sets using
Easy Java Simulations (https://www.compadre.org/osp/items/detail.cfm?ID=12394). This work was recently highlighted with the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics. In the
announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physics by the American Journal of Physics (AJP),
Dr. Moldenhauer’s original CosmoEJS article in AJP is given as one of three Top Articles
in Cosmology, along with those of the Nobel Laureate for content related to the 2019
Nobel Prize in Physics. https://aip-info.org/37VS-Z7E8-9162D0HZBC/cr.aspx
In addition to his cosmology research, Dr. Moldenhauer has interdisciplinary projects with the UD Biology Department. They have successfully developed a novel physical model of the human head and brain for studying concussive and sub-concussive level collisions. There is also new work with Dr. Stenesen on developing methods to detect the electrical signal in the eye of a fruit fly and image structures using the AFM, see the work by Mary Fox and Sarah Evans earlier in this Newsletter.
Dr. Will Flanagan
Dr. Will Flanagan received his undergraduate education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Lured
from astronomy research by the fascinating connection between cosmology and particle
physics, he began doing Large Hadron Collider (LHC) phenomenology at Texas A&M through
a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) internship. He then returned
to Colorado to begin research with the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector as the
LHC became operational.
Upon graduation, he moved to Texas A&M to complete a Ph.D., looking for supersymmetric dark matter particles produced through weak boson fusion. He moved to the dynamic field of neutrino physics during postdoctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin. During this time, he found a love for tinkering with particle detectors and mentoring undergraduate research.
Dr. Flanagan was recently awarded a $450,000 contract from the Air Force for his work in developing the world’s smallest neutron detector, in partnership with Cerium Labs. Cerium Labs has developed the world’s smallest neutron detector through patented modification to a flash memory chip. This chip will revolutionize searches for nuclear materials with small unmanned aerial systems, handheld survey meters, and clandestine methods by presenting a leap forward in miniaturization and affordability. This disruptive technology is a fundamentally different method of neutron detection and has advantages over current technologies including ease of imbedding into almost any system, ability to function without power, and rapid mass-production. Results from current prototypes confirm high sensitivity to neutron radiation without false positives from other types of radiation (gamma rays and muons). The current phase of funding will support R&D to change the boron content and thickness within the chip as well as improved methods for readout, which will increase the sensitivity and usability over current prototypes.
Dr. Richard Olenick
Dr. Richard Olenick studies two related but disparate astrophysical areas: cataclysmic variable stars
(CVs) and exoplanets. To understand accretion disk dynamics in CV systems, he observes
preludes to super-outbursts and transitions within and outside of super-outbursts,
a study that necessitates the capabilities of NASA's Kepler K2 mission. Kepler light
curves have shown the necessary detail for identifying disk transitions from the retrograde
to the prograde direction. As a Kepler K2 Guest Observer, Dr. Olenick works with scientists
in Florida and Moscow to examine the evolution of disk structures. He also works with
Mr. Arthur Sweeney of the Physics Department in searching for new exoplanets. Now
using remote observatories set up by Mr. Sweeney, Dr. Olenick’s work focuses on gathering
wide-field images of the same area in the sky over weeks and analyzing the images
to extract light curves, looking for faint transit signals.
Dr. Levente Borvák
Dr. Levente Borvák recently joined the UD physics depart as an Affiliate Assistant Professor of Physics.
He continues his research collaboration with colleagues from Charles University (Prague)
and Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest) working toward the classification of gamma
ray bursts (GRBs). His research particularly focuses on GRBs with measured redshifts.
At the XXXth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Unionof gamma-ray
bursts, which addresses the curious observation of more distant bursts appearing in
Vienna, Austria, he presented about the analogy of the K-correction in the topic brighter
than closer ones. In May of 2019, he presented his research at the 16th INTEGRAL/BART
Workshop in the Czech Republic and in June at the European Week of Astronomy and Space
Science in Lyon, France. Currently, he continues his international collaborations
in the field of GRBs and has been working on developing the physics department’s instrumentation
course to include more 3D design and 3D printing elements along with the metal machining
components. He is also building a new survey course for the Fall 2020 semester to
focus on Medical Physics.
Mr. Arthur Sweeney
Mr. Arthur Sweeney continues to provide the experimental expertise for the department’s research astronomy
program using remote telescopes and to develop upper level laboratories for the department.
Mr. Sweeney assists with the upgrades to the Haggarty Observatory at UD, contributes
to the detection of the very weak electrical signals from fruit flies, and helps create
labs for the color blue course.