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Department of Physics and Astronomy

Colloquia

These lectures feature speakers from around the country and globe. Each colloquium lasts about an hour and gives you a deeper understanding of physics and astronomy research taking place around the world.

Colloquia will be held in a hybrid format. A recurring Zoom link is available for virtual attendance.

Talks are held on Thursdays at 4:15 p.m. in the Rogers Room (Jones PSC 409), unless stated otherwise.

To be added to the email distribution list for upcoming colloquia, contact Ms. Nancy Kesar at nkesar@mailbox.sc.edu.

Upcoming Colloquium

Toward AI as Co-Scientists: From Physics-Grounded Learning to Strong and Trustworthy AI

Date: Nov. 12, 2026
Speaker: Dr. Zongrui Pei
Affiliation: The University of Texas at Arlington

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents based on large language models (LLMs) for various scientific applications have been developed, accelerating research. Nonetheless, these AI tools are used mainly for simple tasks and short reasoning chains with heavy human involvement. They are still weak at handling complex research tasks. Here, we use a few examples, such as materials discovery and advanced computing, to discuss how LLMs and AI agents can help mitigate barriers to research and to further explore opportunities with world models. Building on insights from these examples, we extend our discussion to co-scientists who are AI agents that accelerate and automate research, and we outline pathways toward strong AI, or artificial general intelligence (AGI), from four perspectives.

Fall 2026 schedule

Date Speaker Affiliation Title
September 03, 2026 Dr. Yi Lin University of Alabama A Physicist's Journey in Interdisciplinary Research
September 10, 2026 Dr. Jim Freericks Georgetown University How to teach quantum mechanics without matrices or waves
September 17, 2026 Dr. Yu He Yale University Distilling quantum materials to effective Hamiltonians via multi-probe spectroscopy
Semptember 24, 2026 Dr. Enrique Lopez Rodriguez University of South Carolina From the Torus to Cosmic Dawn: Magnetic Fields, Dust, and a New Astronomy Program at USC
October 01, 2026 Dr. Siyao Xu University of Florida Particle Acceleration in Turbulence
October 08, 2026 Dr. Yuan Li University of Massachusetts Amherst Tales of Tails: Probing Galactic Environments Through Ram Pressure-Stripped and Tidal Tails
October 15, 2026 Fall Break - no colloquium
October 22, 2026 Dr. Bjoern Schenke Brookhaven National Lab How gluons shape the nucleus: gluon saturation and nuclear structure at high energy
November 05, 2026 Dr. Yun Kai Cambridge Heavy Industries What Can Inertial Confinement Do for Materials Science?
November 12, 2026 Dr. Zongrui Pei UT Arlington Toward AI as Co-Scientists: From Physics-Grounded Learning to Strong and Trustworthy AI
November 19, 2026 Dr. Wladimir Benalcazar Emory University TBA

Spring 2027 schedule

Date Speaker Affiliation Titile
February 04, 2027 Dr. Liuyan Zhao University of Michigan TBA
February 11, 2027 Dr. Giles Novak Northwestern University TBA
February 18, 2027 Dr. Steven Tomsovic Washington State University TBA
February 25, 2027 Dr. Peter Hirschfeld University of Florida TBA
March 4, 2027 Dr. Dan Hooper University of Wisconsin TBA
March 11, 2027 Spring Break
March 18, 2027 Dr. Janice Musfeldt University of Tennessee, Knoxville TBA
March 25, 2027 Dr. Geoffrey Greene University of Tennessee/Tulane University TBA
April 1, 2027 Dr. Sergio Martin-Alvarez University of Oklahoma TBA
April 8, 2027 Dr. Michael W. Snow Indiana University Bloomington TBA
April 15, 2027 TBA TBA TBA
April 22, 2027 Dr. Abhay Deshpande Stony Brook University /BNL TBA

Past Colloquia

  • November 20, 2025 - Sanskriti Das
    "Where the hot universe meets the energetic universe"
  • November 13, 2025 - Leo Hollberg
    "Rapid Imaging Magnetic Field Dynamics with Yb Fluorescence"
  • October 30, 2025 - Chris Palmstrøm
    "Superconductor/Semiconductor Heterostructures for Quantum Information Systems Applications"
  • October 23, 2025 - Petr Stepanov
    "Near-Field Microscopy in Moiré Graphene Heterostructures"
  • October 16, 2025 - Wayne Saslow
    "Three Velocity Dynamical Theory of Supersolids"
  • October 2, 2025 - Kyle Leach
    "Hunting Ghosts with Rare Isotope Doped Quantum Sensors"
  • September 25, 2025 - Alex Drlica-Wagner
    "Small Galaxies, Big Science: Fundamental Physics from the Faintest Galaxies"
  • September 18, 2025 - Chris Quigg
    "A Century of Noether’s Theorem"
  • September 11, 2025 - Matthew Baumgart
    "Dark Matter’s Michelson-Morley Moment"
  • September 4, 2025 - Gabriel Cuomo
    "Line Defects in quantum field theory: from magnets to quarks"
  • April 17, 2025 - Andrew Zangwill
    "That’s Not Physics"
  • April 10, 2025 - Mikhail Shifman
    "Paradigm change in modern high-energy physics"
  • April 3, 2025 - Riccardo Penco
    "Tales of Point Particles: Effective Theories from Black Holes to Superfluids"
  • March 27, 2025 - Anatoly Dymarsky
    "Code CFTs: where generalized symmetries, quantum gravity and quantum information meet"
  • March 20, 2025 - Hirohiku Shimizu
    "Study of the Time Reversal Invariance in Polarized Epithermal Neutron Optics (J-PARC E99: NOPTREX)"
  • February 27, 2025 - Craig Group
    "Career and Mentoring Resources for Physicists"
  • February 13, 2025 - Xiaoxuan Chu
    "An Overview of Spin Physics at STAR"
  • January 30, 2025 - Mehrnoosh Tahani
    "Exploration of the Magnetized Cosmos: From Innovative Observatory Development to Multi-Wavelength Field Mapping"
  • January 27, 2025 - Michael Busch
    "Shedding Light on the Dark Molecular Gas in the Galaxy and Beyond"
  • January 21, 2025 - Priyanka Chakraborty
    "Probing the Universe’s Extremes: XRISM’s Precision X-ray Insights and JWST’s View of Early Galaxies"
  • January 16, 2025 - Mark W. Meisel
    "How are “Discoveries” Made? - A “condensed” perspective"
  • February 27, 2020 - Dr. Thomas Crawford, Dr. Scott Crittenden, and Dr. Yanwen Wu
    "Research Directions at the SmartState Center for Experimental Nanoscale Physics (Experimental)"
  • February 20, 2020 - Dr. Yaroslaw Bazaliy and Dr. Yuriy Pershin
    "Research Directions at the SmartState Center for Experimental Nanoscale Physics (Theoretical)"
  • February 13, 2020 - Dr. Ward Plummer
    "Quantum Materials Driven Renaissance in Surface Physics"
  • February 6, 2020 - Dr. Smita Mathur
    "The Warm-Hot Circumgalactic Medium"
  • January 30, 2020 - Dr. Richard Creswick
    "A Laboratory Search for Axions/ALPS"
  • December 5, 2019 - Dr. William E. Mustain
    "Founding and Emerging Materials for Li-ion Batteries"
  • November 21, 2019 - Dr. Dennis Bodewits
    "Atomic and Molecular Physics of Comets"
  • November 14, 2019 - Dr. Daniel Scolnic
    "New Excitement in Measurements of Dark Energy and the Hubble Constant"
  • October 31, 2019 - Dr. Varsha Kulkarni
    "Extrasolar Planets: Understanding Earth's Place in the Cosmos"
  • October 3, 2019 - Dr. J. Michael Shull
    "Where Do Galaxies End"?
  • September 26, 2019 - Dr. Craig Group
    "A Renaissance for Muon Physics: (Who Ordered That?)"
  • September 19, 2019 - Dr. Peter Mättig
    "Beyond the Higgs: LHC Physics in the Light of Philosophy"
  • September 5, 2019 - Dr. Revaz Ramazashvili
    "Zeeman Spin-Orbit Coupling and Magnetic Quantum Oscillations in Antiferromagnetic Conductors"
  • May 7, 2019 - Dr. Laurie E. McNeil
    "Transforming Teaching and Learning: Self-Renewal and Institution-Building"
  • April 25, 2019 - Dr. Megan Donahue
    "The Role of Supermassive Black Holes in the Growth of Galaxies"
  • April 18, 2019 - Dr. Monique Aller
    "Investigating the Dust Grains in Galaxies Using Quasar Absorption Systems"
  • April 11, 2019 - Dr. Massimiliano Di Ventra
    "Memcomputing: Leveraging Memory and Physics to Compute Efficiently"
  • April 4, 2019 - Dr. Leonid Pryadko
    "Quantum Computation and Quantum Error Correction: A Contemporary Overview"
  • March 28, 2019 - Dr. Oleg Tchernyshyov
    "Mechanics of Magnetic Solitons"
  • March 21, 2019 - Dr. Ashot Gasparian
    "The Proton Radius: Preliminary Results from the PRad Experiment"
  • March 7, 2019 - Dr. Raul Briceno
    "The Exotic World of Quarks and Gluons"
  • March 4, 2019 - Dr. Alexander Monin
    "Current Challenges of Particle Physics and How to Address Them"
  • February 28, 2019 - Dr. Karen Livesey
    "Magnetization Relaxation in Magnetic Nanoparticle Systems"
  • February 25, 2019 - Dr. Andrey Katz
    "Beyond the Standard Model: Search for a Shadow World"
  • February 18, 2019 - Dr. Kimberly Boddy
    "Unraveling the Structure of Dark Matter Throughout Cosmic History"
  • February 7, 2019 - Dr. Igor Altfeder
    "Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of Quantum Materials"
  • January 31, 2019
    "Remembering Dr. Horacio Farach"
  • December 6, 2018 - Dr. Yanwen Wu
    "Tools Made of Light - An Overview of the Ideas Behind the 2018 Physics Nobel Prize"
  • November 29, 2018 - Prof. Valery Nesvizhevsky
    "Gravitational Quantum States of Neutrons, Atoms, and Antiatoms"
  • November 15, 2018 - Ms. Lisa Hunter and Mr. Rafael Palomino
    "ISEE's Professional Development Program: Preparation for Effective and Inclusive Teaching and Mentoring"
  • November 8, 2018 - Dr. Sylvester N. Ekpenuma
    "Efficient Modeling of Defects and Impurities in Semiconductors"
  • November 2, 2018 - Dr. Arthur Hebard
    "Heterogeneous Interfaces with High-Tc Crystalline Bi-2212 for Teasing Out Proximity and Electric-Field Screening Effects"
  • October 25, 2018 - Dr. Marco Ajello
    "The Star-Formation History of the Universe Revealed by Gamma Rays"
  • October 4, 2018 - Dr. Luca Guazzotto
    "A Physics-Based Criterion for Nuclear Fusion Energy Production"
  • September 27, 2018 - Dr. Pawel Mazur
    "Superfluid Universe, the Ground State in Quantum Gravity, and Gravastars"
  • September 20, 2018 - Dr. Frank Avignone, III
    "Dark Matter from Z to A and Beyond: The History and Status of Direct Searches"
  • September 6, 2018 - Dr. Nahum Arav
    "Quasar Outflows and Their Contribution to Galactic-Scale Feedback Processes"
  • April 26, 2018 - Dr. Yordanka Ilieva
    "Gluon Imaging"
  • April 19, 2018 - Dr. Robin Shelton
    "The Clouds Around Our Galaxy"
  • April 12, 2018 - Dr. Vincente Guiseppe
    "The (76)Ge Program to Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay"
  • April 5, 2018 - Dr. Yanwen Wu
    "Make Your Particles And Play With Them Too"
  • March 29, 2018 - Dr. Dean Lee
    "Nuclear Lattice Simulations"
  • March 8, 2018 - Prof. Sergey Alekhin
    "Strange, Non-Strange, and Heavy Quark Distributions"
  • March 1, 2018 - Dr. Joseph E. Johnson
    "On Integrating General Relativity with Quantum Theory by Reframing Riemannian Geometry as a Generalized Heisenberg Lie Algebra”
  • February 22, 2018 - Dr. Alessandro Pilloni
    “Challenges for Hadron Spectroscopy”
  • February 15, 2018 - Dr. David B. Tanner
    “The Search for the Invisible Axion: The Current Status of ADMX”
  • February 1, 2018 - Dr. Andrew B. Greytak
    “Assembling the Future Through Control of Nanoscale Interfaces”
  • January 25, 2018 - Dr. Ronald D. Edge
    “70 Years of Physics”
  • January 18, 2018 - Dr. Juan I. Collar
    “News from PICO and COHERENT”

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