A champion of physics in South Africa

A cartoonish illustration of a man in a labcoat holding a yellow book. Behind him to the right are notes with equations on them. To the left of him, goats. In the background, trees and a starry night. In the left upper corner, in a bubble similar to a thought bubble in a comic strip, a child reading a book by candlelight.

A champion of physics in South Africa

In recognition of his own past, physicist Azwinndini Muronga has brought STEM enrichment opportunities to youth in remote, underserved towns and villages.

Science corner – journey to the tiniest frontier

From Positively Naperville, May 24, 2021: A report on the April 7 Muon g-2 result announcement speculating that there must be new particles or forces that we have not yet discovered.

This is just the beginning of a discovery that will transform our understanding of the universe

From Quo (Spain), May 23, 2021: An interview with Pilar Hernández Gamazo to find out the scope of the muon case that will transform our understanding of the Universe. Pilar Hernández is a professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Valencia.

A Univeristy of Chicago astronomer’s decades-long quest to map millions of stars

From the University of Chicago, May 21, 2021: Long-time University of Chicago professor of astronomy and astrophysics, Richard Kron created the Sloan Digital Sky Survey which set the stage for the Dark Energy Survey. Although he is retiring this year after 40 years of mapping the universe, he plans on staying on as director of the Dark Energy Survey.

Antimatter galaxies: if they existed “They could generate the most explosive event after the Big Bang”

From RECCOM Magazine (Italy), May 17, 2021: Dan Hooper talks about the possible existence of another universe. Physicists believe the Big Bang created equal amounts of matter and antimatter in the early history of the universe – but they can’t explain how antimatter vanished. Perhaps it is not and it resides isolated in some remote regions of our universe.

Researchers find that ghostly subatomic particles are even lighter than previously thought

From Forbes, May 18, 2021: Fermilab’s Don Lincoln explains the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment, in Germany that has improved our understanding of the mass of this insubstantial denizen of the microcosm.

To observe the muon is to experience hints of immortality

From Wired, May 18, 2021: So imagine the excitement on April 7, when more than 200 physicists from seven countries convened on a Zoom call for a kind of nonexplosive gender-reveal party. What was to be disclosed was not a baby’s sex but the fate of particle physics.

SURF study highlights economic impacts in South Dakota

From the Black Hills Pioneer, May 17, 2021 Activities at the Sanford Lab to have significant benefits for over the next decade as the construction of DUNE continues.

Could weirdly straight bolts of lightning be a sign of dark matter?

From Smithsonian Magazine, May 13, 2021: A group of scientists say the phenomenon could indicate dark matter speeding through our world at more than 300 miles a second. Fermilab’s Dan Hooper is quoted in this story about the study of flashes seen in ordinary lightning storms showing evidence of super-dense chunks of dark matter as they zip through our atmosphere.

Lead underground research facility makes a positive impact on South Dakota economy

From KOTA-TV (Rapid City, SD), May 16, 2021: Sanford has a $1.6 billion economic impact and generates over 1,000 jobs in South Dakota.

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