Elementary particle physics research on the Hill began in the 1930s—but the field got a huge boost with the World War II-era invention of the synchrotron, a device that propels particles to extremely high energies through a narrow vacuum tube surrounded by magnets.
Newman Lab, home to Cornell’s first synchrotron, opened in 1948. Located on the northern edge of central campus behind Clark and Savage/Kinzelberg halls, it also housed machine and electronics shops.
The facility quickly led to groundbreaking advances—and the rapid acceleration (pun intended) of the University’s particle physics research program.
Serge Petchenyi/Cornell University
From left, Xi Yang, PhD '10, senior lecturer of finance in the SC Johnson College of Business; Christine Ye; Christine Ye Award recipient Margaret E. Foster, doctoral candidate in communication; Cornelia Ye Award recipient Naman Agrawal, doctoral candidate in neurobiology and behavior; Cornelia Ye; and Derina Samuel, associate director of graduate student development at the Center for Teaching Innovation.
NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
Artist concept of the gas giant planet WD 1856 b orbiting a white dwarf star. The planet is 7 times larger than the Earth-sized white dwarf it orbits. WD 1856 b has methane and hazes in its atmosphere, which would give it a similar color to Saturn's moon Titan. The white dwarf formed from a star that died 5 billion years ago, and has been cooling ever since, giving it an orange colour similar to the Sun.
Sreang Hok/Cornell University
Dressed in clean-room suits, the Warrior-Scholar Project’s STEM boot camp cohort toured the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility.
