2026 News
Keshav Badri wins a 2026 Goldwater Scholarship!
(Mar 27, 2026)
Please join us in congratulating Keshav Badri of Physics and Astronomy, who just won a 2026 Goldwater Scholarship. Well done Keshav! And congratulations also to mentors Jed Pixley, Kevin Lucht, and Shaowen Chen.
Work in theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at the national lab or university level. Specialize in understanding emergent phenomena within thin films and heterostructures.
Dr. Jedediah Pixley, Mr. Kevin Lucht, Dr. Shaowen Chen
- Profile(s): Chen, Shaowen, Lucht, Kevin, Pixley, Jedediah H.
Shumaila Chishti wins the 2026 Provost Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Lecturer
(Mar 13, 2026)
Recently we learned that Dr. Shumaila Chishti has been awarded the 2026 Provost Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Lecturer!
Please join me us congratulating Shumaila for this well deserved honor.
Shumaila has been a Lecturer in our department for 13 years. In that time she has demonstrated a remarkable ability to teach General Physics with rigor, clarity, warmth, and openness. She is a leader and innovator in instruction and pedagogy, as evidenced by her key role in advancing the Active Learning Workshop model within Extended General Physics recitations, which has helped to shift instruction toward greater student engagement and conceptual understanding. She has made significant contributions to the department’s online and hybrid instruction. Beyond the classroom, Shumaila is deeply invested in mentoring new instructors and Learning Assistants, sharing her pedagogical expertise to promote consistency and excellence across the General Physics teaching staff. For these and other accomplishments, Shumaila Chishti has made a lasting impact on undergraduate physics education at Rutgers University. And we look forward to her future accomplishments!
- Profile(s): Chishti, Shumaila F.
Matt Buckley wins Provost Award for Excellence in Cross-Disciplinary Research
(Mar 6, 2026)
Prof. Matt Buckley has won the Provost Award for Excellence in Cross-Disciplinary Research.
Matt is a world-class theorist working at the interface between physics and astronomy on studies of dark matter. He works on the properties of dark matter in our galaxy as well as other nearby galaxies. This has positioned him to begin constraining the behavior of dark matter at the level of individual particles and thereby help elucidate its fundamental nature.
- Profile(s): Buckley, Matthew
Prof Jed Pixley selected as 2026 Student Success Champion Award Recipient
(Feb 20, 2026)
The 2026 Rutgers Student Success Conference Committee has selected Prof Jed Pixley as a faculty recipient of the Student Success Champion Award.
This award recognizes exceptional contributions to student success at Rutgers–New Brunswick and reflects the priorities of the Academic Master Plan. The work faculty do—whether creating high‑impact learning experiences, supporting timely graduation, reducing student debt, or enhancing student well‑being—makes a meaningful and lasting difference.
Please join us in congratulating Jed on his extraordinary efforts on behalf of student success that this award acknowledges.
- Profile(s): Pixley, Jedediah H.