Seminars, News, and Events
Seminars, News, and Events
Stay connected with the Physics and Engineering Physics community at Tulane. From visiting speakers and research talks to faculty honors and department milestones, our seminars, news, and events offer a window into the ideas, discoveries, and people shaping physics and engineering physics here in New Orleans and beyond. Whether you’re a current student, a prospective applicant, a fellow scientist, or an alum, there’s always something new to explore.
Seminars
FALL 2026: Seminars are held throughout the Fall semester, normally on Mondays, 3-4pm in Boggs 239 unless specified otherwise.
Date | Speaker | Affiliation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
Aug 24 | PEP faculty | TU / PEP | State of PEP / Overview of current research projects by PEP faculty |
Aug 31 | Prof. Rath Vannithamby | TU / PEP | Wireless Technology Evolution Towards Intelligent & Connected World of 6G |
Sep 14 | Prof. Yunfeng Shi | RPI | Atomistic Modeling of Ferroelectric Materials in Devices |
Sep 21 | Dr. Alexis Myers | NLR | From Electrons, to Molecules, to Communities |
Sep 28 | Dr. Prashant Padmanabhan | LANL | Light-Driven Phenomena in Gapless Topological Matter |
Oct 5 | Prof. Tianze Liu | Tulane / EES | New Frontiers in Geological Hydrogen Exploration Using Seismology |
Oct 12 | Prof. Denis Seletskiy | U of New Mexico | Photons Are Overrated: Bright, few-cycle quantum light and what you can do with a field |
Oct 19 | Prof. Chunli Huang | U of Kentucky | From Pencil Lead to Quantum Matter: Magnetism and Superconductivity in Stacked Graphene |
Oct 26 | Prof. Elizabeth Scott | Centre College | Measuring Energy with Circuits and Superconductors- An Introduction to Thermal Kinetic Inductance Detectors |
Nov 2 | Dr. Kyle Steffen | Tulane | TBA |
Nov 9 | Prof. Georgi Rozenman | MIT | TBA |
Nov 16 | Prof. Mark Pedersen | UTEP | TBA |
PEP News
At the Speed of Light: Tulane Team Advances Optical AI
In a field dominated by ever-larger GPUs and rising energy demands, a team of researchers is looking in a different direction. Instead of electrons, they are using light.
In a new study published in Machine Learning: Science and Technology, researchers Manon P. Bart, a recent Tulane PhD graduate, along with Nick Sparks and Ryan T. Glasser, introduce a method that dramatically improves how optical neural networks are trained, bringing this emerging technology closer to real-world use.
Tulane Engineers Mark Transition Into the Profession at Annual Ring Ceremony
Tulane’s School of Science and Engineering celebrated the next generation of engineers during the 2026 Order of the Engineer ceremony, held May 13 in Paul Hall. The event brought together students, faculty, family members, alumni, and engineering leaders to recognize graduating students as they formally entered the profession.
Turning Seconds into Safety: Tulane Students Build Automated System to Strengthen Airport Explosive Detection
In airports across the country, security decisions are often made in seconds. When a bag is flagged for further inspection, Transportation Security Administration officers move to a secondary screening process that can determine whether a substance poses a real threat. That process, however, still relies heavily on manual chemical testing and human interpretation.
A team of Tulane University engineering physics students, Mia Stolakis, Kyler Silas, Jude Kelley, Avery Lahm, and Matheo Graham Capasso saw an opportunity to change that.
Tulane Engineering Senior Embodies University's Spirit of Innovation and Community
Miriam Lerner, a senior at Tulane University studying Engineering Physics with a minor in mechanical engineering, represents the kind of student success that emerges when innovation meets community. Currently on the 4+1 track to earn her master’s in electrical engineering, Lerner has built a college career defined by mentorship, technical excellence, and a commitment to passing knowledge forward.
