Physics and Astronomy Blog

Regan O’Neill has always dreamed of helping humanity reach Mars, and now she’s one step closer. The Clemson University junior and mechanical engineering major was awarded the prestigious Brooke Owens Fellowship, a highly competitive program that connects top students with aerospace industry leaders. As the first Clemson student to receive the honor, O’Neill will spend the summer as an engineering intern on the special projects team at Analytical Mechanics Associates, where she plans to focus mainly on nuclear propulsion research.

O’Neill has been fascinated by space since she was in middle school in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, when she had the chance to speak with astronaut and biochemist Peggy Whitson. That early spark led her to take on leadership roles in NASA-recognized high school projects, including designing a radiation-blocking helmet and a blood-capture system for Blue Origin.

At Clemson, she’s continued chasing her spaceflight ambitions. She worked with a research team led by professor Steve Kaeppler to develop mechanical systems for a probe gathering data in the ionosphere that launched aboard a sounding rocket in August 2024. In November, she’ll head to Norway for another rocket launch, this time to study the northern lights, which if she’s lucky, will take lift-off right on her 21st birthday. 

Written by David Brandin

Adapted from https://news.clemson.edu/fellowship-helps-regan-oneills-aerospace-career-take-flight/

Several teams of Clemson University students competed in the first-ever SC Quantathon, a 24-hour quantum computing hackathon held in Columbia in October, winning in all categories, including the grand prize: a trip to Abu Dhabi in April for an international hackathon. Clemson sent four teams with 18 students from diverse disciplines, including computer science, physics, and engineering, under the mentorship of Professor Rong Ge.

Quantum computing leverages quantum mechanics, the behavior of subatomic particles, to solve complex problems exponentially faster than classical computers. Tasks that could take traditional computers thousands of years can be completed in minutes using quantum technology.

The competition tested students in three areas: quantum random number generation, quantum machine learning, and quantum chemistry. Teams worked around the clock, applying their problem-solving skills and quantum computing expertise. Participants valued the interdisciplinary nature of the event, with physics students gaining coding experience and engineers tackling physics-related challenges.

Winners also earned potential internships with sponsoring companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, Accelerise, and DoraHacks. Some undergraduates were part of Clemson’s Hands-on Quantum Computing Creative Inquiry project, which provides hands-on experience with quantum computing platforms and software. Creative Inquiry, Clemson’s award-winning undergraduate research program, has engaged over 72,000 students in project-based research since 2005.

The event was supported by Clemson’s Watt Family Innovation Center, which fosters collaboration between students, faculty, and industry leaders. Clemson’s success at the Quantathon highlights its growing role in quantum computing research and offers students valuable career opportunities and international exposure. 

Written by David Brandin

Adapted from Clemson teams sweep SC Quantathon, win trip to international competition | Clemson News

Every galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center. But according to astrophysicists, they sometimes they feature a binary system, or two supermassive back holes orbiting each other. Black holes act as cosmic vacuum cleaners, with a mass a million times that of our Sun, formed when the core of a massive star collapses on itself. They are regions in space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape, and scientists use them to help study how gravity works and how galaxies form. By studying the frequency of binary supermassive black holes, researchers can better understand what happens to galaxies when they merge.

Binary black holes emit gravitational waves, ripples in space-time that travel at light speed, stretching and squeezing space as they pass. Pulsar timing arrays, which analyze the radio signals from rapidly spinning pulsars, detect anomalies caused by these waves. While these arrays can pick up the combined signal from binary black holes over the past 9 billion years, they are not yet sensitive enough to detect individual systems within a single galaxy. Since even the most powerful telescopes cannot directly image these binaries, astronomers rely on indirect methods to determine their presence in galactic centers.

Astronomers use indirect methods to identify binary black holes, including searching for periodic signals from active galactic nuclei: high-energy galaxy centers. These nuclei emit intense radiation due to accretion, where the black hole pulls in surrounding gas, causing it to heat up and glow in optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray light. Some active galactic nuclei also launch jets of particles moving near light speed, appearing exceptionally bright when aligned with Earth. A periodic brightening and fading of light from these nuclei could indicate the presence of two supermassive black holes orbiting each other, signaling a potential binary system.

A new study by Marco Ajello, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Clemson University, and Jonathan Zrake, Assistant Professor of Physics at Clemson University, analyzed over a century of astronomical data to investigate whether the active galactic nucleus PG 1553+153 harbors a binary supermassive black hole. The galaxy’s light brightens and dims every 2.2 years, suggesting a binary system, but other explanations like wobbly jets had to be ruled out. Simulations showed that if a binary existed, dense gas clumps should orbit the black holes every 10 to 20 years. Using the DASCH database, which digitized photographic plates dating back to 1900, the team identified a 20-year pattern, supporting the binary black hole theory. Their findings also indicated that the two black holes have a 2.5:1 mass ratio and a nearly circular orbit. However, final confirmation may require future gravitational wave detections from pulsar timing arrays.

Written by David Brandin

Adapted from Some black holes at the centers of galaxies have a buddy − but detecting these binary pairs isn’t easy | Clemson News

Aviation runs in Abigail Poropatich’s family. Her parents worked as commercial airline pilots and she began taking flying lessons when she was 17 and is now pursuing her private pilot license. Poropatich will follow them into the aviation field. However, Poropatich looks to set a different course for her journey.

The Clemson University senior who is double majoring in physics and computer science hopes to use her diverse skill set in aviation, physics, and computer science, to pursue a career at the intersection of flight and science and serve in an administrative government role, where she would be able to influence scientific policies. Inspired by the Schrodinger’s cat thought experiment in high school AP physics, Poropatich developed a passion for physics and fell in love with the idea that physics is everywhere and the basis of all sciences and life.

As encouraged by faculty at Clemson, Poropatich decided to join a biophysics lab with Associate Professor Hugo Sanabria and Adjunct Professor Joshua Alper, assuming she would later attend medical school. Poropatich studied neural cell behavior and spectroscopy, presenting research at the Smithsonian Museum of American History as a part of the ACCelerate Smithsonian Festival. Poropatich decided to double major in computer science after noticing the deep connection between physics and computing. She began working on laser acquisition for data transmission using Python and slowly combining both her passions as she worked through both degrees.

Looking for internships that combined her passion for flying and airplanes with her computer science and physics skills, Poropatich began a software engineering internship for Textron Aviation last summer. The company builds everything from private jets and military/corporate helicopters, to the type of small single engine aircrafts Poropatich flies. She worked on aircraft systems engineering testing to create a control panel under a U.S. Navy contract for aircraft simulators, which is used by instructors to launch an airplane during simulation training. Poropatich has accepted an offer to work as a technology analyst for Deloitte Government and Public Services after her graduation in December. She also plans to fly on the side while working towards her commercial aircraft license.

Written by David Brandin

Adapted from Interest in aviation, physics fuels Abigail Poropatich’s career goals | Clemson News