Dr. Chad Sosolik, who was appointed acting chair of Physics and Astronomy following the departure of Dr. Sean Brittain, officially accepted College of Science Dean, Cynthia Young’s offer to serve as interim chair of the department on August 17, 2023. Dr. Sosolik is an experimental condensed matter physicist with a PhD in Physics from Cornell University who joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 2003 and has served as the undergraduate program coordinator since 2015. As a researcher, Dr. Sosolik’s efforts focus primarily on the interactions of single atoms and ions with surfaces, including extensions of that work to electronic devices and biomaterials. In addition, Dr. Sosolik manages the Electron Beam Ion Trap laboratory (CUEBIT) which generates highly charged ions for studies in fundamental atomic physics, laboratory astrophysics, and radiation effects in materials. His work has been funded by numerous agencies, including NSF, NASA and DARPA, including the receipt of an NSF CAREER award in 2006. As a physics educator, Dr. Sosolik has been recognized as a recipient of the George B. Pegram Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Southeast by the American Physical Society (2019) and served as the president of the Southern Atlantic Coast section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (SACS-AAPT). Dr. Sosolik will serve as interim chair until the appointment of a permanent chair, a position for which a national search has been launched by the department in cooperation with the College of Science. We are confident the department will continue to thrive under the capable leadership of Dr. Sosolik!
