Physics and Astronomy

Donald D. Clayton, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy (March 18, 1935—January 3, 2024).  

Donald Clayton was born in Shenandoah, Iowa and grew up Dallas, TX. He earned a B.S. in Physics in 1956 from Southern Methodist University, where he also played on the golf team. He then attended the California Institute of Technology, where he earned his Ph.D. under the mentorship of Nobel Laureate William Alfred Fowler in 1961. After two years as a postdoctoral fellow there, he became one of the founding faculty members of Rice University’s Department of Space Science (later Space Physics and Astronomy) in 1963. He established nuclear astrophysics there, publishing many seminal ideas in gamma-ray astronomy and cosmochemistry, and developed and published his famous textbook Principles of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis. During his Rice tenure, as Andrew Hays Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics, he also held visiting positions in Cardiff, UK, and enjoyed sabbatical leaves at Cambridge, Heidelberg, and Durham University, UK.

In 1989, Clayton moved to Clemson University, tasked with developing an astronomy program. He established a group in nuclear astrophysics and gamma-ray astronomy, which thrives today. He hosted many renowned physicists and astronomers as visitors to Clemson, and he developed the unique Photo Archive in Nuclear Astrophysics. His advice helped guide department chairs and deans in Clemson’s development of its research culture. Clayton retired in 2007, but remained active in research until very recently. He wrote several books, including a science fiction novel, a scientific memoir, and a handbook of the isotopes.

Among Clayton’s many scientific accomplishments, he developed the first quantitative analysis of the slow neutron capture process for forming heavy elements in stars, he predicted many of the effects of radioactivity in supernovae, including that gamma rays from it would be detectable, and he explained how radioactivity abundances evolved in the interstellar medium. Clayton advanced new ideas of nuclear astrophysics manifested in meteorites, including of radioactive chronometers, of stardust particles – dust grains that survived from formation in stars to their incorporation in solar system bodies, and of cosmic chemical memory – that isotopic signatures of stellar nucleosynthesis could be recovered even when the dust carriers had not survived. These ideas received much pushback from the meteoritic community over more than a decade, but Clayton was later awarded the Leonard Medal, the highest honor of the Meteoritical Society, in 1991. 

In his Nobel address, Fowler said, “Of my 50 graduate students who have contributed to the field I must single out Donald D. Clayton.”

A Memorial Service will be on March 16, 2024 at 11:00 am at Seneca Presbyterian Church in Seneca, SC. The Donald D. Clayton Memorial Fund for support of graduate student research in astrophysics and meteoritics has been established in his memory.

Physics and Astronomy junior, VJ Mattison, joined his brothers in the Kappa Lambda Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity to compete in last fall’s NPHC Fall Fest Step Show. The group performed a Michael Jackson-themed routine, which featured different members portraying Jackson throughout different stages of his career. Mattison portrayed a mid-career Jackson, performing iconic dance moves like the moonwalk. The Fall Fest Step Show, which is a part of Clemson’s homecoming festivities each year, is a competition fundraiser where NPHC sororities and fraternities face off in a heated step and stroll battle to determine who will be crowned the winner of Fall Fest. Judges score groups based on a variety of factors, including the quality of their stepping, strolling, and overall choreography. Along with bragging rights, Fall Fest winners are awarded a cash prize, which can be used to help cover the cost of dues and the organization’s philanthropic endeavors. Competing in Fall Fest requires months of practice and preparation, which helps bolster the sense of brother- and sisterhood of the participating organizations. Mattison said “Having to be with [my fraternity brothers] every day for the last two months definitely makes our bond stronger.” The NPHC serves as the governing council for nine historically African American fraternities and sororities, eight of which are represented at Clemson. Members note that their participation with these organizations helps them build a community with other African American students and gives them a reason to come back to Clemson after graduation. Though Mattison’s fraternity didn’t take away first place in last fall’s event, they gave an impressive, energy-filled performance! You can learn more about Clemson’s NPHC Fall Fest and view portions of the performances here!

Atmospheric and Space Physics graduate student Deepali Aggarwal is scheduled to give an invited talk at the International Conference on GPS Radio Occultation in Taipei, Taiwan. The conference, which takes place in November, 2023, aims to integrate science, technology, and industry in the space domain. Deepali, a second year graduate student, will present her research on the response of Earth’s ionosphere to instabilities in the jet stream and the polar vortex. This collaborative work with her advisor Dr. Jens Oberheide and colleagues at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, has a number of important consequences for the predictability of space weather and space situation awareness in the very low Earth orbit that is considered the new frontier of space technology. Deepali’s travel is fully covered by the Taiwan Space Agency.

The Clemson Physics & Astronomy Graduate Student Organization (GSO), led by outgoing GSO president, Benjamin Amend, hosted the annual Symposium for the Introduction of Research in Physics and Astronomy (SIRPA) on Monday, August 21 at the Madren Conference Center. SIRPA is an event highlighting current student research across the various subfields of physics and astronomy within the department. This student-led event features research talks and poster presentations by current CU P&A graduate and undergraduate students. Keynote speaker, Prof. Sarah Morrison, an astronomer and faculty member at Missouri State University, kicked off this year’s event. SIRPA 2023 included thirteen student talks and twelve student posters. Mr. Amend concluded this year’s event by introducing incoming GSO president, Madeline Clyburn, and presenting the awards for “Best Talk” and “Best Poster,” which were selected through participant voting. First place for “Best Talk” was awarded to Andrealuna Pizzetti for her talk entitled, “To the Torus and Beyond.” Second place was awarded to Zhenzhen Zhang for her talk entitled, “Bri2 BRICHOS Domain Inhibiting JAPP Aggregation.” Winning first and second prize for “Best Poster” were Nikita Khatiya and Prawin Rimal/Pitambar Poudel, respectively. Winners received a certificate and gift card. Congratulations to the award winners, participants, and GSO on another successful event!

Congratulations to Clemson P&A’s newest Ph.D.s! Receiving doctoral degrees at the August 10th Ph.D. Hooding Ceremony were Rick Mattish (adviser, Prof. Joan Marler), Aniruddha “Ani” Pan (adviser, Prof. Catalina Marinescu), Samalka Anandagoda (adviser, Prof. Dieter Hartmann), and Yang Yang (adviser, Prof. Endre Takacs). We are so proud of the accomplishments of this group, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors!