Sense of awe led alum to physics

Kirsten Apodaca — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 18:40:19 +0000

Sense of awe led alum to physics Kirsten Apodaca Thu, 04/03/2025 - 12:40

Kirsten Apodaca

Ben Chapman (PhDPhys'17)

Ben Chapman (PhDPhys’17) never had a master plan to be a physicist, but now he’s a Principal Quantum Hardware Manager at Microsoft.

Chapman says what he loves most about physics is “the sense of awe that comes from connecting with length, time, and energy scales that are far from the meters, seconds, and joules of the human experience.”

He majored in math and physics at Dartmouth College because he enjoyed the coursework. Following that sense of awe, after college he got a job in a physics lab and his boss encouraged him to apply to PhD programs. He recalls it wasn’t straightforward –because he didn’t take a conventional path to graduate school.

A world-class program in Boulder

“I chose CU because it’s in Boulder and the program is world-class. He added “it was a great decision.”

Chapman thrived at CU and made a lasting impact.

He completed his thesis on superconducting quantum circuits with Professor and JILA Fellow Konrad Lehnert, which he added was an incredible opportunity. “I feel so incredibly fortunate for the chance to have worked with Konrad,” Chapman said.

Chapman was also one of the original organizers of CU-Prime, a student-led organization aimed at building community and supporting undergraduates in physics. The group was formed in 2013 and is still flourishing, offering biweekly research talks, a 1-credit hour class for first-year undergraduate students, and a mentorship program.

Building a quantum computer

After finishing his PhD, Chapman spent four years as a postdoc at Yale with Professor Rob Schoelkopf before joining Microsoft.

In his current role, he manages a small team who develop the readout hardware for Microsoft’s quantum computer. He likens it to working as a postdoc; driving multiple projects, keeping the team motivated and excited, and helping them see how their efforts are advancing longer-term goals.

With many major tech companies racing to build a quantum computer, the job is high stakes, and Chapman has his sights set on the ultimate goal. “I want to build a rocket ship that goes to the moon – not a literal one – but the quantum computing version of that.”

Trusting the process

Professor and JILA Fellow Konrad Lehnert and Ben Chapman
at his thesis defense.

Chapman said one of his biggest career lessons so far has been to trust the process of ‘doing’ physics. “Even difficult problems can yield answers with persistence. It took me a while to learn that,” he said. At early stages of his career, he wondered “how will I have an idea that no one else has had before?”

“That feeling remained for many years through college and the beginning of graduate school,” he added. “But as you keep doing it, it gets easier and things that used to seem impossible become an everyday thing. You get better at plying the craft.”

He recalled a class he took at CU from Professor Noah Finkelstein on Teaching and Learning Physics, which introduced him to concepts in education like impostor syndrome and growth mindset. “Being able to have conversations around these topics and learn the vocabulary was very useful to me.”

Throughout his education and so far into his career, Chapman has leaned in to being comfortable with uncertainty. Through each phase, he’s trusting the process and holding on to the sense of awe that first drew him in.

Ben Chapman (PhDPhys’17) never had a master plan to be a physicist, but now he’s a Principal Quantum Hardware Manager at Microsoft.

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Ivan Smalyukh named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 12:20:28 +0000

Ivan Smalyukh named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 03/31/2025 - 06:20

Professor Ivan Smalyukh has been recognized for scientifically and socially distinguished achievements by the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals.

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Aircrafts of the future: Boosting aerodynamic performance by engineered surface vibrations

Kirsten Apodaca — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 15:53:43 +0000

Aircrafts of the future: Boosting aerodynamic performance by engineered surface vibrations Kirsten Apodaca Thu, 03/27/2025 - 09:53

Mahmoud Hussein, professor of aerospace engineering and physics, is the principal investigator of a $7.5 million, five-year Department of Defense Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI). Hussein is leading an effort to reshape the fundamental character of fluid-structure interactions to reduce drag on high-speed aerospace vehicles—the focus of the project.

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Alum Dave Steinmann (Phys'90) discovers a new species of pseudoscorpion

Kirsten Apodaca — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:57:45 +0000

Alum Dave Steinmann (Phys'90) discovers a new species of pseudoscorpion Kirsten Apodaca Wed, 03/26/2025 - 09:57

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ alum and experienced caver Dave Steinmann recently discovered a new species of pseudoscorpion in Mallory Cave, with a moniker honoring its namesake hometown.

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Alum Olivia Krohn (PhDPhys'23) receives the 2025 Justin Jankunas Dissertation Award

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 17:12:25 +0000

Alum Olivia Krohn (PhDPhys'23) receives the 2025 Justin Jankunas Dissertation Award Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:12

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Physics alum Olivia Krohn (PhDPhys'23) has been awarded the 2025 Justin Jankunas Dissertation Award in Chemical Physics. The prestigious award bestowed by the American Physical Society recognizes outstanding doctoral research in chemical physics.

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Professors Markus Raschke and Shuo Sun awarded translational quantum seed grant

Kirsten Apodaca — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 20:06:37 +0000

Professors Markus Raschke and Shuo Sun awarded translational quantum seed grant Kirsten Apodaca Wed, 03/19/2025 - 14:06

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Physics Professors Markus Raschke and Shuo Sun have been awarded a 2024-2025 Translational Quantum Research Seed Grant funded by the Colorado Economic Development Commission.

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An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time

Kirsten Apodaca — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:18:59 +0000

An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time Kirsten Apodaca Tue, 03/11/2025 - 13:18

New ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ research harnesses the power of an ultrafast microscope to study molecular movement in space and time.

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Alum Sristy Agrawal (PhDPhys'24) leads ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ startup Mesa Quantum to success

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 22:03:35 +0000

Alum Sristy Agrawal (PhDPhys'24) leads ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ startup Mesa Quantum to success Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 03/10/2025 - 16:03

Mesa Quantum, a ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ spinout and leader in quantum sensing, recently announced $3.7 million in seed funding and a $1.9 million grant from SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force. Both investments are fueling the company’s drive toward commercializing chip-scale quantum sensors for multiple applications including next-generation position, navigation and timing solutions.

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Physics friend and donor a guiding light in Boulder

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 18:38:19 +0000

Physics friend and donor a guiding light in Boulder Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 03/03/2025 - 11:38

CU Physics friend and donor, Ruth Wright, is featured in the Daily Camera as a "guiding light" because of her dedication to the community and her civic leadership. Ruth and her husband Ken established the initial endowment for the Albert A. Bartlett Award in Physics.

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Making Duane Physics More Accessible: Upgrading Lecture Hall G1B30

Veronica R Lingo — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 22:30:39 +0000

Making Duane Physics More Accessible: Upgrading Lecture Hall G1B30 Veronica R Lingo Thu, 02/27/2025 - 15:30

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

The Duane Physics building at the University of Colorado Boulder has long been a hub for groundbreaking science education, but until recently, its infrastructure posed significant challenges for students with physical disabilities. There is still some work to do, but a recent upgrade to lecture hall Duane G1B30, one of the most well-used rooms on ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s campus, marks a critical step forward in addressing those challenges. The upgrade focuses on accessibility by offering a wider range of seating options in agreement with the American Disabilities Act (ADA), giving more students the ability to learn where they’re most comfortable.

“Once I was aware of the Duane lecture hall experience for students who are unable to use stairs, it was clear that changes needed to be made. Maintaining the status quo for another 50 years was not an option,” explains ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Associate Teaching Professor of Physics and Director of Community Initiatives, Eleanor Hodby. “The fact that there is a solution now is exciting. It’s not a perfect solution, but we’re making progress.”

The Challenge of Inaccessibility

Before its update, G1B30, like many buildings from the 1960s, was not designed with accessibility in mind. The lecture hall’s tiered design—which feels like walking into an M.C. Escher drawing—while celebrated for enhancing engagement between students and instructors, also excluded students and lecturers with physical disabilities.

“In the 1960s, when Prof. Frank Walz designed this lecture hall, he likely wasn’t thinking about accessibility,” elaborates Alex Ennor, the Facilities Manager for the Physics Department. According to the A history of the Department of Physics of the University of Colorado at Boulder: 1876-2001, written by Al Bartlett, Walz designed lecture halls G1B20 and G1B30 so that no seat was more than 60 feet away from the lecture table.”

Eleanor Hodby, a physics professor and member of the Physics department’s ‘Representation, Recruitment, and Retention’ committee (R-cubed), echoed these sentiments. Hodby explained that Duane's accessibility concerns first came to her attention during an R-cubed brainstorming session. Physics Professor Loren Hough, graduate student Claire Savard, and postdoc Tori Borish all shared different concerns and experiences around this issue. These concerns were later amplified by a fifth-year Biomedical Engineering PhD student, Olivia Tonti, who uses a wheelchair and experienced many serious accessibility challenges while taking undergraduate classes in Duane. Finally, R-Cubed reached out to the Physics and Astrophysics faculty who teach in the Duane lecture halls:

“We got an overwhelmingly positive response from faculty...basically, ‘I've been worried about this issue for 30 years. Thank goodness you’re addressing it,’” Hodby adds.

One Shot to Upgrade

The stakes were high for the future G1B30 renovation, as the team knew they had only one shot to get it right. With limited opportunities for upgrades and the public statement such an upgrade would make in such a heavily utilized lecture hall, ensuring that the new design met ADA compliance standards and created an inclusive environment from the start was crucial.

“We couldn’t afford to get this wrong,” said Ennor, highlighting how the timeline and budget constraints meant this was a one-time opportunity to make lasting, impactful changes for students with disabilities.

To meet this challenge, Ennor brought together a diverse team, including Trisha E Hallerberg, the Project Manager of Planning and Design for the physics department and ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ, ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s ADA team, Research Assistant Gwen Eccles, who oversees the vast Physics demonstration library housed backstage of G1B30 and Hodby, who was able to represent the opinions of the many faculty who teach in this space.

“Feedback from students who are unable to use stairs confirmed that we needed to provide ADA seating options on the lower level near the teacher,” Hallerberg stated. “I started to work with the design team on how best to provide all students the same inclusive feeling in the classroom. We were able to provide 3 ADA locations on the lower level near the teacher and 3 ADA locations on the upper level. Giving students options to sit where they feel comfortable.”

A Years-Long Process

The journey to ADA compliance in G1B30 was not a simple one.

“It was a long, back-and-forth process,” Hodby noted, “Since the first R-cubed brainstorming session to the final construction, it was around two years. But it’s important to remember that this issue has disadvantaged wheelchair-users for decades.”

The renovations required coordination between multiple departments and careful adherence to ADA guidelines. For a space as large as G1B30, ADA standards required the installation of six wheelchair-accessible seats and companion seats for potential caregivers or aides.

One of the biggest challenges was retrofitting the space without compromising the hall’s function or design.

“I remember going in there with Trisha, and we were trying to figure out where to put the seats,” Eccles adds.

One of the challenges was adding space for the wheelchair-accessible seats without affecting G1B30’s rotating stage. This key structure enables demonstrations to be set up backstage between lectures, so that the laws of physics can be demonstrated live in the classroom, despite the constraints of the rapid 15-minute passing period between classes. The original structure, including the lecture platform, had to be carefully adjusted.

“We had to saw-cut some of the concrete steps out just to get space for additional seating,” Ennor explains.

Moving the instructor’s platform back slightly also ensured enough passing room for wheelchair users to navigate the space freely.

“What if a lecturer is giving the lecture in a wheelchair?” Ennor adds. “Or what if somebody was in a wheelchair in one of the ADA seats, with a lecturer also in a wheelchair? We needed to ensure enough passing room for everyone involved. The potential for this all happening simultaneously is very small, but there is a chance”

Tonti notes that there is a systemic reason for this situation being unlikely “the near-universal inaccessible design of most universities severely disadvantages physically disabled students and researchers from pursuing their academic and career goals.”

Accessible student seating at the front of G1B30

Accessibility in Action

For Eccles, who manages the lecture hall's backstage area, the improvements represent a significant step toward accessibility. She had firsthand experience with the hall's previous inaccessibility, often assisting students with disabilities by setting up special seating and equipment. Reflecting on the past, she shared how the lack of permanent accessible solutions was inconvenient for the students.

“There’s a stigma of having, you know, the special things having to happen,” Eccles said. ‘It really alienates those students, and in one case, a student stopped coming to class.”

Eccles and Hodby highlighted how the new seating options—now located both on the floor level and the balcony—give students with disabilities the choice of where to sit rather than relegating them to the margins of the room. For the balcony level, the old projector room of G1B30 was opened up, creating a cozy but accessible seating area for students to enjoy.

“Forcing students who perhaps need to use a wheelchair and who want to engage with the class to sit in the back where typically students are not engaged is simply not fair,” Hodby pointed out, referencing the importance of keeping all students, regardless of disability, close to the action of the lecture and the opportunity to interact directly with instructors. “We wanted them to have the option to be at the front with the engaged students, having those good conversations during this interactive class and, in particular, to be able to ask the instructor questions. That's a tradition in the department: you hang around and answer questions after class until the line is gone, until the last student leaves. That is the best time to sort your queries out right after you've thought of the questions.”

Looking Ahead at G1B20

While the renovation marks a huge leap forward, Hodby, Ennor, Eccles, and Hallerberg all agree that work still needs to be done.

“It’s not a perfect solution,” Hodby acknowledged, citing the urgent need for more automatic door openers in Duane, which would enable students to access the front-row seats independently. “But the fact that the people in the physics department were like, ‘No, we are going to find a solution no matter what,’ felt very positive,” she adds.

The upgrade has already begun to make a difference. So far, two students have started using the ADA-accessible seats this semester, and Eccles, who has been helping them navigate the building, is hopeful this is just the beginning.

“The fact that it’s an option now is really exciting,” she said.

The next goal is a similar upgrade to the adjacent lecture hall, G1B20. While there are already balcony seats that are ADA compliant, the team hopes that a few front-row chairs can be replaced with wheelchair-accessible spaces, allowing all students the same opportunity to engage with their peers, their instructors and the class material.

G1B30 is now fully booked, hosting classes from multiple departments across the university. Ennor hopes this renovation will serve as a model for other spaces both in the Physics department and around campus.

“We’re making small steps as we can...it’s important that we continue that as a campus,” he says.

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Newsletter

Sense of awe led alum to physics

A world-class program in Boulder

Building a quantum computer

Trusting the process

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Ivan Smalyukh named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

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Aircrafts of the future: Boosting aerodynamic performance by engineered surface vibrations

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Alum Dave Steinmann (Phys'90) discovers a new species of pseudoscorpion

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Alum Olivia Krohn (PhDPhys'23) receives the 2025 Justin Jankunas Dissertation Award

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Professors Markus Raschke and Shuo Sun awarded translational quantum seed grant

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An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time

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Alum Sristy Agrawal (PhDPhys'24) leads ����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ startup Mesa Quantum to success

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Physics friend and donor a guiding light in Boulder

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Making Duane Physics More Accessible: Upgrading Lecture Hall G1B30

The Challenge of Inaccessibility

One Shot to Upgrade

A Years-Long Process

Accessibility in Action

Looking Ahead at G1B20

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Alum Sristy Agrawal (PhDPhys'24) leads ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ startup Mesa Quantum to success