COS News

  • Research
    AI and physics
    “The basic premise is that AI can help us do better physics, and something that is less expected is that physics can also help us understand AI better,” said Northeastern professor James Halverson.

    AI and physics have more in common than you might think.

  • Research
    Mark Patterson
    Formed by superheated glacial water from the last ice age, the hydrothermal vents Professor Mark Patterson studies have been bubbling beneath the fjord for centuries.

    Professor receives Fulbright to explore one of the world’s most unique hydrothermal vents

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    Showing 232 results in Physics

  • ‘We don’t have any theory for this.’ Breakthrough discovery in materials science challenges current understanding of photoemission

    ‘We don’t have any theory for this.’ Breakthrough discovery in materials science challenges current understanding of photoemission

    What exactly is light—and what is it made of? It’s an age-old question that dates back to antiquity, and one of the most important investigations undertaken by scientists looking to understand the nature of reality.
  • Northeastern professors Kevin Fu, Alessandro Vespignani and Yun Raymond Fu honored by American Association for the Advancement of Science

    Northeastern professors Kevin Fu, Alessandro Vespignani and Yun Raymond Fu honored by American Association for the Advancement of Science

    Alessandro Vespignani, director of the Network Science Institute and Sternberg Family Distinguished Professor at Northeastern, has been elected as a Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
  • ‘I really look at Northeastern as a turning point in my life.’ How a co-op launched Joseph Heyman to NASA’s Hall of Honor

    ‘I really look at Northeastern as a turning point in my life.’ How a co-op launched Joseph Heyman to NASA’s Hall of Honor

    Joseph S. Heyman’s association with NASA began as a Northeastern student in 1964, two years after President John F. Kennedy committed the U.S. to landing a man on the moon.
  • Hockey physics: What are the forces responsible for a good slap shot? Naturally, we asked a physicist

    Hockey physics: What are the forces responsible for a good slap shot? Naturally, we asked a physicist

    Hockey fans everywhere love a good slap shot. It is one of the most widely used tools in the game, responsible for some of the sport’s most memorable moments. It’s a skill perfected by all the top goal-scorers, including Northeastern’s Aidan McDonough and Alina Mueller, who lead their teams into their respective Beanpot finals. The men face Harvard at 7:30 p.m. Monday at TD Garden, while the women play at Boston College at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
  • Can ‘digital traces’ from internet searches and social media predict outbreaks of COVID-19?

    Can ‘digital traces’ from internet searches and social media predict outbreaks of COVID-19?

    Your Google searches and Twitter accounts alert marketers about what items you might like to  purchase—could they also serve as an early warning system when COVID-19 levels are about to take off?  A team of scientists including Northeastern University machine learning expert Mauricio Santillana says internet users’ “digital traces” can be adopted to alert public health officials to sharp increases in COVID-19 at the county level one to six weeks ahead of a major outbreak.
  • The US achieved a major nuclear fusion breakthrough–but obstacles remain. Here’s why fusion power may still be decades out of reach

    The US achieved a major nuclear fusion breakthrough–but obstacles remain. Here’s why fusion power may still be decades out of reach

    The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday announced that a national lab in California made a “major scientific breakthrough”—namely, that it produced a nuclear fusion reaction that resulted in a net energy gain, a condition known as “ignition.”
  • The layers of science behind every World Cup kick

    The layers of science behind every World Cup kick

    Northeastern professors Dagmar Sternad and Arun Bansil break down the physics and neuroscience behind World Cup soccer ball kicks.
  • Republicans had higher COVID-19 death rates in the first year of the pandemic, new research says

    Republicans had higher COVID-19 death rates in the first year of the pandemic, new research says

    Northeastern researchers uncovered statistics that suggests that politics played a significant role in who was dying early in the pandemic.
  • Scientists have found proof of an ancient Martian ocean. It could mean we’re closer to finding life on Mars

    Scientists have found proof of an ancient Martian ocean. It could mean we’re closer to finding life on Mars

    Mars is known for its crimson, frozen terrain, but a recent discovery from a team of researchers provides new evidence that there was once an ancient ocean on the now-harsh Martian terrain.
  • Women could be at higher risk for long COVID according to new research

    Women could be at higher risk for long COVID according to new research

    A team of medical professionals, clinicians, epidemiologists and political scientists recently published the results of a study that revealed new information about the prevalence of post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2 infection, otherwise known as “long COVID.”
  • Northeastern’s Barabási receives prestigious prize from the American Physical Society

    Northeastern’s Barabási receives prestigious prize from the American Physical Society

    The American Physical Society selected Northeastern University professor Albert-László Barabási to receive the 2023 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize for his innovative work on the statistical physics of networks.
  • How likely is a nuclear attack and how to prepare for it?

    How likely is a nuclear attack and how to prepare for it?

    Professor Pran Nath comments on the intricacies of nuclear and tactical nuclear weapons.