National Postdoc Appreciation Week: Sept. 21-25, 2026
During National Postdoc Appreciation Week (Sept. 21-25, 2026), we're highlighting some of the talented postdocs in Physics and JILA! Explore their research, achievements and impact below.
Cornell Group
Dr. Athanasakis-Kaklamanakis works on measuring the electron's electric dipole moment.
Lewandowski Group
Dr. Bentley experimentally determines pathways to formation of astrochemically important ionic molecules.
James K. Thompson Group
Dr. Bohr explores quantum sensing and simulation in a rubidium cavity-QED system. He has realized for the first time 3 and 4 body interactions between the atoms, mediated by the exchange of photons via the cavity, with the result appearing in Science. Most recently, he made the first observation of the long-predicted power law decay of Higgs oscillations using a quantum simulator of the BEC-BCS crossover.
Ye Labs
Dr. Lin and Dr. de Jongh from the Ye Lab recently demonstrated cooling of polar molecules deep into the Fermi quantum degeneracy.
Climate Physics Group with Ivy Tan
Dr. Dhandapani runs and analyzes climate simulations, particularly focusing on cloud behavior in the past, present, and future.
Lewandowski Group
Dr. El-Adawy works on projects to better prepare students to enter a career in quantum science and technology through extensive studies of the quantum education landscape across the US and industry workforce needs.
Plasma Quantum Group with Yuan Shi
Dr. Erez performs magnetized laser-plasma research using the OMEGA Laser Facility. She also performs numerical simulations of plasma dynamics and develops machine learning models for data analysis. Her research is supported by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Ye Labs
Dr. Hillberry implemented precise control of YO molecules using microwave fields, demonstrating shielding against collisional losses.
Ye Labs
Dr. Kim recently demonstrated the longest optical atomic coherence using the JILA Sr optical lattice clock platform, and performed the most precise clock measurements to date.
Lewandowski Group
Dr. Kocheril studies ion-molecule reactions relevant to the chemistry in the interstellar medium.
James K. Thompson Group
Dr. Kwan explores quantum simulation with interactions mediated by photons inside an optical cavity. She was recently part of teams that observed a novel correlated hopping in a synthetic lattice and proposed a way to explore dynamical phases of topological superfluids using her quantum simulator.
Holland Group
Dr. LeDesma has pioneered a new experimental approach to atom interferometry that combines programmable optical trapping with precision control of atoms in an optical lattice, creating a highly flexible platform for manipulating and measuring quantum matter waves. A key innovation, optical “buoyancy” that counteracts gravity, allows large, coherent atomic ensembles to be expanded and controlled in ways previously inaccessible to compact, laboratory-based quantum sensors.
Ye Labs
Dr. Lee recently demonstrated the world's most stable laser based on the use of a cryogenic silicon optical reference cavity.
Ye Labs
Dr. Lin and Dr. de Jongh recently demonstrated cooling of polar molecules deep into the Fermi quantum degeneracy.
James K. Thompson Group
Dr. Nak explores the generation of superradiant laser light for the realization of ultranarrow linewidth lasers that are also highly insensitive to vibration. He recently achieved pulsed superradiance on the clock transition in strontium inside a ring cavity, with mode competition between the two modes of the cavity.
Physics Education Research Group
Dr. Perl-Nussbaum is a leading researcher in education thinking about generative artificial intelligence and its impacts in physics education. With the support an Israel Science Foundation's (ISF) postdoctoral fellowship and a University of Colorado system AI Sprint Grant: AI for Teaching & Learning, Perl-Nussbaum is engaging in studies that change our practices in the classroom, building learning communities for faculty development, and developing new models of how our educational systems will have to adapt to the world of AI.
Changala Group
Dr. Wilson is co-leading a project that develops advanced frequency comb techniques for detecting short-lived molecular species in complex chemical environments. He and his teammates have recently demonstrated the first detection of molecular ions via this approach at long infrared wavelengths important to applications in fundamental chemical physics and astronomy.
Ye Labs
Dr. Yang demonstrated spin squeezed atomic clocks at the 1 x 10^-18 level.
High Energy Physics Group
Dr. Zuolo won a CMS Excellence Award in June 2026 for "dedication in maintaining the operation of the pixel detector in CMS." He served as the pixel manager for CMS during data taking in 2025 and 2026 and has become one of the leading experts in the use of silicon pixel detectors.