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Explorations in Science and Technology

Small-Scale Physics, Big-Time Results

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Working with some of the smallest particles known to exist, Pitt physicists are looking to make big changes in the way we live and how we think about the world.

Jeremy Levy’s research world is usually no larger than the head of a straight pin. Levy, a Pitt professor of physics and astronomy, works in nanoelectronics, and recently won a $1.8 million grant to develop a transistor that no longer relies on silicon and thus can be made to be much smaller. Levy’s research model—inspired by the Etch-A-Sketch toy—could replace conventional electronics and transform how computing is done.

Pitt physicists such as Joseph Boudreau and Vittorio Paolone have contributed to the massive ATLAS experiment at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland.

Professor Donna Naples investigates neutrinos—tiny particles at least 10 million times lighter than electrons.

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