The Applied Optical Physics group studies ultrafast processes in metals and strongly correlated materials, using tools such as a femtosecond white-light continuum generated in a photonic crystal fiber.

Vanderbilt particle physicists are exploring the structure and behavior of the Universe using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.

As part of the LasDamas project, Vanderbilt astrophysicists are simulating the evolution of dark matter in the universe in order to constrain cosmology and galaxy formation.

Prof. J.H. Hamilton (left) with Y. Oganessian viewing Berkelium-249 prepared at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In early 2010, physicists successfully synthesized a new element with atomic number 117.

In the embryonic epithelia shown above, Vanderbilt biophysicists use laser-microsurgery to probe the sub-cellular mechanics of living tissues.

The KELT-South observatory (left) searches for giant planets eclipsing bright stars. Located in South Africa, it was designed and built by astronomers at Vanderbilt and the University of Cape Town.

In the Center for Molecular and Atomic Studies at Surfaces, graduate student Heungman Park uses the versatile and powerful TITAN laser system to study the interactions of light and matter.