Undergraduate Research

Illinois Physics Research

Please browse through the virtual lab tours and research videos produced by professors and their graduate students.
These videos were produced for prospective graduate students, though all the featured labs take on many talented undergraduate physics students!

Click to play video: Professor Jeff Filippini discusses opportunities within the Astrophysics/Relativity/Cosmology research area at U of I

Research Group Overview

Professor Jeff Filippini discusses opportunities within the Astrophysics/Relativity/Cosmology research area at U of I.
video length 23:58

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Click to play video: SPIDER Launch

Filippini Group

SPIDER launch, Antarctica (01 Jan 2015)
Video credit: Jon E. Gudmundsson.
video length 1:28

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Click to play video: Shapiro group: Numerical simulation (2015) of jet formation following the merger of a black hole with a magnetized neutron star

Shapiro Group

Numerical simulation (2015) of jet formation following the merger of a black hole with a magnetized neutron star.
video length 2:35

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Click to play video: Holder and Vieira groups: Brief tour (2012) of the South Pole Telescope, before it�s newest upgrade

Holder and Vieira Groups

Brief tour (2012) of the South Pole Telescope, before it's newest upgrade.

video length 7:56

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Click to play video: Witek group: Numerical simulation (2020) of a head-on collision of two black holes in a modified gravity theory, in which black holes have additional attributes (

Witek Group

Numerical simulation (2020) of a head-on collision of two black holes in a modified gravity theory, in which black holes have additional attributes ("hair") not present in general relativity. Understanding those phenomena is important to perform strong-field tests of gravity, e.g., with gravitational waves. 
video length 0:15

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Click to play video: Gammie group: Comparison (2021) between Event Horizon Telescope observations of the black hole at the center of M87 (in intensity and polarization) with the best-fit model simulations.

Gammie Group

Comparison (2021) between Event Horizon Telescope observations of the black hole at the center of M87 (in intensity and polarization) with the best-fit model simulations.

video length 0:16

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Click to play video: Professor Elizabeth Goldschmidt discusses opportunities within the AMO research area at U of I

Research Group Overview

Professor Elizabeth Goldschmidt discusses opportunities
within the AMO research area at U of I.
video length 14:14

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Click to play video: Professor Jacob Covey discusses opportunities available in his AMO research group

Covey Group

Professor Jacob Covey discusses opportunities
available in his AMO research group.
video length 10:45

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Click to play video: Professor Bryce Gadway discusses opportunities available in his AMO research group

Gadway Group

Professor Bryce Gadway discusses opportunities
available in his AMO research group.
video length 19:09

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Click to play video: Professor Elizabeth Goldschmidt discusses opportunities available in her AMO research group

Goldschmidt Group

Professor Elizabeth Goldschmidt discusses opportunities
available in her AMO research group.
video length 10:24

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Click to play video: Professor Paul Kwiat discusses research opportunities with his AMO research group

Kwiat Group

Professor Paul Kwiat discusses opportunities
available in his AMO research group.
video length 10:27

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Click to play video: Professor Gina Lorenz discusses opportunities available in her AMO research group

Lorenz Group

Professor Gina Lorenz discusses opportunities
available in her AMO research group.
video length 17:50

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Click to play video: DeMarco Lab Tour

DeMarco Lab Tour

video length 5:31

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Click to play video: Kwiat Lab Tour

Kwiat Lab Tour

video length 6:57

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Click to play video: Professor Sangjin Kim discusses research opportunities within the Center for the Physics of the Living Cell (CPLC) and the Biological Physics research group

Research Group Overview

Professor Sangjin Kim discusses opportunities within the Biological Physics research group.
video length 29:17

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Click to play video: Learn more about the Center for the Physics of the Living Cell (CPLC)

About CPLC

Learn more about the Center for the Physics of the Living Cell (CPLC).

video length 5:25

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Click to play video: Barbara Stekas, a physics Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, talks about why she loves studying individual DNA strands, how much she enjoys living in Champaign-Urbana and gives potential graduate students some good advice.

Student Perspective

Barbara Stekas, a physics Ph.D. candidate at the U of I, talks about why she loves studying individual DNA strands, how much she enjoys living in Champaign-Urbana and gives potential graduate students some good advice.
video length 2:12

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Click to play video: Gruebele Lab Tour

Gruebele Lab Tour




video length 2:09

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Click to open file: Physics of Living Systems, From Single Molecules to Cells presented by Professor Zan Luthey-Schulten

Physics of Living Systems,
From Single Molecules to Cells

Poster presented by Professor Zan Luthey-Schulten.

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Click to play video: Professor Jim Eckstein discusses research opportunities within the Experimental Condensed Matter research group.

Experimental Condensed Matter Research Group

Professor Jim Eckstein discusses opportunities
within the Experimental Condensed Matter research group.
video length 25:15

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Click to play video: Professor Bryan Clark discusses research opportunities within the Condensed Matter Theory research group

Theoretical Condensed Matter Research Group

Professor Bryan Clark discusses opportunities
within the Theoretical Condensed Matter research group.
video length 27:27

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Click to play video: Research in the MRL

Mahmood Group

Professor Fahad Mahmood's group describe their
research process and show their lab in this fun music video!
video length 3:47

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Click to play video: Professor Ben Hooberman discusses research opportunities within the Experimental High Energy Physics research group

Experimental High Energy Research Group

Professor Ben Hooberman discusses opportunities within the Experimental High Energy Physics research group.
video length 28:48

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Click to play video: Professor Patrick Draper discusses research opportunities within the Theoretical High Energy Physics research group

Theoretical High Energy Research Group

Professor Patrick Draper discusses opportunities within the Theoretical High Energy Physics research group.
video length 20:59

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Click to play video: Professor Jorge Noronha discusses research opportunities within the Nuclear/Intermediate Energy Physics research group

Research Group Overview

Professor Jorge Noronha discusses opportunities within the Nuclear/Intermediate Energy Physics research group.
video length 39:29

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Click to play video: Nuclear Physics graduate student interviews

Student Perspective

Nuclear Physics graduate student interviews.

video length 5:04

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Click to play video: Opportunities in Professor Liu's Lab

Liu Group

Professor Chen-Yu Liu discusses opportunities
available in her NPL research group.
video length 10:08

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Long Group

Professor Josh Long discusses opportunities
available in his NPL research group.
video length 16:11

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Click to play video: Professor Eric Kuo discusses research opportunities within the Physics Education research group

Research Group Overview

Professor Eric Kuo discusses opportunities within the
Physics Education research group.
video length 37:56

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Click to play video: Professors Brian DeMarco and Paul Kwiat discuss opportunities available in IQUIST

IQUIST Overview

Professors Brian DeMarco and Paul Kwiat discuss
opportunities available in IQUIST.
video length 12:43

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