The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook offers a diverse program and consistently ranks amongst the best and largest in the country. The 2010 NRC ranking which is the most prestigeous ranking in the US, ranks us among to the top 15 programs in the country. The CN Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics is a leading center for high energy physics, string theory and statistical mechanics. An exciting new direction is the recently created Simons Center for Geometry and Physics with focus on the interface of physics and mathematics. It will be housed in a new building that has just been completed. Stony Brook has recently become a partner in the Palomar 5 m Hale telescope and is a founding member of the SMARTS telescope consortium which offer exciting opportunities for astronomy students. Research in biophysics can be conducted at the Laufer Center.

Stony Brook co-manages nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory which conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in climate and energy technologies. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities that include the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) and its successor now under construction, NSLS-II.

Including the opportunities offered by BNL, research possibilities can be found in virtually all areas of Physics and Astronomy. Our community is an exciting environment conducive to first class research and alumni are in leading postions at Universities, National Laboratories, Industries and Governments all over the world.

Congratulations to Megan Connors for winning the Gertrude Scharff-Goldhaber Award.

First Postdoctoral Achievement Award goes to Shlomo Razamat.