Department News

U.S. Energy Dept's $7M promotes ZAPP to CAPP, benefitting ongoing WVU Physics and Astronomy research

A dozen scientists gather each afternoon on Albuquerque’s Kirtland Air Force Base, in Sandia National Laboratories, awaiting the bright flash and unmistakable floor jolt that accompanies the daily lightning bolt known as a Z shot. WVU physics professor Mark Koepke, his postdoc, and his students take advantage of approximately twenty Z shots per year to feed their passion for studying the physical principles that govern extreme astrophysical environments through the laboratory study of high-energy-density physics. 

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