SCU Department of Physics Welcomes Dr. Bachana Lomsadze to Faculty
Excited to engage SCU students in laser spectroscopy research
By Michaela Pernetti '19
Experimental physicist Bachana Lomsadze joins Santa Clara University’s Department of Physics this fall. He is excited about joining SCU and working with students in his laser spectroscopy lab to study a wide range of materials.
Since completing his Ph.D. in physics at Kansas State University, Lomsadze served as a research associate at Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) and at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Most recently, while working as a research fellow at the University of Michigan’s Department of Physics, one of the most formative moments of his academic career occurred. After months of research on a difficult laser spectroscopy experiment, he achieved a breakthrough. His findings associated with that experiment were published in the journal Science. “As a research fellow I worked many sleepless nights until my experiment finally worked,” says Lomsadze. “Publishing in Science is prestigious and hence very challenging. That was a very exciting day in my career and it gave me a big motivation to become a professor, build my own lab and work with students to continue doing really exciting research.”
Originally from the country of Georgia, Lomsadze recalls an early interest in nature, saying, “I asked my parents lots of questions about natural phenomena.” This initial curiosity turned to passion and he decided to study physics.
As an undergraduate student at Tbilisi State University (Georgia), Lomsadze was eager to work out the physics problems assigned in his classes. He spent his spare time explaining concepts and teaching their applications to his friends. In his second year as an undergraduate, he started working in an on-campus research laboratory where he gained valuable research experience. In Lomsadze’s view, “a student’s undergraduate years are the best time to gain hands-on research experience." To that end, he plans to encourage students at SCU to join research labs.
When asked to give advice to students who are interested in pursuing lifelong scholarship, Lomsadze recommends: “You’ll see a lot of challenges in your career and you’ll have to work hard, but don’t give up. You can and will reach your goals.”
Lomsadze will teach several courses during his first year at SCU, including Physics for Scientists and Engineers (PHYS 33), Electronic Circuits for Scientists (PHYS 70), and Advanced Electromagnetism and Optics (PHYS 113).