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Last week, Paul Cadden-Zimansky, associate professor of physics at Bard College, and Bard students Thanasis Kostikas ’26 and Yaroslav Valchyshen ’27 attended the Global Physics Summit in Denver hosted by the American Physical Society (APS), one of of the largest societies of physicists in the world. At the conference, Kostikas and Valchyshen each gave talks on their Bard Summer Research Institute work on visualizations of quantum states, which were supported by the Bard Office of Undergraduate Research. Kostikas presented  “Geometrical Mapping of Algebraic Representations of Qudits,” and Valchyshen presented  “Interactive 2D and 3D Tools for Understanding Qudit State Geometry.”

Additionally, Cadden-Zimansky was awarded the APS “5 Sigma Physicist Honor” for outstanding volunteer advocacy work in physics. The award was created to recognize exceptional advocacy of APS members who go above and beyond to advance issues that are important to the physics community. Cadden-Zimansky was honored for supporting the global event coordination, social media content, and public communication efforts for the International Year of Quantum, as well as his work in volunteering to help middle and high school teachers develop ready-to-use, age-appropriate quantum science lessons during a daylong teacher professional development event at the Global Physics Summit. 

The Bard Physics Program is dedicated to helping students at all levels gain a better understanding of the universe and how it works.

Applications are now open for Bard College’s 2026 Creative and Analytical Math Program (CAMP), a unique summer academic enrichment program designed for middle school students with a passion for mathematics. Each year, a mathematical theme is explored through mathematics, computer science, and art, allowing students to work in all three areas to receive a well-rounded and enriching experience. This acclaimed program, recognized by the American Mathematical Society with Epsilon Awards, will take place from August 3–7 on Bard’s Annandale campus. It differs from a traditional camp by offering an immersive and intellectually stimulating environment where students from grades 5 through 8 can explore mathematics through creative and engaging activities. Through exposure to topics outside the standard curriculum, the program focuses on developing students' mathematical thinking and problem solving ability. 
  
“We’re excited to welcome another group of enthusiastic young mathematicians to Bard College,” said Japheth Wood, associate professor of Mathematics at Bard and codirector of CAMP. “The Bard Math CAMP is designed to ignite curiosity and deepen students’ understanding of mathematics in a fun and creative way. We believe that math is not just about numbers; it’s about problem-solving, critical thinking, and exploring the beauty of abstract concepts.”

Founded in 2014 with support from the Dolciani Math Enrichment Grant Program, CAMP has become a beloved summer tradition for young math enthusiasts throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley and beyond. To apply, please visit bardmathcircle.org/camp/camp-more-information/ 

On Tuesday, February 24, at 7 pm the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities at Bard College is presenting the first ever Saw Kill Watershed Community Database, a publicly accessible data tool housing datasets developed by community members, researchers, and Bard faculty and students since the late 1800s. Funded in part by the Hudson River Foundation, Bard Community Sciences Lab, and Hudson River Estuary Program of the DEC, the database is designed to expand in real time as the community surrounding the watershed continues to unearth historical information about the Saw Kill, and conducts community sciences in the watershed with efforts such as ongoing sampling.

The database will be launched at a celebration held at the Elmendorph Inn at 7562 N. Broadway, Red Hook, NY, at 7 pm on Tuesday, February 24. The event is free and open to the public, with refreshments provided.

“This project is like a love letter from Bard to the community we have been part of and served for over 100 years,” said Elias Dueker, associate professor of Environmental and Urban Studies at Bard. “Students, faculty, and staff are working side by side with community leaders to make the database as comprehensive as possible. We have found information in people’s closets, basements, paper files, art, photos, and stories. I don’t think there is anything like this project across the country, but I hope we can inspire other communities to rediscover how much they already know and study about their watersheds—just how much information is waiting there to help them step up to environmental challenges that seem at emergency-level today.”

The project—a collaboration between the Center for Experimental Humanities, Bard Biology and Environmental Studies, and community groups including the Saw Kill Watershed Community, Riverkeeper, and Hudson River Watershed Alliance—represents over 50 years of Bard's commitment in nurturing community efforts to provide meaningful stewardship of the Saw Kill Watershed, which provides drinking water and recreation for both Bard and the surrounding region. By compiling all available information and ongoing environmental research about the watershed in one accessible repository, the project is intended to serve as a versatile resource: as a teaching tool for local schools, for new residents wanting to learn about their surroundings, for community members who may have concerns about what they are observing in the watershed, and to provide meaningful data required to inform policy decisions that would affect the Saw Kill and its communities. For more information, please visit: cesh.bard.edu/csl/saw-kill-monitoring-program

Felicia Keesing, the David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing at Bard College, has been elected a fellow of the British Ecological Society (BES). The fellowship is bestowed in recognition of outstanding contributions to ecology through research, teaching, leadership, policy, and the practical application of ecological science. BES is the oldest ecological society in the world, and brings ecological experts together to seek science-based solutions for some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Keesing is a community ecologist who studies the consequences of interactions among species, particularly as biodiversity declines. Her recent work focuses on how biodiversity influences the probability that humans and other animals will be exposed to infectious diseases. She has worked in Kenya since 1995, studying how the disappearance of elephants, giraffes, and other large mammals influences the way African savannas function. Keesing has also worked extensively to improve biology education for undergraduate students.

Founded over a century ago, the British Ecological Society was the first Society in the world committed to understanding our earth through ecology, the science studying the relationship between living things and their environment. That goal remains today with a global community spanning 120 countries and a strategic mission to find ecological solutions for a planet under threat.  

Separately, Keesing has also been awarded a month-long residency by the Rockefeller Foundation, an organization that promotes the well-being of humanity by finding and scaling solutions that advance opportunity and reverse the climate crisis. The residency will take place at the Bellagio Center on Lake Como in Italy, a retreat center funded by the foundation. Residencies at the Bellagio Center are intended to foster 'breakthroughs essential to humanity’s well-being.' The Center’s residency program has hosted Nobel Laureates, economists, writers, Supreme Court justices, and world leaders.

Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Abhinav Prem has received a two-year research award from the US Department of Energy to develop new methods that make quantum computers more stable and reliable. The project, “Leveraging Novel Symmetries for Noise-Resilient Topological Quantum Computation,” is a joint collaboration with professor Stephan Haas at the University of Southern California (USC) and was funded under the DOE EXPRESS 2025 program. Bard is the lead institution and recipient of $300,006 of the $500,000 award.

Quantum computers promise dramatic speedups for problems like materials design, drug discovery, and complex climate modeling. But unlike conventional computers, quantum bits — or qubits — are extremely sensitive to their surroundings. Small disturbances such as heat, vibrations, or stray fields can flip or erase quantum information, causing errors that quickly cascade and wreck a computation.

Instead of trying to stop every disturbance, professor Prem uses a different strategy: build “tracks” that guide errors into predictable paths where they can be caught and corrected. These tracks come from mathematical structures called symmetries and from exotic states of matter known as topological phases. By designing systems where errors are forced to behave in regular, controllable ways, this research program aims to create quantum memories and operations that are naturally resilient, reducing the overhead for constant external correction.

“Think of an error as a runaway train,” Prem explains. “If the train can go anywhere, it will crash. Our project is about building the tracks that force those errors to move along very specific, predictable pathways. By constraining how errors propagate, we can effectively 'catch' and correct them before the train goes off the rails. This approach could lead to scalable quantum devices that are inherently resilient to inevitable environmental noise."

The two-year project will combine theoretical work with practical protocols aimed at near-term quantum devices, and will support one postdoctoral researcher each at Bard and USC.

Clara Sousa-Silva, assistant professor of physics at Bard College, was interviewed in the New York Times about an article she coauthored in the Science journal. The article explains how the detection of the molecule phosphine in the atmosphere of a brown dwarf—a class of celestial objects too large to be considered a gas giant planet but not massive enough to fuse hydrogen like a star—may help astronomers in their search for life elsewhere in the Milky Way. On Earth, phosphine is a molecule that is produced by living things, and because life as we know it is unsustainable on a brown dwarf, the finding can help refine our understanding of how the molecule could be produced under other circumstances. Detecting the phosphine molecule in places that cannot sustain life “will be a critical piece of the puzzle for figuring out what business phosphine has anywhere else, including in a potentially habitable environment,” Sousa-Silva told the New York Times.

The Bard Physics Program is dedicated to helping students at all levels gain a better understanding of the universe and how it works.

The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), managed in part by Bard Associate Professor of Physics Paul Cadden-Zimansky, who is a global coordinator for the event, was recognized by the Quantum World Congress in Washington DC. The Congress gave IYQ the “Organization of the Year” award, one of four annual awards selected by a panel of academic and political leaders. The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology to mark the 100th anniversary of the study of quantum mechanics, and to help raise public awareness of the importance and impact of quantum science and applications on all aspects of life.

“The International Year of Quantum would not have worked without the dozens of countries, hundreds of institutions, and thousands of people across the globe who believed in the mission of using the centennial of quantum mechanics as an occasion to improve public awareness of how central quantum is to our world,” said Cadden-Zimansky. “I think everyone who is putting in time and effort to make it a reality [can] share in this award and can take it as an encouragement to continue the mission of illuminating quantum science and technology for all.”