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Curiosity rover instrument developed by Dr. Ralf Gellert helps decode another piece of the planet’s geological history

When NASA’s Curiosity rover recently discovered the first known deposit of pure sulfur on Mars, it was thanks to an instrument designed by a University of Guelph physics professor.

Phys Phest is an annual celebration of the research being conducted in the Physics Department by our graduate students who have completed their first year. 

Congratulations to our 2026 Phys Phest winners. 

• Will Seavey, PhD Candidate (Advisor: Anand Yethiraj) - Diffusion of light-driven bacteriorhodopsin nanodiscs
• Matthew Fanciulli, MSc Candidate (Advisor: John Dutcher) - Hydration Properties of Phytoglycogen Films  

Sally Valbuena successfully defended her PhD Thesis; Study of the ¹⁹⁸Hg(d,d’) Inelastic Scattering Reaction on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

Morgan Kidnew successfully defended her MSc Thesis; Anisotropic Stellar Models with a Modified Equation of State on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

Elijah Kent successfully defended his MSc Thesis; Elijah Kent successfully defended his MSc Thesis; Electrostatic Potential Step and Barrier Transmission in the Gapped Model, on Thursday, September 3, 2026.

Samantha Lange, successfully defended her MSc Thesis; β− decay of ¹¹⁰Ag to ¹¹⁰Cd on Tuesday, August 25th, 2026. 

Zach Evans, successfully defended his MSc Thesis; Multivariate Machine Learning Approaches to Spectroscopic Analysis of Cross-linked Polyethylene Water Pipes on Monday, August 24th, 2026.