My Journey as a Physicist

I am a theoretical nuclear astrophysicist at the University of Notre Dame interested in the formation of the elements. I am also the mother of one daughter and doting aunt to eleven nieces and nephews. My work combines the nuclear theory of heavy nuclei, experimental results from radioactive isotope experiments, and astrophysical observations to understand how the heaviest elements are synthesized in the universe. It is a particularly exciting time for my field, given advances in computing, stellar spectroscopic surveys, and multi-messenger astronomy, as well as new facilities such as FRIB and the N=126 Factory. I’m looking forward to our community developing the vision to take advantage of these and other key recent advances as part of the Long-Range Plan for nuclear science. https://physics.nd.edu/people/rebecca-surman/ My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 3 is hosted by PhD student Bill Good and edited by Varalee Sakorikar. Season 3 consists of members of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee Long Range Plan. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

I am a medium energy experimentalist (otherwise known these days as cold QCD) and I am also the Dean of the College of Sciences at ODU. I do experiments related to understanding the structure of the nucleon (unpolarized as well as polarized), at Jefferson Lab. This type of research takes a long time, but I love it because the questions about the nature of matter are interesting and working with students and colleagues is a lot of fun. The Long-Range Plan process is very important for the community to consider priorities and make the case that this research is important.  https://www.odu.edu/directory/people/g/gdodge My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 3 is hosted by PhD student Bill Good and edited by Varalee Sakorikar. Season 3 consists of members of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee Long Range Plan. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 2 Episode 9 I am a theoretical particle physicist, specializing in collider phenomenology, a theoretical branch that builds the bridge between theory and experimental observations. To explore new physics beyond the Standard Model, I formulate theoretical models and predict observables at colliders as well as at low energy experiments. The topics I have been interested in include Higgs boson physics, searching for dark matter, examining neutrino mass generation models. I closely collaborate with my colleagues in theory and experiments. Since 2019, I have been involved in organizing the community planning exercise, a.k.a. "Snowmass 2021", led by APS DPF. The particle physics  community comes together to identify fundamental questions in the field and the opportunities to address.  The Snowmass exercise is very important for our field in the next decay and beyond. The final community meeting will take place in July 17-26, 2022, at the University of Washington-Seattle.   https://www.physicsandastronomy.pitt.edu/people/tao-han My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 2 is edited by Varalee Sakorikar. Season 2 consists of members of the Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise known as Snowmass. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 2 Episode 7 I am an Asian-Indian American Physicist, who traveled from Gorakhpur, UP, India and finally settled in Providence, RI USA, with my German husband and two sons. I am passionate about cooking and organizing events which meld scientific concepts with arts and music. My research focuses on investigating the early universe moments after the Big Bang created in small and large particle colliders, by building  innovative scientific instruments (detectors) to explore and find  fundamental particles and their interactions, and through these experiments unravel mysteries such as the origin of matter, the types of matter in the universe and many more. I love my research, as it gives me a purpose, and gives me an  opportunity to forge an inclusive partnership with a diverse set of  researchers who help me connect with the  age-old quest of humankind to  understand where we come from, why we are here, and eventually visualize  the building blocks of our home, the universe! I am humbled to have been chosen as one of the leaders of the Energy  Frontier group of the broader Snowmass study to help formulate a  community wide vision to explore the TeV energy scale and beyond with  future collider options, which will define the landscape of experimental  opportunities over multiple decades [and late into this century]. https://vivo.brown.edu/display/mnarain My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 2 is edited by Varalee Sakorikar. Season 2 consists of members of the Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise known as Snowmass. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 2 Episode 5   I am a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory physicist, and I also enjoy running and squirrel watching. I develop and deploy computational techniques to explore the fundamental and emergent properties of the strong force. Machine learning and other computational techniques build bridges between areas of physics and beyond. As a co-convener for the Computational Frontier at Snowmass, I'm excited  to see Machine Learning and Quantum Computing emerge as themes in this year's Snowmass!   My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 2 is edited by Varalee Sakorikar.   Season 2 consists of members of the Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise known as Snowmass.   If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 2 Episode 3   I am an experimental collider physicist, who specializes on detector instrumentation, and I also love traveling, reading, movies, jigsaw puzzles, listening to live music and learning to play the piano. In the past I have been involved in the Higgs boson discovery, but now I specialize on designing and building silicon trackers and on  coordinating generic detector R&D for the High Energy Physics community. I love my research, because it requires a lot of creativity, allows me  to learn something new every day, and leads me to work with a very diverse group of people, who are all extremely good at what they are doing. Snowmass turned out to be a lot of work at a very challenging time during the pandemic, but I feel it is important to help define and shape  the future of our field using my expertise in detector instrumentation.   My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 2 is edited by Varalee Sakorikar.   Season 2 consists of members of the Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise known as Snowmass.   If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 2 Episode 1 I am an experimental particle physicist, and when I'm not doing that I'm trying to teach myself to take pictures and cook. My research is focused on searching for Hidden Sector extensions to the Standard Model, mostly by looking for evidence of long-lived massive particles. I love the opportunity that physics gives me to explore the internal  workings of the world around me. I also have really enjoyed working on  the computing aspects of the field - bringing more modern tools into our searches for new physics. https://phys.washington.edu/people/gordon-watts   Snowmass is a ~decadal study of the state of particle physics in the USA: the challenges it faces, and the direction its R&D should take. It is a wonderfully grass-roots effort organized by the DPF whose goal is to find some consensus amongst the 1000's of US physicists for particle physics' next 10 years. My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 2 is edited by Varalee Sakorikar.  Season 2 consists of members of the Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise known as Snowmass. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 1 Episode 9 I am a compute performance developer technology engineer at NVIDIA. I also run frequently, focusing on training for marathons and ultramarathons. I perform in-depth analysis and optimization of software for both lattice QCD and molecular dynamics. I love the work that I do because I still get to be involved with the lattice research community and develop new collaborations with researchers involved in computational chemistry even though I've formally transitioned to industry. During COVID I couldn't go to my favorite cafes anymore, so I learned how to make pour-over coffee and have kept up the habit nearly every morning, ever-tuning my process for different coffee beans and roasts.   My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her).  Season 1 features interviews with the 2021 INT Summer School on Problem Solving in Lattice QCD. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 1 Episode 7 "I am a theoretical nuclear/high energy physicist originally from Italy. I am interested in strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions of temperature and density. I use numerical simulations to solve Quantum Chromodynamics, the fundamental theory of strong interactions, and I compare my results to the experimental data from the Large Hadron Collider (CERN). In my free time I like playing the cello, working out, reading and baking. During the pandemic I had to give up another passion of mine: traveling. I hope I can start again soon!"   My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her). Season 1 features interviews with the 2021 INT Summer School on Problem Solving in Lattice QCD. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 1 Episode 5 Dr. Sasa Prelovsek is an associate professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her hobbies include making furniture, playing piano, sewing her own clothes, running and hiking among others. She calculates masses and decay times for various conventional and exotic particles made out of quarks using ab-initio lattice QCD. This has exciting implications for ongoing experiments, which are discovering a new interesting exotic hadron every few months. During Covid, she enjoyed a walk to a nearby hill every afternoon, accompanied by her husband and at least one of three kids.   My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her).  Season 1 features interviews with the 2021 INT Summer School on Problem Solving in Lattice QCD. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 1 Episode 3 Dr. Meifeng Lin is computational scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory. She is the "High Performance Computing" Instructor for the INT Summer School on Problem Solving in Lattice QCD.   "I am a computational scientist with a background in lattice QCD. I am also learning to be a gardener in my spare time. My research focuses on the efficient utilization of the world's fastest supercomputers. I love my research as I get to work with scientists from different domains, and learn a lot of cool science. I have been working from home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although I miss seeing my friends and colleagues, I have enjoyed spending more time at home with my six-year-old and my cat."   My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her).  Season 1 features interviews with the 2021 INT Summer School on Problem Solving in Lattice QCD. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform

Season 1 Episode 1 Prof. Christopher Aubin (he/him/his) is an Associate Professor of Physics at Fordham University. He is the "Cooking in LQCD — Flavor physics on the lattice" Instructor for the INT Summer School on Problem Solving in Lattice QCD.  "I am a gay physicist who loves (rescue) dogs and boardgames. A lot of my work is focused on analyzing systematic errors associated with lattice calculations as well as getting undergraduates involved in this research. I enjoy the ability to add to the body of knowledge in the world to assist even in the smallest way to understanding this universe just a little bit more. By teaching virtually I was able to spend six weeks with my family during the spring (the peak of the outbreak in NYC) during a difficult time when otherwise I couldn't have done so — while still not a great time, it was better because of COVID."  My Journey as a Physicist is brought to you by PhD student Bryan Stanley (he/him/his) and Prof. Huey-Wen Lin (she/her).  Season 1 features interviews with the 2021 INT Summer School on Problem Solving in Lattice QCD. If you like the podcast or have any suggestions for future improvement, please take a minute to use this form to let us know:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxRDWXM-iJ_IdVAh7ZtrnqjVpajodVMdmA3o3piLAO3u-Jxw/viewform