Department of Physics

Recent progress in nuclear and particle physics has uncovered shortcomings in the standard model of particle physics. Precision measurements of electroweak interactions put the standard model to the test, providing evidence for new physics. At the same time, many interactions that are sensitive to beyond-standard-model physics require detailed knowledge of the behavior and structure of protons, neutrons, and nuclei. My research rests at the interface of this struggle, and I perform research to both put the standard model to the test and refine our knowledge of weak interactions in nucleons and nuclei.

I am interested in:

• Precision studies of neutron beta-decay to understand the weak current of the neutron and search for new interactions
• Muon capture experiments to understand the weak-interaction response of few-nucleon systems
• Neutrino-nucleon scattering to constrain beyond-standard-model neutrino interactions and probe the internal structure of a variety of nuclei

My current work is mostly devoted to the COHERENT experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, UCNτ experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the MuSun experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institut.