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Andrew Pontzen

Andrew joined °×С½ãÂÛ̳ in 2013, and was involved with setting up and running the Cosmoparticle Initiative from its inception in 2016.Ìý

How would you describe the research opportunities the Cosmoparticle Initiative offers?

We set out to create interdisciplinary links between different groups working in physics and space science at °×С½ãÂÛ̳. Beyond that we wanted to enhance the experience of PhD students and postdocs who work with us through offering the broadest possible intellectual environment and exceptional training and support.Ìý

Before joining °×С½ãÂÛ̳, which research posts did you hold?

I received my PhD from Cambridge, and then held postdoctoral research fellowships first in Cambridge and then Oxford.

What were your main research interests?

My main work before joining °×С½ãÂÛ̳ was on the physics of the cosmic microwave background, galaxy formation and dark matter – the unknown material that makes up more than 80% of the mass in our Universe.Ìý

What are you currently working onÌýnow in the Cosmoparticle Hub?

I am still working in these areas, but working within the Cosmoparticle Initiative has enabled me to increasingly branch into broader fields, including some condensed matter physics.Ìý

Looking forward, what are your plans for the next few years?

ÌýIt’s an exciting time, and over the next few years I expect to be busy: I’ve recently been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant. This will fund a team working with me for five years to enhance our understanding of how random, quantum fluctuations in the early Universe ultimately determine the properties of galaxies in the present-day Universe. The story of how one leads to the other plays out over 14 billion years of cosmic history and we still have a lot to learn. With whatever time I have left, I’ll be pursuing my broader physics interests!

Anything else you’d like to add? Ìý

A little more about my research and some links to talks can be found at my website:ÌýÌý

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Chamkaur Ghag

Chamkaur joined the High Energy Physics group at °×С½ãÂÛ̳ in July 2012, to initiate research on direct dark matter detection.ÌýPrior to joining °×С½ãÂÛ̳, Cham took his PhD at Edinburgh University, and then moved to the University of California Los Angeles. ÌýHe was a founder member of the Cosmoparticle Initiative.

What do you think is different or special about the Cosmoparticle Initiative; how would you describe the research opportunities it offers?

The physics and astronomy communities have tried virtual initiatives in the past, in an attempt to bring research at the smallest and largest scales together. Such networks have tended to fizzle out. The Cosmoparticle Initiative has delivered a shared physical space where particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology come together through our academics, researchers and students for real-time in-person discussions that foster innovation far more effectively than was achieved previously.Ìý

The Initiative delivers research opportunities to address internationally high priority science questions, such as the identification of the nature of dark matter, through collaboration with world-leading astrophysicists, cosmologists and high energy physicists with whom one may interact continuously given the physical proximity of such diverse expertise. Ìý

What were your research interests before joining °×С½ãÂÛ̳?

My research interests were, and still are, centred around dark matter.

What are you currently working onÌýnow in the Cosmoparticle Hub?

The direct search for dark matter with the LZ experiment; the use of quantum sensors for very low mass dark matter candidates; investigating how astrophysical studies of dark matter might inform particle physics models and terrestrial searches for dark matter, and vice-versa.Ìý

What does the promotion to Professor mean to you, and what are your plans for the next few years?

My plans for the next few years are to fully exploit the sensitivity of the LZ dark matter experiment, coming online in mid-2020. LZ will be the most sensitivity detector yet in the search for galactic dark matter and any discovery will be revolutionary. The °×С½ãÂÛ̳ group has been instrumental in the design and construction of LZ and we are now preparing for data analyses from the multi-year LZ science programme.Ìý

The promotion to Professor means, I hope, that I can help the dark matter research group continue to grow and take on new challenges to widen the search for dark matter beyond traditionally favoured candidates and even experimental techniques. I am also excited by opportunities to engage in efforts to embed sustainability within °×С½ãÂÛ̳, its research, and enable more of the academic community to contribute to global challenge focussed research; promotion to Professor enables easier access to some of the relevant people towards achieving this goal.

Anything else you’d like to add?

To date my research has largely been conducted within highly motivated and dedicated collaborations, with some of the best scientists in the world. Promotion to Professor would have been impossible without my wonderful colleagues and students. Ìý

More about Chamkaur Ghag and his research.

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Emily Nurse

Emily joined °×С½ãÂÛ̳ as a PPARC postdoctoral fellow in 2005.Ìý SheÌýjoined the Cosmoparticle initiative just before going on maternity leave in 2016, and became an active member in 2018.Ìý Emily received herÌýPhD from the University of Manchester, working on the Dzero experiment at Fermilab.

What do you think is different or special about the Cosmoparticle Initiative; how would you describe the research opportunities it offers?

There are many topics of common interest between particle physicists and astrophysicists. ÌýThese include physics topics such as dark matter, and scientific techniques, such as dealing with the need to simulate very large datasets.

Since particle physicists and astrophysicists are usually in different research groups the cross-talk can be limited. This initiative allows a healthy discussion of ideas that can enable fruitful collaboration.

What were your research interests before joining °×С½ãÂÛ̳?
Studying particle physics by looking at proton-antiproton collisions.

What are you currently working onÌýnow in the Cosmoparticle Hub?
I am about to start co-supervising a PhD student, Francesca Gerardi, together with Dr Andreu Font-Ribera. She will work on modelling maps of the distribution of hydrogen in the Universe using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Survey (DESI). We will see if some of the tools required to simulate theoretical predictions for these studies can also be applied to simulations in high-energy physics.

As a side project, we hope to implement data from DESI into a tool called Gambit, which uses data from particle-physics and astro-physics experiments to put constraints on new physical theories of the Universe.

What does the promotion to Professor mean to you, and what are your plans for the next few years?
I am very pleased to have reached this point in my career, and am proud to have done so whilst working part time and raising a young family. The °×С½ãÂÛ̳ Department of Physics and Astronomy has been very supportive of this.

In the next few years I plan to concentrate more on my research at the Large Hadron Collider whist also expanding my horizons through the cosmoparticle initiative and the Centre of Doctoral Training.

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