My Journey as a Physicist

Dr. Allena Opper (she/her)
National Science Foundation
I am a nuclear physicist and have done experiments at laboratories across north America. I’ve been a professor at Ohio University and George Washington University. Since 2014 I have had the honor and privilege of serving as a program director of the National Science Foundation’s Nuclear Physics Program. During the pandemic I did a few online “Paint Night” things where the instructor guides the participants in making a painting with acrylic paints – I now have three “paintings” decorating a shelf in my closet!

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 Kiran 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 Chinese-American physicist, and I love gardening, cooking, walking and music. I have joint appointments between Brookhaven National Lab and Duke University. I am an experimentalist, who uses electrons and photons as microscopes to look deeper and deeper inside protons and neutrons, which are the building blocks of atomic nuclei, to advance our understanding about the structure of visible matter. While visible matter is only several percent of our universe, we, humans are made of visible matter. I am fascinated by the fact that I am studying myself and that gives me great joy.

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 Kiran 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 an experimentalist working the field of nuclear and particle physics. I am a SUNY Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University. I also serve as the Electron Ion Collier (EIC) Science Director at BNL and Director of the Center for Frontiers in Nuclear Science (CFNS). I like to use “spin” as a tool to investigate and understand nature — thus I always use polarized beams or targets. I have been involved experiments at BNL (both RHIC and AGS), at Jefferson Lab, PSI, CERN and DESY. These experiments addressed my interests in nucleon spin structure and also precision electroweak physics that push the boundaries of the Standard Model of Physics. In every one of them the property of “spin” played an important or pivotal role. I was one of the earliest Electron Ion Collider (EIC) enthusiast, having been involved from its birth/infancy to now- when it is being realized. It has been a privilege to be involved or participating in the US long range planing process since 2001 in all things related to the EIC. Through those years I learnt so many other things from friends and colleagues in our field including the wonderful initiatives like the FRIB which is operational now and the neutrino-less double beta decay experiments - which hopefully will also happen 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 3 is hosted by PhD student Bill Good and edited by Kiran 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

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 Kiran 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

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 Kiran 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 nuclear physicist at LLNL and UC Davis, involved in APS leadership and I run far-ish. My research involves both heavy flavor production, mostly in cold nuclear matter, and the phenomenology of nuclear fission. I love the challenge of doing physics and the rush of understanding something new. I am on the Long Range Plan writing committee, the NSAC Nuclear Data subcommittee and Secretary-Treasurer of the DNP.

https://people.llnl.gov/vogt2

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 an experimental nuclear physicist at MIT. I like hiking and skiing on the weekends with my husband, three kids and our dog (the two cats usually stay home). My work centers on specialized experiments that make use of novel technology from quantum sensors to deep learning to push the bounds of what is measurable. The work is driven by big questions about the formation of our universe and how physics on the smallest scales leads to the universe we observe.

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'm a theoretical physicist at the Institute for Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington, and I also (try to) play guitar. I work on low-energy probes of physics beyond the Standard Model. I like to challenge the Standard Model and look for cracks in its fabric: at times it can be quite suspenseful, like a mystery novel.

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 physicist at Texas A&M University focusing on experimental nuclear physics, and I also like playing tennis and golf, fishing and reading books. I use particle accelerators to study structure of atomic nuclei and nuclear reactions relevant for nucleosynthesis in stars. I love what I do because my experiments help advance general understanding of nuclei and origin of elements in the universe. Working on the nuclear physics Long-Range Plan is a fascinating opportunity to learn about recent advances in the field and contribute to shaping the future of nuclear physics for many years.

https://physics.tamu.edu/directory/rogachev/

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 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