CURRENT MEMBERS

Caleb Marshall: I am a postdoctoral researcher at UNC. I did my graduate studies at the North Carolina State University, where I used the TUNL Enge Split-pole spectrograph to perform high resolution charged particle spectroscopy on states of astrophysical interest in 24Mg. After obtaining my Ph.D. I worked on the commissioning of the recoil separator SECAR located at FRIB as a postdoctoral scholar with Ohio University. I have strong interests in Bayesian uncertainty quantification, novel experimental methods, and data acquisition.

David Gribble: I am a graduate student working with Christian on the nucleosynthesis in globular clusters. I did my undergraduate at UC Davis, where I also studied African American studies and geology. I completed my Master’s degree at Appalachian State and did my Master’s thesis on elemental abundances in stars. In the past I have taught middle school science and worked on policy at the Federation of American Scientists. I play the tuba and enjoy tinkering with electronics, old videogames, and vintage computers.

Michelle Lee: I’m a Physics graduate student at UNC. I grew up in South Korea and moved to the US to get my undergraduate degree in Astrophysics and Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley. My previous research experience has been in modeling star spot periodicity using Kepler data, modeling protoplanetary disks, as well as in nuclear forensics of thermonuclear sources. I’m currently studying the isotope abundances from Type Ia Supernovae models. In my spare time, I enjoy watching movies, going to concerts, hiking, and cooking/baking!

Evan Argo: I am a Physics graduate student at UNC. I grew up in Michigan and got my undergraduate degree in Physics at Michigan State University. While there, I studied the gamma decay spectrum from 32Ar beta decay taken at FRIB. I am currently working on preparing for experiments to be run at LENA. My research interests are in stellar nucleosynthesis and detector development. In my free time I enjoy bouldering, hiking, and playing video games.

 

Callan Baruch: I am a Physics and Mathematics major at UNC. I started working with Dr. Iliadis my Freshman year and I am currently working on developing a functional GUI that will contain Bayesian statistical analysis software. I have previously done some research and data analysis involving Dark Matter as well as GMCs. I am very excited in focusing more on nuclear physics research. Prior to attending UNC, I lived in Chapel Hill for around 8 years, and before that I lived in the UK.

PAST MEMBERS

Undergraduate students

Cade Rodgers: I am a physics and mathematics major here at UNC. I am originally from Salisbury, NC. My research has mainly been in the field of nuclear physics, with a focus on ways in which we can use Bayesian statistics to analyze pulse-height spectra. Conducting this research has led me to create my own graphical user interface (GUI) that can perform various analysis methods on these pulse-height spectra, amongst other things. A fun fact about me is that I have a twin brother who attends NC State.

 

Caroline Smith: I am a physics major from Carrboro and have been working with Dr. Iliadis since my second year, conducting gamma spectrometry research on soil samples from the Chapel Hill area. I am now replicating the results using Monte Carlo simulation to correct for contamination and absorption in the experiment. Prior to my time at UNC, I lived in Brazil for a year and worked on a farm and in a recording studio. There, I learned about the physics of sound from my boss, who was a physicist, and decided to study the subject in college.

 

Naga Yeyuvuri: I am a first year intended Computer Science major and this is my first year in college research. I have done theoretical research in the past on dark energy and am really interested in learning more about nuclear astrophysics and globular clusters. I was raised in Michigan but moved to NC a few years ago and have lived here since. A fun fact about me is that I have been learning Indian Carnatic Music for about five years and just completed my third level of certification.

Graduate students

Lori Downen (PhD 2020)
Thesis: Measurement of the ²⁹Si(p,gamma)³⁰P reaction important for presolar grains of nova paternity.
[Senior Associate Global Academic Program Manager at SAS]

Sean Hunt  (PhD 2019)
Thesis: Helium Burning of ²²Ne: Targets, Detectors, and Initial Measurements.
[Research Scientist at Corvid Technologies]

John Dermigny  (PhD 2018)
Thesis: Measurement of the ³⁰Si(p,gamma)³¹P nuclear reaction important for abundance anomalies in globular clusters.
[Research Associate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory]

Matthew Buckner  (PhD 2014)
Thesis: Hydrogen burning of the rare oxygen isotopes.
[Experimental Physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]

Richard Longland (PhD 2010)
Thesis: Investigation of the s-process neutron source ²²Ne+alpha. 
[Associate Professor at North Carolina State University]

Joe Newton  (PhD 2010)
Thesis: Hydrogen burning of ¹⁷O. 
[Director of Nuclear Science at Augusta University]

Carrie Fitzgerald  (PhD 2003)
Thesis: Hydrogen burning of ²³Na in globular cluster red giant stars. 
[Associate Professor at Montgomery College]

Jennifer Mosher (MS 2000)
Thesis title: Nuclear recoil detection using microchannel platedetectors. 
[Physics Teacher at Moorestown Friends School]

Denise Powell  (PhD 1999)
Thesis: Determination of the ²⁴Mg(p,gamma)²⁵Al reaction for low stellar temperatures. 
[Application Engineer at Cadence Design Systems]

Postdocs

Rafael deSouza (2017-2020)
[Associate Professor at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory]

Chris Howard  (2010-2013)
[Senior Radiation Physicist at Nordion]

Anne Sallaska  (2010-2013)
[Senior Data Scientist at Uplevel]

Babatunde Oginni  (2010)
[Scientist at Mirion Technologies, Inc.]

Claudio Ugalde (2005-2008)
[Faculty at University of Illinois at Chicago]

Dale Visser (2003-2005)
[Research Staff Member, Institute for Defense Analyses]

Chris Fox (2002-2005)
[Instructor in Radiation Oncology, Tulane University]