Karsten Heeger is a Professor of Physics, Chair of the Physics Department, and Director of the Wright Laboratory at Yale University. His research focuses on the study of neutrino oscillations and neutrino mass. Prof. Heeger received his undergraduate degree in physics from Oxford University and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle where he worked on a model-independent measurement of the solar 8B neutrino flux in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). Before joining the faculty at Yale University he was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin and a Chamberlain Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His work has been recognized with numerous awards including the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). At Yale Prof. Heeger has led the renovations and transformation of the Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory into the new Yale Wright Lab with a vibrant research program in nuclear, particle, and astrophysics and is co-chairing the planning for the new Physical Sciences and Engineering Building (PSEB) and an Advanced Instrumentation Center (AIDC) at Yale.
Prof. Heeger has served on national and international advisory committees including the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP), the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the ASCAC LDRD Independent Review. He has been a member of the DPF Executive Committee, DNP Nominating Committee, DNP NNPSS Steering Committee, and the APS Committee on International Scientific Affairs. Prof. Heeger wss Associate Editor for the European Physical Journal C and Journal of Physics G and is a reviewer for Physics Review, NIM, Physics Letters, and others.
Bio | CV | photo | LinkedIn
Appointments
2019 - Present Chair, Physics Department, Yale University
2013 – Present Director, Wright Laboratory, Yale University
2013 – Present Professor of Physics, Yale University
2012 – 2013 Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison
2009 – 2012 Associate Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison
2006 – 2009 Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison
2002 – 2006 Chamberlain Fellow, Physicist Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Education
2002 Ph.D. in Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
“Model-Independent Measurement of the Neutral Current Interaction Rate of Solar 8B Neutrinos with Deuterium in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory”
Thesis Advisor: Prof. R.G.H. Robertson
1999 Master of Arts (M.A.), Oxford University, Oxford, England
1996 Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
1995 Bachelor of Arts (B.A. Hons.) in Physics, Oxford University, England
Committees / Service / Leadership
2021 – now CUPID, international co-spokesperson
2020 – 2022 Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors (CPAD), co-chair
2016 – 2017 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Subatomic Physics Evaluation Section, Co-chair
2015 – 2018 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Subatomic Physics Evaluation Section, Member
2016 – 2017 ASCAC Independent LDRD Review of DOE Laboratories, Member
2014 – 2017 High Energy Physics Advisory Committee (HEPAP), Member
2014 – 2017 Nuclear Physics Advisory Committee (NSAC), Member
Awards & Honors
2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Co-recipient for work on SNO, KamLAND, and Daya Bay experiments
“For the fundamental discovery and exploration of neutrino oscillations, revealing a new frontier beyond, and possibly far beyond, the standard model of particle physics”
2013 APS Fellowship, American Physical Society, nominated by DNP
“For his contributions to the highest impact experiments in neutrino physics, especially for the major roles he played in the Daya Bay and KamLAND experiments”
2012 Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, 24th Annual Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium
2011–2012 H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship, University of Wisconsin
2009–2011 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow,
2008 Outstanding Junior Investigator Award, DOE Office of High Energy Physics,
“Precision Studies of the Reactor Antineutrino Spectrum and the Search for theta13 at Daya Bay”
2008 Outstanding Junior Investigator Award, DOE Office of Nuclear Physics,
“Investigation of Neutrino Properties with Bolometric Detectors”
Department of Energy (DOE) Outstanding Junior Investigator Awards in both High Energy and Nuclear Physics.
2004 Michelson Postdoctoral Prize Lectureship, Case Western Reserve University
2003 APS Dissertation Award in Nuclear Physics, American Physical Society, Division of Nuclear Physics
“For his role in generating and analysis of the data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, and the resulting resolution of the solar neutrino problem.”
2002-2005 Chamberlain Fellowship, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Physics Division, USA
2000 Mellam Fellowship, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
“…selected for this fellowship because of outstanding contributions to research.”
2000 Dahlstrom Prize, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
1996 Sebastian Karrer Memorial Scholarship, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
1994 – 1995 Academic Scholarship, Oxford University, College St. Edmund Hall, England
1993 Academic Exhibition and Bursary , Oxford University, College St. Edmund Hall, England
1992 – 1997 Stipendiat der Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, German National Academic Foundation
1992 Lions Club Scholarship for cultural exchange and travel in South Africa
