Over the past decade, my group at Columbia has been focused on searching for new particles and new interactions working on the ATLAS experiment at CERN with a primary focus being a search for SUSY. However, we are currently transitioning to nuclear physics research and applied nuclear physics research, much of which is aimed at human health.
We have recently joined the electron scattering program at Jefferson Lab in Virginia. Our primary interest is in the study of nucleon structure functions. The group has had a long history of studying proton and neutron spin structure functions as well as tests of QCD and quark parton model sum rules.
I have a program in the application of polarized noble gas (presently using 3He) for the study of human lung disease, in particular, COPD. We are presently conducting one of the largest clinical studies in the country at Columbia Presbyterian. This research is funded by the NIH.
Via my background in nuclear physics activities, I have a deep concern for issues relevant to nuclear proliferation. This interest has spawned an undergraduate program called the K1 project. Here, we are, for example, actively doing research on radiation measurements in the northern Marshall Islands, where extensive US thermonuclear testing was performed in the 1940s and 1950s. (This research has also significant consequences for climate change, since these islands are suffering from rising sea levels.) Our goal in the K1 Project is to raise awareness on nuclear issues, namely nuclear weapons, nuclear power and nuclear proliferation.
I am presently teaching undergraduate Quantum Mechanics to primarily Columbia College physics majors as well as advanced undergraduate engineering students.
