• Assistant Professor with New Mexico State University, 2020 to present

  • DOE funded research for "An Experimental Study of Modified Hadronic Structure and the Fundamental Properties of Nucleons through Electromagnetic and Gluonic Probes"

• Assistant Research Professor with Temple University, 2012 to 2020

  • Analysis of the Coulomb Sum Rule at Jefferson Lab

  • Lead Designer of the SoLID Light Gas Cherenkov detector at Jefferson Lab

  • Co-spokesperson of the J/Psi-Charmed Pentaquark and Generalized Polarizabilities experiments recently run at Jefferson Lab

• Post-Doc with The University of South Carolina, 2008 to 2012

  • Dilepton photoproduction analysis with the CLAS G12 data set

• Ph.D. in Physics from The University of South Carolina, 2008

  • Dissertation: Polarization Transfer in 4He(e,e'p)3H

• B.S. in Physics from The College of Charleston, 2002

  • Thesis: The Temperature Dependence of Sonoluminescence

The area of physics I find most exciting is the study of hadronic structure. Much of my research has helped pin down how the proton's structure changes in EM fields (via polarizabilities) and in the strong fields of the nuclear medium. There are still many questions to answer and much left to explore, and new facilities at Jefferson Lab and the Electron Ion Collider will soon be able to shed new light on these questions, including how gluons are distributed within bound nucleons as well as insights into the origin of the proton mass.

Recent and Noteworthy Projects:

• Lead Analysis on Jefferson Lab Hall-A experiment to measure the Coulomb Sum Rule in Nuclei at 500 MeV/c < q < 1000 MeV/c

  • New results will precisely measure the CSR and lend much anticipated insight into the modification of the nucleons electric form-factor when bound in a nucleus.

• Spokesperson for recently completed experiment: "A Search for the LHCb Charmed 'Pentaquark' using Photo-Production of J/Ψ at Threshold in Hall C at Jefferson Lab."

  • The recently "discovered" LHCb pentaquark, if a true s-resonance, is expected to decay to J/Ψ and a proton. The recently run experiment at Jefferson Lab aims to confirm (or put an upper limit on) its existence. Analysis has just begun in 2019.

• Spokesperson for the recently completed experiment: "Polarizability of the Nucleon via Virtual Compton Scattering."

  • Recent experiments have shown an unexpected behavior in the electric polarizability (think: stretchability of the proton in an electric field) at intermediate momentum transfer which implies a more nuanced picture of the charge distribution of the proton. Analysis has also just begun in 2019.

• Upcoming approved experiment: "Coherent φ Electroproduction on Nuclear Targets and the Spatial Distribution of Gluons in Nuclei."

  • New techniques in electron scattering experiments allow us to map the 2D impact space of target nucleons and nuclei (see Fig. 1). Using a novel approach of coherent vector meson scattering, the gluon distribution can be probed in a number of different kinematic regimes. A new detector will be built to measure recoil nuclei at wide angle and used in Jefferson Lab's Hall-B.

• Lead Designer of a new light gas Cherenkov for use in Jefferson Lab's Hall-A SoLID detector package.

  • The future of Jefferson Lab's Hall-A program will use an all new detector array called the Solenoidal Large Intensity Device (SoLID) and will push the limits of large acceptance and high luminosity measurements. Crucial to its success is a light gas Cherenkov specially designed for its main physics goals: PVDIS, SIDIS, and J/Ψ at threshold studies. I have been lead designer on the multi-million dollar project, and we expect construction to begin in 2024 (see Fig. 2).

Teaching, mentoring, and physics education was the original reason I pursued a degree in physics, and it continues to be the most fulfilling work that I do. The methods I employ are drawn from discipline-based education research, including National Education Association (NEA) recommended practices of inside-out learning and deep learning. I also feel it is important to adapt and stay current with the constantly evolving methodologies in education research.

Experience:

• Thermodynamics

  • 3 semesters of upper level UG sections

• Intermediate Experimental Physics

  • 2 semesters of experimental modern physics laboratories

• Calculus Based Introductory Physics

  • 3 semesters at Temple University, sections I and II

• Non-Calculus Based Introductory Physics

  • 1 semester at Temple University, section I

• Coordinator of all undergraduate physics courses

  • 1 semester at Temple University

• Teaching and Laboratory Assistant

  • Graduate school assistant at University of South Carolina

• Experience teaching and coordinating many lecture formats:

  • small laboratory education, 5-10 students

  • intermediate "flipped" classrooms, 15-35 students,

  • large lecture halls, 100+ students.