The Search for Dark Matter

The Search for Dark Matter

Wednesday April 16, 2025 | 7:00pm – Young 113

This event is open to the general public.

Vera Rubin was an American astronomer who showed that galaxies do not rotate as predicted by gravitational models unless they are comprised of mostly an unseen, undetectable form of matter. Her discovery provided the first evidence of what was named "dark matter." Current cosmological theories suggest that dark matter comprises 90% of matter in the universe, but its properties are completely unknown. Jacob Pfaller (Centre Physics 2021) is pursuing his physics PhD at the University of Cincinnati, and he will discuss his current research at the CERN Supercollider experiment in Geneva, Switzerland. CERN is a premier particle research facility and the largest experiment in the world. Jake is a lead researcher on a team constructing a new detector to measure new exotic particles that may be the source of dark matter. He will discuss his exciting research and how Centre College prepared him for his graduate studies and future as a scientist.