Quark interaction physics explores sub-atomic particle systems at the boundary between the quark-gluon and meson-baryon descriptions of matter. The field addresses questions that do not require the highest beam energies or luminosities, but do call for high-precision measurements using specialized equipment. At Carnegie Mellon we have a large research group doing Nuclear and Quark Interaction Physics.

Currently, my main area of research is in the electromagnetic production of strange particles (kaons and hyperons). The production of strange-quark pairs via the well-known electromagnetic interaction is our avenue for refining understanding of baryon resonances, mesonic resonances, and various polarization observables. Experimental results are compared with modern quark models and unitarized chiral perturbation theory with the use of partial wave analysis. We seek evidence for particle states that fall outside the traditional quark model classification scheme on account of active gluonic configurations.

This work is being done at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. My experimental work is done using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) in Hall B and using the GlueX detector (GlueX) in Hall D at Jefferson Lab.

Another research direction is using fMRI methods to study the encoding of scientific concept in the human brain, particularly those that do not have classical analogues. The neuroscience of advanced physics concepts in the brains of PhD Physicists versus young students can be compared, for example, to see their cognitive foundations and development during learning.

At Carnegie Mellon I teach a number of different courses, and this comprises a very important part of my work. Recently I have taught Modern Essentials (33.211) (Relativity and Quantum Physics) in the fall and Modern Physics Laboratory (33.340) in the spring. I have produced some less technical YouTube videos on physics topics, such as A Diffusion Cloud Chamber and The Kelvin Water Dropper with Electroscope.