Postdoctoral Fellowship: MPS-Ascend: Studying the Quark-Gluon Plasma with Jets

Virginia Bailey is awarded an NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM. This fellowship to Dr. Bailey supports the research project entitled “Postdoctoral Fellowship: MPS-Ascend: Studying the Quark-Gluon Plasma with Jets” under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. The host institution for the fellowship is Georgia State University, and the sponsoring scientist is Professor Megan Connors. The PI will study the hot and dense nuclear matter, known as the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), formed in collisions of heavy nuclei. The research will take advantage of the newly constructed sPHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL). The detector is designed specifically for measuring high energy probes of the QGP in order to understand how its small scale structure leads to the global properties of the QGP. In particular, this project will make use of jets, high energy sprays of particles, as probes of the QGP. These measurements at RHIC will provide complimentary information to similar measurements that have been performed at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN which, along with comparisons to theoretical models, will allow for a deeper understanding of the QGP. The PI plans to increase participation in STEM through mentoring students in the diverse GSU physics department, hosting them at BNL over the summer to contribute directly to the sPHENIX project, and working with GSU undergraduates so that they gain experience as student researchers. The goal of these efforts is to encourage students from the diverse GSU department to participate and excel in research and to provide networking opportunities such that they are well equipped to continue in STEM research after graduation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.