Benjamin Hooberman

Associate Professor

(217) 318-1881

benhoob@illinois.edu

413 Loomis Laboratory

For More Information

University of Illinois ATLAS Group

Education

BA in Physics, Columbia University, 2005
MSc in Physics, University of California at Berkeley, 2007
PhD in Physics, University of California at Berkeley, 2009

Biography

Professor Hooberman is an experimental high energy particle physicist who studies the fundamental laws of nature using data from particle colliders, with particular interest in the nature of dark matter. Since 2014 he has been a member of the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider, where he directed an international team of 250 physicists as Convener of the Supersymmetry Group. He is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Award recognizing outstanding scientists early in their careers. As a Fermilab research associate and member of the CMS collaboration, he contributed to the discovery of the Higgs boson, work recognized by the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics.

He received his PhD in physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009 and his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 2005. Outside of physics, he enjoys music, poker, and cats.

Academic Positions

Associate Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2020-present
Affiliate Professor, Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe (ICASU), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2020-present
Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2014-2020
Research Associate, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, 2009-2014
Graduate Student Research Assistant, University of California at Berkeley, 2005-2009
Undergraduate Researcher, Columbia University, 2003-2005

Research Statement

Particle physicists pursue questions that have been asked since antiquity: What is the universe made of? What are the fundamental laws of nature? How did the universe begin and evolve to its present state? Modern tools such as high-energy particle collisions allow these questions to be tested empirically. Over the past century scientists have made enormous progress, yet major mysteries remain, including the origin and nature of dark matter. Current theories also predict that matter and antimatter should have annihilated into pure energy in the early universe, making the very existence of the universe an unresolved puzzle.

Prof. Hooberman studies these questions using data from the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. He has 16 years of experience searching for supersymmetry and other new phenomena that could explain dark matter and the predominance of matter over antimatter. His group recently played a leadership role in publishing the first ATLAS beyond-the-standard model physics search at the highest collision energy of 13.6 trillion electron-volts by implementing novel triggers using Large Radius Tracking to enhance sensitivity to displaced leptons. They are now developing related upgrades to the Phase-2 ATLAS trigger system that will enable similar searches in the order-of-magnitude larger dataset expected over the next decade. The group has also developed machine learning methods to improve particle identification and measurement and is collaborating with Prof. Kahn's group on a Department of Energy Artificial Intelligence grant focused on understanding uncertainties in neural networks. In parallel, the group has launched a new effort applying particle physics detectors and analysis techniques to image cosmic-ray muons and help locate critical metals needed for the electric-vehicle battery supply chain.