Sloan Scholar Tyler Johnson, a Duke Ph.D. student in physics, has been named a Doctoral Fellow in Applied Antineutrino Physics by the Consortium for Monitoring, Technology, and Verification (MTV) at the University of Michigan.
Tyler Johnson (left) and Connor Awe
Johnson, who is pursuing his Ph.D. under the guidance of Professor Phillip Barbeau, is investigating kinematic reconstruction of the originating direction of the neutrino using inverse beta decay products. For his graduate research, he is developing a small-scale time projection chamber neutrino detector capable of extracting neutrino directionality by reconstructing inverse beta decay products with machine learning.
Another Duke Ph.D. student in Barbeau’s lab, Connor Awe, also received the fellowship. He is studying ways to perform neutrino directional reconstruction as a means of backgrounds rejection.
The MTV supports emerging research in the area of antineutrino physics applied to nuclear nonproliferation. The fellowship covers full tuition and fees and provides a $33,000 annual stipend for up to five years. The fellowship also includes travel support to the MTV’s annual meetings.
