Dan Hooper
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Daniel Wayne Hooper (born December 16, 1976) is an American cosmologist and particle physicist specializing in the areas of
dark matter In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relat ...
,
cosmic rays Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar ...
, and
neutrino A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small ('' -ino'') that i ...
astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...
. He is a professor of physics at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
and the director of the Wisconsin
IceCube The IceCube Neutrino Observatory (or simply IceCube) is a neutrino observatory developed by the University of Wisconsin–Madison and constructed at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. The project is a recognized CERN experim ...
Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC). Hooper is the author of several books, including ''Dark Cosmos: In Search of our Universe’s Missing Mass and Energy'' (2006), ''Nature’s Blueprint: Supersymmetry and the Search for a Unified Theory of Matter and Force'' (2008), and ''At the Edge of Time: Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe's First Seconds'' (2019).


Career

Hooper received his PhD in physics in 2003 from the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, under the supervision of Francis Halzen. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
between 2003 and 2005, and the David Schramm Fellow at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (
Fermilab Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located in Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle phys ...
) from 2005 until 2007. He is currently a senior scientist at Fermilab and a professor in the astronomy and astrophysics department at the University of Chicago. He is also a member of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP) at the University of Chicago. Since 2017, he has been the head of Fermilab's Theoretical Astrophysics Group. Hooper has authored or co-authored over 200 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The most highly cited of these papers includes a 2005 review of dark matter (co-authored by Gianfranco Bertone and
Joseph Silk Joseph Ivor Silk (born 3 December 1942) is a British-American astrophysicist. He was the Savilian Chair of Astronomy at the University of Oxford from 1999 to September 2011. He is an Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford and a Fellow of th ...
), as well as a series of papers written between 2009 and 2014 on the
Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST, also FGRST), formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit. Its main instrument is ...
's Galactic Center excess and its possible connection to annihilating dark matter. In 2017 he was elected to become a fellow of the
American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...
, "For pursuing the identity of dark matter by combining careful analysis of observational data with theoretical ideas from both particle physics and astrophysics." On September 9, 2024, Hooper will begin his role as the director of the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC). He will hold a joint faculty appointment at the UW-Madison Department of Physics.


Popular books and podcast

Hooper is the author of two books published by Smithsonian Books/HarperCollins. The first, ''Dark Cosmos: In Search of our Universe’s Missing Mass and Energy'' (2006) was named a notable book by
Seed Magazine ''Seed'' (subtitled ''Science Is Culture''; originally ''Beneath the Surface'') is a defunct online science magazine published by Seed Media Group. The magazine looked at big ideas in science, important issues at the intersection of science and ...
. His second book, ''Nature’s Blueprint: Supersymmetry and the Search for a Unified Theory of Matter and Force'' (2008), was called "essential reading" by
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...
. Hooper's third book is ''At the Edge of Time: Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe's First Seconds'' (2019), published by
Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...
. Since 2020, Dan Hooper and Shalma Wegsman have run the physics podcast ''Why This Universe?'' which appears every other week.


In popular culture

Hooper has also written for popular magazines including ''Astronomy'', ''Sky and Telescope'', and ''New Scientist'', and appeared on television and radio programs including ''
Through the Wormhole ''Through the Wormhole'' is an American science Documentary film, documentary television series narrated and hosted by American actor Morgan Freeman. It began airing on Science Channel in the United States on June 9, 2010. The series concluded i ...
'' with
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...
(
season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album ...
),
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's ''
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
'', ''
BBC World News BBC News is an international English-language pay television channel owned by BBC Global News Ltd. – a subsidiary of BBC Studios – and operated by the BBC News division of the BBC. The network carries news bulletins, documentaries, an ...
'', ''Space's Deepest Secrets'', and
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's ''
Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 500 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by science ...
''.


References


External links

* http://home.fnal.gov/~dhooper/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Dan People associated with Fermilab 20th-century American physicists 1976 births Living people American cosmologists American astrophysicists American particle physicists University of Chicago faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Writers from Minnesota Fellows of the American Physical Society