Kate Scholberg is a Canadian and American

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 ...

physicist whose research has included experimental studies of

neutrino oscillation Neutrino oscillation is a quantum mechanics, quantum mechanical phenomenon in which a neutrino created with a specific lepton lepton number, family number ("lepton flavor": electron, muon, or tau lepton, tau) can later be Quantum measurement, mea ...

coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering In nuclear physics, nuclear and particle physics, coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering, commonly abbreviated to CEvNS (pronounced like "seven-s"), is a nuclear reaction involving neutrinos of any active flavor scattering off nuclide, nucl ...

and the detection of

supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

e. She is currently the Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor of Physics and Bass Fellow at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Education and career

As a child in Canada, Scholberg was interested in astronomy from a young age, but as a teenager she became interested in chemistry and entered college planning to become a chemist. However, after a bad experience in an

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

course, she changed her focus to physics. She graduated with a B.Sc. from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1989, and completed her M.S. and Ph.D. at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

in 1996, under the joint supervision of Charles W. Peck and

Barry Barish Barry Clark Barish (born January 27, 1936) is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves. In 2017, Bar ...

. Her interest in neutrino physics developed out of her graduate work; thesis titled
A Search for Neutrinos from Gravitational Collapse with the MACRO Experiment
. The MACRO experiment was originally designed to search for

magnetic monopole In particle physics, a magnetic monopole is a hypothetical particle that is an isolated magnet with only one magnetic pole (a north pole without a south pole or vice versa). A magnetic monopole would have a net north or south "magnetic charge". ...

s, at the

Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) is the largest underground research center in the world. Situated below Gran Sasso mountain in Italy, it is well known for particle physics research by the INFN. In addition to a surface portion of t ...

in Italy. After postdoctoral research at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, and a junior faculty position at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, she moved to Duke University in 2004. Before becoming Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor of Physics at Duke, she was the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Physics there.

Research collaborations

Scholberg is a researcher in the

Super-Kamiokande Super-Kamiokande (abbreviation of Super-Kamioka Neutrino Detection Experiment, also abbreviated to Super-K or SK; ) is a neutrino detector, neutrino observatory located Kamioka Observatory, under Mount Ikeno near the city of Hida, Gifu, Hida, ...

and Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) collaborations, the

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a neutrino experiment under construction, with a near detector at Fermilab and a far detector at the Sanford Underground Research Facility that will observe neutrinos produced at Fermilab. An int ...

(DUNE), and the COHERENT detector at the

Spallation Neutron Source The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is an accelerator-based neutron source facility in the U.S. that provides the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development.In 2007, SNS was entered into th ...

of the

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...

. She has also been instrumental in the development and coordination of the SuperNova Early Warning System.

Recognition

In 2013 Scholberg was named a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...

(APS), after a nomination by the APS Division of Particles and Fields, "for work with atmospheric and accelerator neutrinos that established the phenomenon of neutrino oscillation, and for leadership in the worldwide effort of the supernova neutrino detection". She was elected a member of the U.S.

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in May 2022. In 2023 Scholberg was awarded Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scholberg, Kate Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American physicists American women physicists Canadian physicists Neutrino physicists Canadian women physicists McGill University alumni California Institute of Technology alumni Duke University faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society American women academics 21st-century American women Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science