Kevin T. Pitts (born 1965) is an American high energy

particle physicist Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the scale of protons and ...

. In addition to his faculty appointment at the :University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, in 2021 he was appointed chief research officer at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory. His research interests have included the CDF experiment and the

Muon g-2 Muon −2 (pronounced "gee minus two") was a particle physics experiment at Fermilab to measure the anomalous magnetic dipole moment of a muon to a precision of 0.14 Parts per million, ppm, which is a sensitive test of the Standard Model ...

experiment at Fermilab.

Early life and education

Kevin Todd Pitts, born in Indiana in 1965, is the son of William and Beverley Pitts. He earned a B.A. in physics and mathematics at Anderson University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He completed his dissertation in 1994.

Career

Pitts began his research in high-energy physics at Fermilab in 1994. At the Fermilab

Tevatron The Tevatron was a circular particle accelerator (active until 2011) in the United States, at the Fermilab, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (called ''Fermilab''), east of Batavia, Illinois, and was the highest energy particle collider unt ...

he investigated heavy-flavor physics and participated in the CDF experiment

Higgs boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the excited state, quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the field (physics), fields in particl ...

searches. Pitts is a member of the

experiment at Fermilab. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1999, becoming associate head for undergraduate programs in 2010. In 2014 he became associate dean for undergraduate programs in the college of engineering. Pitts is vice provost for undergraduate education. As vice provost, he has been the architect of the "Illinois Commitment" program to offer free tuition and fees to "talented low- to moderate-income students and those who are the first generation to go to college". He was also the principal investigator on a grant to increase access to science and engineering for low income students, an effort supported by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

. Pitts served in the chair line for the National Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP). He also founded "ICANEXSEL", a

University of Illinois College of Engineering The Grainger College of Engineering is the engineering college of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It was established in 1868 and is considered as one of the original units of school. Campus The College of Engineering is located ...

program to engage inner-city Chicago middle and high school students in STEM. In addition, Pitts serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit Chicago Pre-college Science and Engineering Program. In March 2021, Pitts became chief research officer at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory. His responsibilities there include oversight of the international

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 ...

. He participated in the

top quark The top quark, sometimes also referred to as the truth quark, (symbol: t) is the most massive of all observed elementary particles. It derives its mass from its coupling to the Higgs field. This coupling is very close to unity; in the Standard ...

discovery in 1995, and served on the Long Baseline Neutrino Committee. Pitts also serves on the

Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel The Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) is a scientific advisory panel tasked with recommending plans for U.S. investment in particle physics research over the next ten years, on the basis of various funding scenarios. The P5 is a t ...

Selected publications

* * * * * *

Selected awards, honors

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 ...

Fellow, elected 2016. * American Physical Society Fellow, 2014, "For his leading role in heavy-flavor physics at the Tevatron collider, including the first evidence of

CP violation In particle physics, CP violation is a violation of CP-symmetry (or charge conjugation parity symmetry): the combination of C-symmetry (charge conjugation symmetry) and P-symmetry ( parity symmetry). CP-symmetry states that the laws of physics s ...

in bottom mesons, and for significant contributions to triggering at the Collider." * Arnold O. Nordsieck Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2014, "For his creation and inspirational teaching of innovative courses that introduce undergraduates to the philosophy, fidelity, and elegance of science." *

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, University Scholar, 2013. "The University Scholars Program recognizes outstanding members of the faculty and provides each with a funding allocation to enhance their scholarly activities." *

National Science Foundation CAREER Award The National Science Foundation CAREER award is the most prestigious award presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States Federal Government to support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through rese ...

, 2004. *

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

Outstanding Junior Investigator Award, 2002. "A Stereo Tracking System for the CDF Detector."

References

External links

* * (1:08 hours) * (video, 2:31 minutes) * (video 46:31 minutes)
A Tiny Particle’s Wobble Could Upend the Known Laws of Physics
By Dennis Overbye, ''The'' ''New York Times''.
Muons: 'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature
By Pallab Ghosh, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitts, Kevin T. 1965 births 21st-century American physicists Educators from Indiana Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Physical Society Living people University of Oregon alumni Grainger College of Engineering faculty