Nicole Bell (scientist)
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Nicole F. Bell (born 1975) is an Australian physicist who is a professor at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
. She is a theoretical physicist who works on dark matter,
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 ...
physics, and other topics in particle and astroparticle theory. Bell is president of the
Australian Institute of Physics The Australian Institute of Physics was established in 1963, when it replaced the Australian Branch of the British Institute of Physics based in London.
. She was awarded the 2020
Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...
Nancy Millis Medal for her work on dark matter and particle theory.


Education and career

Bell is from
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. She earned her doctorate at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
with thesis research on neutrino oscillations and the early universe. After earning her doctorate, Bell moved to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and joined the
Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located in Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Fermilab's Main Injector, two miles (3.3 km ...
as a research fellow. After three years at Fermilab, Bell was awarded a Sherman Fairchild Prize Fellowship 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 ...
. Bell returned to the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
in 2007. In 2011, she became a Chief Investigator of the
Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
Centre of Excellence for
Particle Physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
at the Terascale, and in 2020, the Theory Program leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics. In 2021 Bell was elected vice president of the
Australian Institute of Physics The Australian Institute of Physics was established in 1963, when it replaced the Australian Branch of the British Institute of Physics based in London.
. Bell became president of the Australian Institute of Physics in 2023.


Awards and honours

* 2001 Bragg Gold Medal in Physics * 2012
Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
Future Fellowship * 2016 Elected 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 fundamental contributions regarding the interface of astrophysics and particle physics, particularly in neutrino astrophysics and cosmology, and dark matter phenomenology."'' * 2020 Elected Fellow of the
Australian Institute of Physics The Australian Institute of Physics was established in 1963, when it replaced the Australian Branch of the British Institute of Physics based in London.
* 2020 Australian Academy of Science Nancy Millis Medal for Women in Science


Personal life

Bell has three children.


References


External links


Author page
at
INSPIRE-HEP INSPIRE-HEP is an open access digital library for the field of high energy physics (HEP). It is the successor of the Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES) database, the main literature database for high energy physics since the 1 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Nicole Living people 1975 births University of Melbourne alumni Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Australian women physicists 20th-century Australian physicists 21st-century Australian physicists Fellows of the American Physical Society Presidents of the Australian Institute of Physics