Research Bio
McKinsey's research centers on non-accelerator particle physics, particle astrophysics, and low temperature physics. In particular, he works on the development of new detectors using liquefied noble gases, which are useful in looking for physics beyond the Standard Model. Applications include the search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), neutrinoless double beta decay, and the measurement of the low energy solar neutrino flux. He also works in condensed matter and atomic physics, developing optical methods for imaging metastable helium molecules in superfluid helium, with application toward visualization of quantum turbulence.
Research Expertise and Interest
dark matter, noble gases, cryogenics, high voltages, particle physics, astrophysics, low temperature physics, detector physics, neutrinos
In the News
Detector’s last experiment narrows search for dark matter
A 20-month experiment to detect dark matter from the depths of an abandoned gold mine has come to an end, narrowing the search for, but failing to find, an elusive particle that should be everywhere.
World’s most sensitive dark matter detector gets even better
The world’s most sensitive experimental search for dark matter has gotten 20 times more sensitive thanks to new techniques that reduce the background interfering with efforts to catch these mysterious particles that comprise 85 percent of all matter in the universe.