Dr. Kevin Graham

Biography

Dr. Kevin Graham Associate Professor, Experimental Physics

Research Interest

For the past few years my research has focused on solar neutrino data collected with the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). We have proven with SNO that neutrinos have mass and we have measured some of the fundamental parameters connecting neutrino mass and flavour states. Following on the success of SNO, the SNOLAB facility for underground particle physics research has been funded with construction nearing completion by the end of 2007. My investigations into the properties of neutrinos continues as a collaborator on the Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO). The EXO detector acts as both a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) and a scintillation counter used to search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe. Such decays can only occur if neutrinos are their own anti-particle (Majorana) and a positive signal would provide a first measurement of the neutrino mass scale. I am also a member of the Dark matter Experiment with Argon Pulse shape discrimation (DEAP). This is a liquid argon scintillation counter designed for low background, low energy threshold detection of nuclear recoil events consistent with WIMP dark matter at the Earth. More than 85% of the universe consists of some unknown dark matter and a direct detection of dark matter particles would be one of the most exciting discoveries of recent times.