About
Unraveling the nature of fundamental particle physics (beyond the Standard Model) and understanding their impact and implications on the cosmos is the focus of Mark Chen’s research. Chen was a member of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) Collaboration that built a large neutrino detector 2 km underground in an active nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario. SNO discovered that solar neutrinos oscillate and solved the 30-year “Solar Neutrino Problem” by observing that solar neutrinos change flavour en route from the core of the Sun, where they are produced, to experiments on Earth where they are detected.
Specializing in astroparticle physics, Chen is now the Director of SNO+, the follow-up experiment to the original SNO. SNO+ seeks to determine if neutrinos are their own antiparticle or not. Chen is also involved in searches for particle dark matter (direct detection) and researching new techniques for detecting different dark matter candidates.
Awards
- NSERC John C. Polanyi Award, 2006
- Premier’s Research Excellence Award, 2003
- John S. Stemple Memorial Prize in Physics, 1993
Relevant Publications
Chen, M.C. (2014). Geoneutrino Detection. In H.D. Holland & K.K. Turekian (Eds.), Treatise on Geochemistry Vol. 15. 2nd ed. (pp. 443–53). Elsevier.
Aharmim, B., Ahmed, S.N., Anthony, A.E., Barros, N., et al. (2013). Combined Analysis of all Three Phases of Solar Neutrino Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. Physical Review Journals, C88, 025501.