COSMIC WISPER:
Michael Staelens
Current position:
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), Universitat de València–CSIC
Field of research:
Particle Physics Phenomenology
What is your career trajectory to date?
Sep 2011 – Apr 2016: Bachelor of Science (Honors Astrophysics), University of Alberta.
Jan 2017 – Sep 2021: Doctor of Philosophy (Physics), University of Alberta.
Sep 2021 – Mar 2023: Research Assistant (Full-Time), Department of Physics, University of Alberta.
May 2023 – Present: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), Universitat de València–CSIC.
What are the most exciting open questions in your research area?
What is the nature of dark matter? What is the mechanism for the generation of mass? Are there hidden or extra dimensions? Why is electric charge quantized? What governs neutrino mixing? What mechanisms contribute to the observed matter–antimatter asymmetry in the Universe?
What role do you think a network like COSMIC WISPers can play in developing WISP searches in Europe?
COSMIC WISPers can significantly impact the development of WISP searches in Europe by serving as a platform for fostering collaboration and synergy among theorists and experimentalists across various research endeavors related to WISP physics. Additionally, by facilitating dialogue and exchange between different experiments, such as those utilizing different detection techniques or focusing on distinct regions of the WISP parameter space, COSMIC WISPers can promote a more concerted effort toward comprehensive searches for WISPs.
