I am ever-curious about how things work. This curiosity has brought me to particle physics, where I look for beyond-standard-model effects (new particles, new interactions, and new symmetries) and develop instrumentation for cutting-edge experiments, like IsoDAR (Isotope Decay-At-Rest), of which I am the co-spokesperson. After finishing my postdoctoral studies at MIT and a PhD at Michigan State University before, I am currently a Research Scientist in the Physics Department at MIT, where my main responsibilities are the IsoDAR experiment and running the MIST ion source laboratory. In particle physics instrumentation, I focus on the development, design, and simulation of particle accelerator systems at the intensity frontier, where space charge and collective non-linear effects dominate the beam physics. For this work, I guide postdocs and students in devising new computational models, using machine learning and AI for particle accelerator simulations, and designing, simulating, and building prototypes, as well as exploring new physics opportunities using our beams. Through IsoDAR, I search for sterile neutrinos, look for axion-like particles, and other potential BSM physics. My vision is to open up a new era of underground experiments bringing the accelerator to the detector, rather than the (usual) other way around.

Daniel Winklehner
Cambridge, 2024