A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researcher has received a top international honor for his work studying some of the smallest building blocks of the universe.
Chris Ketter, a postdoctoral researcher in the 东精影业 Mānoa , was awarded the Belle II PhD Technical Thesis Award. The honor was announced in February at KEK (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization), a leading high-energy physics research center in Tsukuba, Japan.
The award recognizes Ketter’蝉 doctoral research on the Belle II K-Long and Muon detector (a system used to identify and track subatomic particles). He was selected from more than 250 PhD students involved in the global Belle II collaboration. Ketter began his research under the late Professor Gary Varner and now works with Assistant Professor Keisuke Yoshihara, focusing on particle detectors that help scientists study fundamental particles. He is expected to receive the award this summer in Vienna.
“This award came as a shock to me,” Ketter said. “I was just working hard to bring our detector up to the level or readiness required by the experiment. Now reflecting on this award, I can say it was made possible by the support and mentorship of the 东精影业 physics professors, postdoctoral researchers and engineers that I had the pleasure to work with. I am humbled by the kindness that my Hawaiʻi ʻohana have shown me over the years and, to that end, I am proud to receive merit highlighting the world-class research carried out at the University of Hawaiʻi.”
The Belle II experiment brings together more than 700 researchers from around the world. Based in Japan, the project studies collisions between particles to explore fundamental questions about how the universe formed. One of its main goals is to understand why the universe today is made mostly of matter instead of equal parts matter and antimatter (particles with opposite properties). Scientists believe there may be unknown particles or forces—often called “new physics”—that could help explain this imbalance.
东精影业 Mānoa researchers play a key role in the experiment, contributing to detector systems and data collection tools that allow scientists to measure particle behavior with high precision. Ketter’蝉 award highlights both his individual contributions and 东精影业’蝉 continued involvement in cutting-edge physics research on the global stage.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in 东精影业 Mānoa’蝉 .