Rik Gran

Professor of Physics

Phys1035 Energy course information

Phys5053 Data Analysis Methods course information

Current Projects:

Link to potential student (undergraduate and Master's) projects.

Working on the MINERvA and DUNE neutrino experiments.

You may be interested in information about these experiments:
The MINERvA neutrino interaction experiment
The DUNE deep underground neutrino experiment
The MINOS neutrino oscillation experiment

Also starting some work toward the world's energy future. Especially focused on the opportunities and consequences of integrating renewables like solar and wind into a regional or local energy mix.

Formerly worked on the MINOS long baseline neutrino experiment.
Formerly worked on the WALTA experiment page plus a tarball of code for the QNET2 DAQ, because the web never forgets waltasource-20121018.tar.gz

Education:

University of Minnesota. Ph.D. July 2002, Physics.
Carleton College, B.A. 1994, Double major Physics, Music.
Eden Prairie High School, Minnesota.

An oldish Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

And a link to my inspirehep.net author page

on forgetting:

Someone once told me: "Forgetting is not like not remembering."

Thirty years ago, I thought this was an obvious, useful truth -- but I no longer know why.

But the experience well prepared me for the ethical dilemmas in my career as a palimpsest eraser.

Physics:

I am interested in neutrino oscillations and measuring the properties of neutrinos, their mass, and their interaction with other matter. A lot of my work is in neutrino-nucleus interactions observed in the near detectors of the MINOS long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment, and also the dedicated neutrino interaction experiment MINERvA. In addition to the basic measurements, I work on applying our knowledge of cross sections to improve the sensitivity of long baseline oscillation experiments to the oscillation parameters and CP violation.

My thesis experiment (now longer ago than I can remember) was a coincidence experiment between cosmic ray air showers and the underground Soudan2 detector. The goal was to estimate the elemental composition of the cosmic rays in the knee region of the CR spectrum. For this I built or rebuilt parts of the air shower array, and handled all of the details of the hardware, analysis, and simulation.

No new acronyms were created in the process of completing my thesis.

Short term plans:

Panic.

Other projects:

My Virtual Bookshelf Project to see what I've been reading.

I might know a little something or other about folding lawnchairs. Why do you ask?

Send me e-mail! So quaint, so old-school! As a spam avoidance technique, my e-mail address is rgran and it is at d umn (missing at least two dots).