David Miller

David Miller's research focuses on answering open questions about the fundamental structure of matter. By studying the quarks and gluons -—the particles that comprise everyday protons and neutrons —produced in the energetic collisions of protons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, Miller conducts measurements using the ATLAS Detector that will seek out the existence of never-before-seen particles, and characterize the particles and forces that we know of with greater precision. Miller's work into the properties and measurements of the experimental signatures of these quarks and gluons –or jets" –is an integral piece of the puzzle used in the recent discovery of the Higgs bosons, searches for new massive particles that decay into boosted top quarks, as well as the hints that the elusive quark-gluon-plasma may have finally been observed in collisions of lead ions.

Besides studying these phenomena, Miller has worked extensively on the construction and operation of the ATLAS detector, including the calorimeter and tracking systems that allow for these detailed measurements. Upgrades to these systems involving colleagues at Argonne National Laboratory, CERN, and elsewhere present an enormous challenge and a significant amount of research over the next several years. Miller is also working with state-of-the art high-speed electronics for quickly deciphering the data collected by the ATLAS detector.

Miller received his PhD from Stanford University in 2011 and his BA in Physics from the University of Chicago in 2005. He was a McCormick Fellow in the Enrico Fermi Institute from 2011-2013.