James Beatty, Ph.D.

Dr James Beatty currently serves as chair of the Physics Department of The Ohio State University. At the same time he is pursuing his research looking for the smallest particles in the universe. Understanding how these particles work could be key to further understanding of the relationships of all the components of the energies and particles we know as our universe.

His work focuses on projects in two very remote regions of the world. The Pierre Auger Observatory is based in Western Argentina. It uses widely scattered cosmic ray detectors that send data to OSU for processing and analysis before being forwarded to other project partners. The ANITA Project is based in Antarctica, and depends on the unique characteristics of the vast ice fields to provide a background making the particles – and their tracks – detectable.

This video explores Dr Beatty’s interests in these projects and discusses some of the challenges of managing such huge projects with many players from many institutions and countries. A unique insight into “big science.”

A short preview is also available.