Dark Matter Cosmic Web Simulation. Image Credit: The Millennium Simulation Project
Hello all! I’m Sophia Gad-Nasr, and I completed my PhD in physics at UC Irvine with a focus on cosmology and astroparticle theory. My research focuses on figuring out what the universe is made of, and how it grows, using simulations! I work on a type of dark matter beyond the Cold Dark Matter paradigm—Self-Interacting Dark Matter. You can read about this type of dark matter, and others, in a blog post I wrote.
Presenting my work for my thesis defense on September 25, 2023.
I am also an avid science communicator. My work has earned me many wonderful opportunities, including being a science advisor for the TV show 12 Monkeys, a science consultant with an incredible space artist named Cathrin Machin in one of the best collaborations I’ve ever participated in, and ambassadorships with renowned companies like MOVAGlobes and Vaonis.
I have a particular fondness for hamsters! Some of you may remember Neutrini, the tinisymmetric partner of the Neutrino (I created tinisymmetry for hamsters, and other animals and pets).
My hamster Neutrini acting as the spherical cow, and doing so on my research notes.
Hamsters live pretty short lives, and Neutrini lived (I hope) a great one. I also had two Robo dwarf hamsters friends I called the dark matter sisters: Sterlini, the tinisymmetric partner of the sterile neutrino, and Axini, who as you probably guessed, is the tinisymmetric partner of the axion! They passed over the rainbow bridge to join Neutrini a few months ago.
Axini (left), the tinisymmetric partner of the axion, and Sterlini (right), the tinisymmetric partner of the sterile neutrino!
My next additions to the hamster family were rescues (likely Campbells Dwarf hamsters), which were 4 weeks old when I got them: Gravitini and Gluini! We initially thought they were girls, but it turned out that Gluini was a boy! There was no litter, thankfully. Gluini passed over the Rainbow Bridge very young (11 months), while Gravitini was my longest lived hamster, making it to 2 years and 3 months before joining Gluini over the Rainbow Bridge.
Gravitini (left), the tinisymmetric partner of the hypothetical particle the graviton, and Gluini (right), the tinisymmetric partner of the Gluon!
After Gluini and Gravitini, I adopted another pair of Campbells Dwarfs, names Muini and Charmini, after the muon and charm quark. These two girls hold a special place in my heart! They had similar features and behaviors to Gluie and Gravie, with Charmie being timid like Gluie, and Muie being feisty like Gravie, but gentle and loving like Gluie. Muini also had the eyes of Gluini (squinty!), and the behaviors of Gravitini. She developed a similar method of “calling” when she wanted to see her humans: Gravitini used to get up on the rooftop of the blue house and get on her tippy toes when she wanted to see me, while Muini would get on her tippy toes on her little carpet.
Charmini (gray cutie with black eyes, left), and Muini (light blonde (?) with ruby eyes, right) together eating spinach.
Charmini joined my hamsters over the Rainbow Bridge at 1 year and 2 weeks, and Muini made it to 1 year and 8 months before joining. I have not added a new member to my family since, as I am supposed to be starting a postdoctoral fellowship in Israel as a Zuckerman Fellow (which has of course been postponed due to the current situation; sending my sympathies to anyone with family that has been affected). Since I had such a fantastic undergraduate advisor, Sean Tulin, he offered me a Visiting Postdoc position at my undergrad institution for a short stint while I wait! It has been great getting to work with him again.
I plan on adding some new material to the blog soon, so stay tuned! And, if you’re new, welcome! 😊
The Astropartigirl 