Anna McCoy, a 2018 Notre Dame Physics PhD, has been selected to be a Facility for Rare Isotopes Beams (FRIB) theory fellow.
The FRIB Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA) is a coalition of scientists from universities and national laboratories who seek to foster advancements in theory related to diverse areas of FRIB science; optimize the coupling between theory and experiment. FRIB Theory Fellows are highly qualified individuals with exceptional potential. They are expected to have the independence of action of faculty/staff and to develop a high-caliber research effort relevant to rare-isotope science. The initial appointment is for two years, and may be extended up to a total of five years.
The FRIB Theory Alliance conducts their a search for two new FRIB theory fellows each fall. The interviews took place in-person in December 2021. Following the recommendation of the search committee Anna McCoy and Chien-Yeah Seng were selected as the two new FRIB theory fellows. McCoy's research plan is to explore symmetries in nuclei to characterize their properties at a more fundamental level. Seng's research plan is to use nuclear processes for searches of physics beyond the standard model. McCoy will be hosted by Florida State University and Seng will be hosted by University of Washington.
McCoy is a postdoc with the Institute for Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington. She was advised by Prof. Mark Caprio during her time at the University of Notre Dame.