Jennifer Ortiz
Major: Physics Concentration in Astrophysics
Mentor: Dr. Alexandra Miller
About
Background:
Jennifer grew up in San Leandro, California, and attended grade school through the Castro Valley school district in the East Bay area. Similar to Alan Watts, the famous philosophical entertainer, she always questioned her existence and why exactly she arrived here as a human being out of all things. She asked herself if it would be easier for nothing to exist at all. She was curious about the universe, and asked questions such as, What happened before the Big Bang and Is spacetime truly infinite? These existential questions are what drove her to study physics, hopeful to get a better understanding of the universe and how it started, and how it will possibly end.
Research Interests:
Jennifer’s research interests lie in exploring the nature of dark matter and dark energy—mysterious components that make up most of the universe and drive its accelerated expansion. By applying principles of particle physics, she investigates their composition and behavior, to challenge and extend current frameworks like the Standard Model, the Higgs mechanism, and even Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. Her work aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the universe and our place within it.
Current Research:
Jennifer is currently conducting dark matter research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the mentorship of Jingke Xu and Teal Pershing, as part of the GROWTH-MSI program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Their work focuses on detecting one of the leading dark matter candidates: WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles). To support this effort, they are involved in designing silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array boards that will be positioned at the top and bottom of a liquid xenon-filled time projection chamber (TPC). These SiPMs are responsible for detecting scintillation photons produced by various particle interactions. By analyzing nuclear and electron recoil signals, the team aims to identify potential WIMP events and distinguish them from background interactions.