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Elena Aprile

Experimental Astrophysicist

Elena Aprile is a professor of physics at Columbia University and is internationally recognized for her experimental work with noble liquid detectors for research in gamma-ray astrophysics and particle astrophysics. She is the founder and spokesperson of the XENON Dark Matter experiment, currently the most sensitive among direct searches for dark matter worldwide, and the one with the highest discovery potential. Aprile has pioneered the development of the liquid xenon imaging detector technology used in XENON and similar experiments. Her publications, review article in Review of Modern Physics, and book on the properties of liquid xenon for radiation detection are widely referred to. She has served on numerous committees and panels, the last one being the National Academies Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010 Program Prioritization Panel on Particle Astrophysics and Gravitation (2009-2010). From experiments geared to answer fundamental questions—such as the nature of dark matter and the neutrino—to new devices with advanced capabilities in medical and industrial imaging, the kind of detector pioneered by Aprile during her long term at Columbia University will continue to play a vital role.

Past Programs Featuring Elena Aprile

Friday, June 3, 2011 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Thursday, June 2, 2011 | 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Participants