Science writing
Stories about ghostly neutrinos, the quirks of working in a cleanroom and building a dark matter detector in an underground science facility. For video scripts, scroll to bottom. Bylines prior to September 2022 are under Erin Lorraine Broberg.
Majorana Demonstrator finds ‘tantalizing’ new purpose
Scientists are using a detector originally designed to study neutrinos to pin down an elusive nuclear physics measurement.
Symmetry Magazine
Think like a computer
A pilot program, designed in part by educators at Sanford Underground Research Facility, is introducing computational thinking into elementary school curricula.
Symmetry Magazine
Researchers evaluate SURF extremophiles in effort to trap carbon dioxide deep underground
South Dakota Mines researchers study microbial acceleration of carbon mineralization with extremophiles found at SURF
To advance geothermal systems, EGS Collab maps the hidden fractures behind a wall of rock
Through core evaluation and wireline geophysical logs, researchers map the unseen rifts and fractures hidden within the rock
Pushing rock to the breaking point with thermal breakout studies
Researchers measure in-situ stress by heating, breaking rock to advance the safety of carbon capture and storage
The best place to be
Martin and Eileen Brosnahan retire after life-long careers at Homestake Gold Mine and Sanford Underground Research Facility
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From the atmosphere to the underground
Read the travelogue of a xenon atom as it journeys from the air we breathe to a dark-matter detector a mile underground.
Symmetry Magazine
New discoveries from the same old rocks
David Vardiman retires after 30 years as a geologist with Homestake Gold Mine and Sanford Underground Research Facility
The history of the Ross Hoists
Sanford Lab’s cutting-edge research supported by the lasting power of 1930s engineering
Researchers taking inventory of the Universe have found too much and too little
After an unexpected tally of lithium in space, researchers try to pinpoint where cosmological estimates may have gone awry
SHERLOC goes to Mars
The mystery of ancient life on Mars calls for inter-planetary detective work
CASPAR’s newest target: neon-22
Upcoming experiment may explain how neon fuels the formation of life-giving elements in the stars
Shh! These tests will enable a quieter search for dark matter
The LUX-ZEPLIN collaboration has published results showing radioactive background levels for experiment’s components, creating a library for future rare event searches.
Symmetry Magazine
Why DUNE? Searching for the origin of matter
Part I in our series exploring the science goals of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment
Video Scripting
Watch the most recent videos from Sanford Underground Research Facility, scripted and narrated by yours truly.
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LUX-ZEPLIN inner detector transported nearly a mile underground
Searching for life deep underground
Dark Matter Day Q&A with LZ Researchers
Majorana Demonstrator tests detectors for LEGEND-200
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Road tripping with a germanium detector
Dodging cosmic rays, researchers make a cross-country road trip to from Tennessee to South Dakota
Setting a 'gold standard' for ultra-pure particle detectors
Berkeley Lab's Alan Smith drove the science of measuring radioactivity in experiments’ materials and components
The nuts and bolts of experimental science
To test a theory, collaborations must distill models of universal proportions into tangible nuts and bolts, twisting them into functional machines. This process demands the abstract realm of physics and the practical world of engineering to meet.
Extremophiles that saved the waterways
In the 1970s, Whitlock had a novel idea: develop a strain of cyanide-munching bacteria that could clean Homestake's water before it was released into nearby stream systems.
The experimental art of particle physics
Nicolas Angelides didn’t intend to be a physicist. It was art that first captured his attention. These days, however, he sees very little distinction between the two disciplines.
Anything but abandoned
A thriving gold mine, delving 8,000 feet below a modest mining town with houses crouched on steep hillsides—it’s tempting for writers to create a ghost town of Lead and a decrepit caricature of the Homestake Gold Mine. There’s just one problem, though—this facility is anything but abandoned.
Underground personnel capacity doubles at Sanford Lab
LBNF project upgrades refuge chamber, increases evacuation capabilities
A case study in happy extremophiles
The touchy science behind achieving a pure, thriving culture of methanotrophs
Geothermal group takes their research up a level — to the 4100
SIGMA-V experiment moves 750 feet up to learn more about hot rocks 600 miles away
LZ Time Projection Chamber completed
Collaboration pieces together the 'heart' of LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter detector
A thunderous idea at the forefront of dark energy research
Gravitational waves likened to a cosmic thunderstorm in an effort to unravel the universe’s strange expansion