Jon J. Thaler

Professor of Physics

Professor Jon Thaler received his Ph.D. in physics from Columbia University in 1972. After serving as an instructor and assistant professor at Princeton University (1972-1977), he joined the physics faculty at Illinois in 1977. Professor Thaler's research activities are focused on experimental high energy physics and particle physics. His investigations are aimed at determining the properties of quarks, both in their role as constituents of nuclear matter and as isolated elementary particles. He is an expert on the construction of fast trigger systems—the electronics that determines when data should be recorded—for high energy physics detectors. His contributions to the development of hardware and software systems for large collider detectors were recognized by his elevation to Fellow of the American Physical Society.

In 2000/01, Professor Thaler was elected to serve as spokesperson for the CLEO Collaboration, a team of more than 150 high-energy physicists from 25 universities who are studying the production and decay of beauty and charm quarks and tau leptons produced in the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR).

In 2003, Professor Thaler changed his research focus to astrophysics, motivated by the increasingly close connection between paricle physics ("inner space) and cosmology ("outer space). He no longer works at particle accelerators; instead, he measures particle properties using astronomical methods.

Professor Thaler is also a concerned and gifted teacher. Most recently, he has created a new course, Physics 100, which is designed to address the dual problems of inadequate secondary-school preparation for some freshman students and the recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups in science, engineering, and mathematics curricula. Professor Thaler's primary objective in developing Physics 100 was to provide underprepared and underrepresented students with the skills and self-confidence needed for success in the physical sciences and engineering by integrating state-of-the-art educational technologies with innovative pedagogy and by providing core knowledge in traditional physics topics. Corollary objectives were to provide student opportunities for leadership in collaborative projects, to create a culture of intellectual enquiry by providing a range of experiences that promote critical and analytical thinking, and to disseminate our curriculum to physics teachers in secondary schools, community colleges, and peer universities.

Research Area: observational cosmology, focusing on the properties of dark matter and dark energy, as well as neutrino masses and diverse phenomena (Kuiper Belt Objects, "killer " asteroids, etc.).

Description of Current Research

Dark Energy Survey (DES) This project will build a new 500-megapixel CCD camera for the 4-m Blanco telesctop at CTIO in Chile. We will use it to study supernovas and the time development of large scale structure (the distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies). These measurements will begin to constrain the properties of the dark energy, possibly testing whether or not it is Einstein's cosmological constant. We wil begin collecting data in 2009.

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) We will build a new 8.4-m telescope optimized for cosmological studies. Beginning in about 2014, we will survey half of the sky, mapping the time development of structure formation during the past 12 billion years. We will also observe more than a million supernovas. This enormous data set will yield precise measurements of the properties of dark matter and dark energy and may also allow us to make the first measurement of the mass of the neutrino.

For more information, please visit the research home page.

Recent Selected Publications

Coan, TE, et al. (CLEO Collaboration). Weiss-Zumino current and the structure of the decay t^–® K^– p^– K⁺n_t. Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 232001/1-5 (2005).

Adams, NE, et al. (CLEO Collaboration). Observation of 1-0- final states from (2S) decays and e+e- annihilation. Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 012005/1-5 (2005).

Adams, GS, et al. (CLEO Collaboration). Measurement of the muonic branching fractions of the narrow Upsilon resonances. Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 012001/1-5 (2005).

Artuso, M, et al. (CLEO Collaboration). Photon transitions in U(2S) and U(3S) decays. Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 032001/1-5 (2005).

Honors and Awards

Fellow, American Physical Society, 1998