April 1, 2016

Colloquium Topic: The Universe as a Lab for Fundamental Physics: Results From Spider and Future Long-Duration Stratospheric Balloon Missions

Dr. Jones will describe recent results from observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background, including a status report on the recent flight of the Spider experiment, a balloon-borne CMB polarimeter.  He will also discuss a convergence of observational needs and technological capabilities that provide intriguing opportunities for improving our understanding of both the late- and early-time evolution of the Universe.

 

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Colloquium Speaker: William Jones

Dr. William Jones’ research is focused on the measurement of the anisotropy in temperature and polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB), with emphasis on large scale polarization as an observational probe of Inflation, work that is carried out using both orbital and sub–orbital millimeter wavelength polarimeters. His significant contributions include the design and integration of the polarized receivers and optics for the BOOMERanG-03 experiment, used in the Planck High Frequency Instrument (HFI), QUAD, and BICEP instruments; the science analysis of the BOOMERanG-03 data set, and pioneering the use of large-format planar-antenna coupled arrays for CMB polarimetry. His group is currently leading the integration of the Spider experiment and is heavily involved in the science analysis of the Planck mission data. He is a Planck Scientist and a member of the HFI Core Team.

Dr. Jones received his BA in Physics from Princeton University in 1998, and his PhD in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 2005. He was a postdoctoral Director’s Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2006-2008, and joined the Princeton University Physics Department faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2008.