Since 1909 the Department has had a tradition of educating scientists, engineers, and teachers who have distinguished themselves as leaders in industry and academia.
The CODEX-β detector.
Credit: Carlos Vazquez Sierra, University of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
Could it be that at least some of the novel particles that Large Hadron Collider collisions make are outside of its famously massive detectors? A prototype detector called CODEX-β will try to find out – and it has now recorded its first data at CERN. The collaboration around CODEX-β – and its proposed larger version, CODEX-b – includes several institutes from around the world, including an OU scientist. CODEX-b is designed to test a different way of searching for hidden particles: looking for signs of new physics that could travel some distance from an LHC collision before decaying in a quiet, shielded space nearby.
The main experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN are among the best tools scientists have for exploring why our universe is the way it is. Between CMS, ATLAS, LHCb, and ALICE, massive amounts of data from these four experiments have given many important details to scientists. But nothing among that data has yet confirmed a break with the current theory of particle physics, the Standard Model. The Standard Model has been very resilient, describing the known elementary particles with remarkable precision, and so far LHC data matches the predictions and calculations inferred by the model. However, it is incomplete, as it still leaves major questions unanswered, among which are: What is dark matter? Why is there more matter than antimatter in the universe? Why does the Higgs boson have the properties it does?
Hidden particles could be a part of the answer. At the same time, the LHC’s main experiments are not optimized for every possible kind of signal. CODEX-b is built on the idea that new particles might already be produced in LHC collisions, but that they are difficult to spot near the busy collision point. Some could travel several meters before turning back into ordinary matter, leaving traces in places where dedicated detectors like CODEX-b can be designed to look.
CODEX-b is intended to find something known as long-lived particles. Most particles produced in LHC collisions turn into other particles in vanishingly short amounts of time in a process called particle decay. Decay products are often the signals that point to new particles. Decays have been thought to happen within the space of the massive LHC detectors, but if the decays happen later – if the particles were longer-lived – they might decay outside of the scope of the detector. CODEX-b would have a chance of picking them up. Those events could carry information about new physics important to our understanding of the universe.
CODEX-β, which began taking data in May 2026, measures about two meters on each side, roughly a fifth the size of the proposed CODEX-b detector. Its purpose is to test the detector concept in real LHC conditions and to provide measurements needed for the design of the full experiment. The aim is to create a search region with as little background as possible.
“Designing and building this prototype was a tremendous effort by a small group of dedicated high-energy physics experimentalists, theorists, and engineers, many of whom donated their spare time to the effort,” says Philip Ilten, a professor at the University of Cincinnati in the US and spokesperson for the experiment. “The data from this prototype will be essential to realizing this type of detector concept, showing that we really can search for new physics this way.”
“Prototypes like CODEX-β are important demonstrations of new detector concepts,” says Michael Wilkinson, research scientist at OU and installation and commissioning convener for CODEX-β. “They show the suitability of the technology and provide data about the background environment ahead of investing in larger projects like CODEX-b.”
First proposed in 2017, CODEX-b has grown into an international collaboration of around 60 members at about 20 institutions. If approved by CERN, the full detector would be located next to the LHCb detector.
On May 27 and May 28, postdoc Sagarika Basak, faculty members Grant Biedermann and Doerte Blume, and graduate students Jason Gordon and Jackson Stoppel hosted 20 STEM high school teachers from the State of Oklahoma for a two-day workshop. The workshop was supported by the Dodge Endowment and designed to encourage and support high school teachers interested in bringing quantum concepts into the high school classroom. A key goal was to equip high school teachers with practical ideas and ready-to-use materials that can be taken back to the high school students.
Three of our faculty members recently received awards from the University:
Xinyu Dai received both the Neal Lane Award for Excellence in Research in the Natural Sciences and a Ted S. Webb Presidential Professorship
Mukremin Kilic received the Regents' Award for Superior Research and Creative Activity
John Stupak received a Ted S. Webb Presidential Professorship
Congratulations to all!
OU Professor Emerita Karen Leighly has been named as a 2026 American Astronomical Society (AAS) Fellow for her "innovative in-depth studies of the physical conditions in active galactic nuclei, including the development of models to constrain their physical parameters." Less than 0.5% of AAS members are recognized as Fellows each year.
Congratulations to OU alumnus Saesun Kim, PhD. on being named to the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology Quantum 100. From the IYQ 2025 website, “Representing people at every stage of their professional journey, the Quantum 100 spans academia, industry, education, art, culture, journalism, and policy, reflecting a breadth of skills and specialization.
The Quantum 100 were selected by members of the IYQ steering committee and global coordination bureau, composed of representatives from each of the IYQ Founding Partners, as well as leaders around the world from universities, research institutions, scientific societies, governments, and industry.”
Physics engineering undergraduate student Aubrey McNiel was among the sixteen seniors from the University of Oklahoma who were selected this year as Outstanding Seniors for their exceptional achievements in scholarship, honors, awards, leadership and service.
The group was recognized at a recent ceremony, where OU President Joseph Harroz Jr., OU Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students David Surratt, Ed.D., and representatives from OU colleges presented each recipient with their Outstanding Senior Award.
With access to the Apache Point Observatory 3.5m telescope, Department of Physics and Astronomy graduate student Gracyn Jewett was able to observe the newly discovered 3I/ATLAS interstellar comet. A paper presenting the results from these observations has been accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
In a rare achievement, two University of Oklahoma undergraduate physics and astronomy students were awarded time to observe distant stars at the International Gemini Observatory. Their combined time represents approximately 4.5% of all available time allotted to U.S. astronomers from Aug. 2025 through Jan. 2026.
Alex Gleason and Alex Albright, both seniors in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, are mentored by Mukremin Kilic, professor of astrophysics and cosmology. Their projects will utilize the Gemini North telescope in Maunakea, HI, and the Gemini South telescope in Cerro Pachón, Chile, depending on the time of year.
