XXVIIth International Conference on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Interactions (SUSY 2019) and Pre-SUSY Training Workshop (Pre-SUSY 2019)

Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi TX

Investigators

Abstract

This grant award is made to Professor Barbara Szczerbinska at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, in support of the SUSY 2019 Conference and SUSY 2019 Pre-School. The Standard Model of particle physics successfully explains virtually all data which has ever been collected at high-energy collider experiments. Supersymmetry (SUSY) is one of most elegant extensions of the Standard Model and allows scientists to address a number of theoretical issues left unresolved by the Standard Model. These include the origin and stability of certain mass scales which appear in the theory. SUSY also predicts the existence of certain particles which might serve as ideal candidates for the unseen dark matter of the universe, searches for which are ongoing in a number of experiments worldwide. SUSY also allows the different fundamental forces to be unified into a single "grand-unified" force at high energy scales. Searches for SUSY are ongoing at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). SUSY also plays a prominent role in string theory and in many other ideas for physics beyond the Standard Model. As a result of the central importance of supersymmetry in modern particle physics, the annual SUSY conferences have grown over the past 20 years to become the dominant annual international physics conferences focused on physics beyond the Standard Model. As such, these conferences provide a unique venue for discussions not only on the status of SUSY but also on diverse topics such as connections between particle physics and cosmology, supersymmetry and its alternatives, the Higgs particle, the physics of neutrinos, dark matter, astro-particle physics, gravitational waves, and string theory. The SUSY conferences also include discussions of results from the Large Hadron Collider, recent neutrino experiments and observations, direct and indirect dark-matter detection experiments, detection of gravitational waves, data from particle colliders, as well as measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale Structure in the universe. Moreover, starting this year, the SUSY conferences will also be featuring connections between high-energy physics and experimental techniques from Atomic/Molecular/Optical (AMO) physics and Quantum Information Science, thereby increasing the interdisciplinarity of this conference. SUSY 2019 (the XXVIIth International Conference on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Interactions) will be hosted by Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), during May 20-24, 2019. The annual SUSY conferences are typically attended by large numbers of young postdocs and students each year, and as a result a tradition has developed wherein each SUSY conference is also preceded by a "school" or training workshop dedicated to providing these future young researchers the background to fully profit from the contents of the conference, as well as to educate them in state-of-the-art methods of experimental and theoretical high-energy physics. This objective is fulfilled through a series of high-level lectures and talks by well-known active researchers in the field of high-energy physics. Accordingly, the SUSY 2019 conference will be preceded by a four-day pre-SUSY training workshop which will take place on TAMU-CC campus during the week prior the SUSY 2019 conference (May 15-18, 2019). Support for the SUSY 2019 Conference and the SUSY 2019 pre-School will have significant broader impacts. Both the Conference and pre-School will help young scientists to interact with theoretical and experimental colleagues and thereby broaden their knowledge of particle physics. These educational goals are important to the integration of young scientists into the community, and to maintain the vibrancy of the field. As such, support for these events advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science and the training of the next generation of researchers in the United States. Throughout the planning for this conference, care has been taken to ensure a diverse set of speakers at all levels as well as a diverse set of conference participants. Moreover, a fund will be made available to help cover the expenses of students from underrepresented institutions, as well as underrepresented minorities and women. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.