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Bio
Dr. Rachel Bartek, Associate Research Professor in the Department of Physics, studies the energy frontier of particle physics using collisions from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located near Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Bartek is an experimental particle physicist and a member of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Collaboration, one of four detectors recording LHC collisions at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Her research focuses on understanding the fundamental structure of matter and exploring physics beyond the Standard Model through searches for new particles and interactions. By examining rare processes and subtle deviations in observed data, Dr. Bartek aims to address some of the most profound questions in modern physics, including the origin of matter–antimatter asymmetry and the nature of dark matter.
Dr. Bartek is leading the team assembling pixel modules in a clean room on campus. With the upcoming High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), Dr. Bartek is actively involved in detector upgrade efforts designed to cope with the increased collision rates and data volumes. In particular, she contributes to the development of advanced silicon tracking detectors that will enable precise vertex reconstruction and particle identification in the challenging HL-LHC environment.
Before joining The Catholic University of America, Dr. Bartek held postdoctoral research fellow positions at National Taiwan University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she played a leading role in building Phase-1 pixel modules and in key physics analyses beyond the Standard Model. Beyond research, she is deeply committed to mentoring students and advancing scientific collaboration within the physics community.