Alexandra Gade (born 1974) is a

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

who studies the

nuclear structure Understanding the structure of the atomic nucleus is one of the central challenges in nuclear physics. Models The liquid drop model The liquid drop model is one of the first models of nuclear structure, proposed by Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcke ...

of heavy elements,

exotic nuclei A hypernucleus is similar to a conventional atomic nucleus, but contains at least one hyperon in addition to the normal protons and neutrons. Hyperons are a category of baryon particles that carry non-zero strangeness quantum number, which is conse ...

, and rare

isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numbers) ...

s, using techniques including

nuclear spectroscopy Nuclear spectroscopy is a superordinate concept of methods that uses properties of a nucleus to probe material properties. By emission or absorption of radiation from the nucleus information of the local structure is obtained, as an interaction of ...

, nucleon knockouts, and

Coulomb excitation Coulomb excitation is a technique in experimental nuclear physics to probe the electromagnetic aspect of nuclear structure. In coulomb excitation, a nucleus is excited by an inelastic collision with another nucleus through the electromagnetic intera ...

. Educated in Germany, she works at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the US as a professor of physics in the department of physics and astronomy and as deputy scientific director of the facility for rare isotope beams.

Education and career

Gade studied experimental nuclear physics at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

, working there with Peter von Brentano. She earned a diploma in 1998, and completed her doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) in 2002. After postdoctoral research at the

National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory The National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), located on the campus of Michigan State University was a isotope, rare isotope research facility in the United States.Bruns, Adam (January 2009How Are You Helping Companies Grow?''Site Sel ...

(NCSL) at Michigan State University, she continued at the NCSL as an assistant professor beginning in 2004, and added an affiliation as an assistant professor of physics at Michigan State in 2006. She was promoted to associate professor in 2009 and full professor in 2013. From 2015 to 2022 she was chief scientist for the NCSL. She has been deputy scientific director of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams since 2020.

Recognition

Gade was named a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of American Physic ...

(APS) in 2013, after a nomination from the APS Division of Nuclear Physics, "for her work in developing sensitive techniques based on gamma-ray detection to explore the properties of rare isotopes". In 2020 she was named as a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, "for distinguished contributions to the field of nuclear physics, particularly for gamma-ray spectroscopy of rare isotopes and elucidating the structural properties of nuclei". She was the 2015 recipient of the Zdzisław Szymański Prize of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

, given "in recognition of her leadership in the exploration of the structure of exotic nuclei at the extremes of neutron to proton ratio and, in particular, for her seminal studies of spectroscopic factors in nuclei far from the valley of nuclear stability". The Diploma was awarded on September 12th during the XXXIV Mazurian Lakes Conference of Physics held in September 6–13, 2015 at Piaski, Poland.

References

External links

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gade, Alexandra 1974 births Living people German physicists German women physicists American physicists American women physicists Nuclear physicists University of Cologne alumni Michigan State University faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society