Leading dark matter scientists to talk in Ballarat

Elisabetta Barberio in the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory

One of Australia’s top dark matter scientist sand leader of efforts to find dark matter in regional Victoria will speak at The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute on Wednesday, 7 August.

ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics Director Professor Elisabetta Barberio will deliver a talk about dark matter and the latest at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) – the only underground physics laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere.

SUPL was built by Ballarat’s H Troon in the Stawell Gold Mines and will host the internationally-significant SABRE South experiment. The experiment aims to determine the nature of dark matter: one of the biggest mysteries of the universe.

Professor Barberio is leading the project and is looking forward to talking about her work in Ballarat in the lead up to National Science Week.

“The nature of dark matter is one of the great scientific questions of our time and it would be extraordinary if we could help provide some answers through our work in regional Victoria,” she said.

“The laboratory was built underground in Stawell to ensure that cosmic radiation does not impact our results.

“The data we collect will be compared with the results recorded by a similar experiment in Italy to determine whether dark matter has been detected. These results will be a huge step forward in our understanding of the universe.

“Whether you are a school student studying physics or a member of the community who is interested in science, I think it is really exciting to hear about the world-class research happening in your backyard.”

Professor Barberio was born and raised in Italy and is a professor of physics at The University of Melbourne. She was recently awarded Italy’s highest honour, the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in recognition of her outstanding contributions to particle physics research, including seminal research that facilitated two Nobel Prizes in physics: 2008 Kobayashi and masukawa, and 2013 Englert and Higgs.

She was part of a large team of physicists involved in the discovery of the Higgs boson, known as the God particle for its once mysterious role in creating mass and forming the foundations of existence.

The public talk in Ballarat is part of the National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip which travels across Australia to share the joy of science with schools and communities.

The talk free and Q&A session to follow is open to all ages. Register your attendance on: The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute website.