Peter Cox
Physicist Peter Cox loves being part of a scientific community who share each other’s successes.
It is not just the big discoveries that drive Peter Cox in his research into the nature of dark matter, but also the small pieces of the puzzle he is helping to put in place along the way.
The physicist and Centre member enjoys the day-to-day problem solving involved in his work with the University of Melbourne, building on existing knowledge of particle physics.
“My motivation has always been to try and understand how the universe works and to explore the big questions, like the identity of dark matter.”
“But it’s also about the day-to-day of solving small problems and understanding how a particular aspect of a model or calculation works. I enjoy adding a little piece to the puzzle,” Cox said.
It is an interest that extends back to Cox’s childhood, when he loved maths and badgered his teachers to teach him more.
“I think I might have been a bit of a nuisance,” he said.
“Since I was very young, I have always loved numbers. At school, I liked that there was always a nice, simple solution to be found. It’s not quite as simple anymore!”
Cox grew up in Melbourne, and experienced his first taste of a scientific career when he did work experience at Swinburne University of Technology in Year 10, visiting the Parkes Observatory and meeting enthusiastic and supportive researchers.
“I already knew I wanted to work in science or engineering, but this was my first insight into what a career in science was like. All of the researchers were passionate about their work, and they wanted to tell me about it.”
After achieving his Bachelor of Science, Masters and PhD at the University of Melbourne, Cox carried out postdoctoral research at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe at the University of Tokyo. The institute was a hub for international researchers and Cox enjoyed being part of the community.
“It was an opportunity to overlap with different researchers from around the world and get a sense of what the broader community was working on.”
During his time in Japan he immersed himself in a culture which combines the modern with the traditional. He lived on the outskirts of Tokyo and traveled to surrounding cities like Kyoto.
His research has also taken him to Minnesota, where his PhD supervisor was based.
In late 2020, Cox was awarded a three-year Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellowship, which he will begin in coming months. In this role, he will work at the interface of theory and experiment, developing new models of potential dark matter candidates and producing precise predictions that will be used by direct detection experiments searching for dark matter.
Beyond the fellowship and into the future, Cox would like to continue to be part of the community of researchers trying to unlock the mystery of dark matter.
“When there’s a discovery that shifts our understanding, the whole community gets really excited , and that excitement can lead to new ideas and research directions. It is one reason I really enjoy being part of the scientific community,” he said.