Ritchie Patterson

B.A., 1981, Physics, Cornell University. Ph.D., 1990, Physics, University of Chicago. Research Associate, Cornell Laboratory of Nuclear Studies, 1990-93. Assistant Professor, Physics, Cornell University, 1994-99; Associate Professor, Physics, Cornell University, 1999-2005; Professor, Physics, Cornell University, 2005-present. National Young Investigator, 1994-99; Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1994-96; Fellow, American Physical Society, elected 2003; Provost’s Award for Distinguished Scholarship, 2005; Department Chair 2009-11; Director, Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education (CLASSE), 2012- present; Director, Center for Bright Beams, 2016-present.

Website(s)

Overview

Experimental particle physics; physics beyond the standard model; weak interactions.

Departments/Programs

Physics

Graduate Fields

Physics

Affiliations

Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education
Laboratory for Elementary-Particle Physics (LEPP)
Center for Bright Beams

Research

Our model of elementary particles describes an enormous number of experimental results, including the Higgs boson candidate that was recently discovered at the LHC. However the Standard Model falls short of explaining other phenomena such as dark matter, the disappearance of anti-matter from the universe, and the small size of the radiative corrections to the Higgs mass. My research uses data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to seek the new phenomena and particles that may explain these mysteries. Inspired by the work of Cornell’s theory group, I am currently searching for supersymmetry (SUSY) signatures that do not assume “R-parity”, opening new territory relative to many earlier SUSY searches at the LHC, which assumed that R-parity is conserved. New students are welcome.

I also direct the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education (CLASSE), which means that I have the distinct privilege of working with Cornell’s accelerator physics group and the CHESS national x-ray user facility.

Last but not least, I direct the Center for Bright Beams (CBB), which is a new NSF Science and Technology Center led by Cornell. CBB aims to increase the brightness of electron beams to open new realms in research and advance manufacturing and medicine by taking an interdisciplinary approach to overcoming today’s barriers. It is a collaborative effort that currently involves ten colleges and universities and three national labs.

Graduate Students
Jennifer Chu
Dan Quach