I’m a PhD student at UC Berkeley and a part of the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics (BCTP). I broadly study theories for physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM), with an emphasis on the particle theory of dark matter (DM) (although much of my work would probably be considered large perturbations around this problem). We know that dark matter is a real observable phenomenon, but what is its fundamental nature? My research involves constructing, predicting, and searching for evidence of signatures of hypothetical dark matter particle candidates, and in particular my specialty is searching for DM through astrophysical methods. This usually means I take some dark matter particle model (such as axions, higgsinos, or sterile neutrinos) and I look for ways that this model could imprint itself through astrophysical phenomena (stars, galaxies, gravitational waves, etc.), combined with a variety of often novel and intensive statistical and data analysis techniques. Outside of physics, I enjoy playing jazz and orchestral bass, scuba diving, and consuming large quantities of science fiction.
Orion Ning
