NNA2 #61 dives into MRIs and what we can and cannot learn about the brain with neuroscience researcher Sam Carpenter, exploring how protons are structured, inside and out, with physics grad student Nicole Lewis, and talking about why we play - or don’t play - video games with Mark Kazmierski.

Nicole Lewis – Unpacking the Proton

Scientists have known since the 60s that the proton is made of smaller particles called quarks and gluons that are tightly bound together by the strong nuclear force.  This process is responsible for 98% percent of the mass of the visible universe.  Which would be great if we had any idea how it worked. Lewis studies proton-proton collisions that are at a high enough energy that the proton breaks up into a spray of particles.  By studying the particles that come out of this spray and how they are arranged in space, we can learn more about the internal structure of the proton.

About Nicole: Nicole is a physics PhD student at the University of Michigan studying the structure of the proton and part of the PHENIX collaboration at Brookhaven National Lab.  When not thinking about work, she spends most of her time thinking about Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dungeons and Dragons.