Deepa Thomas
Alma materUniversity of Mysore (2004-2009) Utrecht University (2009-2014)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas at Austin:

Postdoctoral Fellow (2014-2019) Research Associate (2019-2023)

Assistant Professor (2023-present)

Deepa Thomas (PhD) is an Assistant Professor and nuclear physicist at the University of Texas at Austin[1]. She studies Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) using the ALICE detector at CERN.

Education

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Thomas studied at the University of Mysore and obtained her Master's degree in Physics in 2009. She then went on to study at Utrecht University and obtained her PhD in Nuclear Physics in 2014[2].

Current Work

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Shortly after she received her PhD, Thomas began working at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014 as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2019 she began her work at UT Austin as a Research Associate. As of 2023, Thomas is an Assistant Professor at UT Austin. Her research studies Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of strong interactions in the Standard Model of particle physics. She also studies Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), a hot and dense QCD matter, that is produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Unlike in ordinary matter, quarks and gluons are not confined within short distances but can roam freely over distances larger than the hadronic scale in the state of QGP. Understanding this novel state of matter offers a new way to learn how quarks and gluons bind to form stable particles like the proton. Her research group uses special probes, such as heavy quarks (charm and beauty), to study the properties of QGP. These studies are performed using the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "CNS Welcomes New Faculty for the 23-24 Academic Year | College of Natural Sciences". cns.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  2. ^ "INSPIRE". inspirehep.net. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  3. ^ "Deepa Thomas | Department of Physics". physics.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-17.