Robert Wilson

Experimental High-Energy Physics

For many years I have worked in traditional "accelerator-based" high-energy physics in the quest to understand the fundamental forces of nature. The SLD experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was a major focus of my research before it was completed; I currently participate in BaBar; and I am involved in the development of the International Linear Collider.

More recently, I have become involved in rather different types of experiments, which require low background rates and therefore must be carried out underground. In particular, I am investigating the physics potential of a future Underground Nucleon Decay and Neutrino Oscillation (UNO) experiment. In connection with this, I have taken a leadership role in the Henderson Underground Science and Engineering Project Collaboration (HUSEP), which recently received one of only two awards award from the National Science Foundation to develop a conceptual design for a Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). The Henderson mine, located about fifty miles west of Denver, is a potential site for both DUSEL and UNO.