John Beacom

At Ohio State University, we have several open positions in Physics, Astronomy, and CCAPP (Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics)! Please help share the ads with promising candidates. Details in the comments below.

View full thread

Faculty position in Physics connecting particle, nuclear, and astro experiment. Ad coming soon. Check hr.osu.edu/careers/.

Ad now at osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSUCar...

news.osu.eduHow neutrinos, which barely exist, just ran off with a Nobel Prize — again!On Oct. 6, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Francis Halzen (University of Wisconsin) “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neut...

New and improved version of my article about the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen for detecting astrophysical neutrinos with IceCube. This version is being published by the news office of Ohio State University and benifited from their great editing. news.osu.edu/how-neutrino...

View full thread

Faculty position in Astronomy open to all topics. osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSUCar...

Faculty position in Physics in experimental photonics. osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSUCar...

CCAPP Postdoctoral Scholars. osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSUCar...

Faculty position in Physics connecting particle and astro theory. osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSUCar...

medium.comHow Neutrinos, Which Barely Exist, Just Ran Off with a Nobel Prize — Again!John Beacom (Ohio State University), with no assistance from AI

The 2026 Physics Nobel Prize to Francis Halzen is well deserved! I wrote the attached explainer for the public from the perspective of someone who has worked in this field and known Francis for decades. I welcome helping sharing it. Congratulations to Francis and all! medium.com/@beacom.7/ho...

@icecubeneutrino.bsky.social @astrokatie.com @seanmcarroll.bsky.social @aussiastronomer.bsky.social

@startswithabang.bsky.social

medium.comHow Neutrinos, Which Barely Exist, Just Ran Off with a Nobel Prize — Again!John Beacom (Ohio State University), with no assistance from AI

medium.comHow Neutrinos, Which Barely Exist, Just Ran Off with a Nobel Prize — Again!John Beacom (Ohio State University), with no assistance from AI

@icecubeneutrino.bsky.social @astrokatie.com @seanmcarroll.bsky.social @aussiastronomer.bsky.social

One of the fun things on my social media today is seeing how many people are excited about this. Everyone who knows Francis is so happy for him. Part of that is the great science he has done, and part is what a great guy he is.

Ohio State Science Sundays is back for 2026–2027 academic year! We are in a bigger venue with free parking. The events are free, open to all, and are intended for general audiences. After the presentation, there is a nice reception with snacks where you can meet the speaker. Details below.

youtube.comScience Sundays - YouTube

These talks are in-person events in Columbus, Ohio. We don't have a livestream option, but we do post videos of all talks within a few days after each event. The full archive is at www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Quantum computers: the hype, the science, and the need"Classical computers — the kind that come to mind when we say "computer" — are extraordinarily powerful; they've sent people to the moon, mapped the human genome, and discovered new drugs. What then is...

11 Sept

Ohio State Science Sundays is back for 2026–2027 academic year! We will be in a bigger venue with free parking. As always, the events are free, open to all, and are intended for general audiences. After each presentation, there is a nice reception with snacks where you can meet the speaker.

artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

11 Sept

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Outraged: why we fight about morality and politics and how to find common ground"It's obvious we disagree about politics. It's less obvious why we disagree. It might seem like liberals and conservatives have different moral minds, but they don't. We all have the same harm-based mo...

30 June

For more than 20 years, my collaborators and I have been working towards a first detection of the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) --- the faint glow of neutrinos from all past core collapses throughout the universe. Super-Kamiokande now sees a 2.6sigma indication of detecting this.

30 June

It's too early to be sure, but this is very encouraging! Some of our key papers behind this result include the one proposing to add gadolinium to Super-Kamiokande (Beacom and Vagins, arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0...) and our prediction of the DSNB flux (Horiuchi et al., arxiv.org/abs/0812.3157).

www-sk.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jpSuper-Kamiokande Reports the First Indication of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background — A clue to the faint “whispers” imprinted across cosmic history — | Kamioka Observatory　ICRR, The University of TokyoThe Super-Kamiokande Collaboration has, for the first time in the world, found an indication of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background (DSNB) at a significance level of 2.6 sigma (99.5% confidence level).

30 June

Here is the press release from Super-Kamiokande. www-sk.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/news/deta...

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Climate by any other name"Ohio’s weather is telling a story. From warming temperatures to heavier rains, shifting weather patterns are reshaping life in Ohio. Through stories and science, we’ll connect the dots between global ...

23 Mar

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on April 5! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Centering humans at the interaction of art, design, and technology"Technological change is remaking our world at a nearly incomprehensible pace. Artists and designers are uniquely positioned to reframe and shape how this change is encountered because their work direc...

22 Feb

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on March 1! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Changing how people think about science"Communicating with the public about their science isn't something that all scientists do, nor is it something that they all do well. This talk will discuss how our language science lab inside the Cent...

24 Jan

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on February 1! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Who do you trust? Why journalism still matters"In an era of misinformation, polarization and plummeting public confidence, journalism’s role is more crucial than ever. This talk explores how trust in media has eroded, why that matters for democrac...

8 Jan

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on January 11! This event is intended for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Using AI and GIS to create virtual worlds from old maps"Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and Geographic Information Science (GIS) enable researchers to unlock the rich historical information trapped in old maps. The Ghost Neighborhoods of Columbus ...

6 Dec 2025

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on December 7! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

John Beacom reposted

Sean Carroll

@seanmcarroll.bsky.social

28 Oct 2025

Deadline Dec 1!

Sean Carroll@seanmcarroll.bsky.social

Postdoc job! I expect to have an opening at Johns Hopkins for a postdoctoral researcher working somewhere in the broad realms of physics, philosophy, and complexity. Apply at Academic Jobs Online: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30496

academicjobsonline.orgJohns Hopkins University, Physics and Astronomy Job #AJO30496, Postdoctoral Fellow in Foundations of Physics, Complexity, and Emergence, Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, US

John Beacom reposted

Nicole Bell

@nicolefbell.bsky.social

14 Aug 2025

In a new Physical Review Letter, S. Meighen-Berger, J. Newstead, @johnbeacom.bsky.social, M. Dolan and I explain how the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) can make precision solar neutrino measurements. PRL: doi.org/10.1103/htfm... Popular science: pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/neu...

17 June 2025

A bodhisattva who was just hanging out at the library.

17 June 2025

Cool label on an old pallet jack, still in use decades after it was made.

Elementary particle physics reflects the human quest to understand the basic building blocks of nature and the rules that govern the physical world.

View full thread

nap.nationalacademies.orgnap.nationalacademies.org

An accessible two-page summary of the report can be found at nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/288....

nationalacademies.orgnationalacademies.org

And the full report can be found at www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/ele....

Elementary particle physics reflects the human quest to understand the basic building blocks of nature and the rules that govern the physical world.

The National Academies conducted a study to explore the long-term goals and future ambitions for particle physics. “Elementary Particle Physics: The Higgs and Beyond” presents a bold 40-year vision for the field and highlights critical actions necessary to make this vision reality.

Over the last three years, I was proud to work as a member of this committee, which included two Nobel Prize winners. Our report was released in June, 2025.

artsandsciences.osu.eduScience Sundays: "Resilience to Alzheimer’s Disease: A Play in 5 Acts"The unprecedented expansion in the elderly segment of the United States’ population, coupled with dearth of an effective cure, raises real concerns that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will become a public h...

22 Feb 2025

Here's the next Science Sundays event at Ohio State! artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

17 Dec 2024

My most recent Ph.D. graduate wanted to go to graduation. Most don't bother, so I'm not too experienced at this. How did I do? Bad enough to become a meme. 🙄