Georgia TechCenter for Relativistic Astrophysics
Geographic South Pole Ignacio Taboada

Contact Information

Email: ignacio.taboada [at] physics.gatech.edu
Phone: (404) 385-7679
Fax: (404) 894-9958
Skype: ignaciojosetaboada
Office: 1-62 Boggs Bldg
Lab: B-70 Boggs Bldg
Lab phone: (404) xxx-xxxx

Ignacio Taboada, Assistant Professor

Teaching

Spring 2010: Phys2211, Intro Physics I (traditional)
Fall 2009: Phys2211, Intro Physics I (traditional)
Spring 2009: Phys4263, Particles, Nuclei and Fields

Publications

Research

A general public description of my research at the South Pole: Using neutrinos to look at the hottest objects in the Universe from the coldest place on Earth

Astrophysical sources can accelerate particles up to ten million times more than human-made accelerators. These subatomic particles, typically electrons, protons and nuclei, are called high energy cosmic rays and have energies as high as that of a tennis ball served by a professional player! Because cosmic rays, being charged particles, are deflected in galactic and extra-galactic magnetic fields, we still do not know where they come from. Using secondary radiation produced by the cosmic accelerators, such as neutrinos or gamma-ray rays we will discover the sources of high energy cosmic rays. I am a member of two large international collaborations that use neutrinos and gamma-rays as an astrophysical messengers. IceCube is a cubic kilometer neutrino all-sky telescope being built at the south pole. HAWC is a panoptic gamma-ray telescope proposed for construction in Mexico. Both IceCube and HAWC will study the northern hemisphere for TeV (1012 eV) or higher sources of neutrinos and gamma-rays. Objects of interest include supernova remnants, gamma-ray bursts, active galactive nuclei, micro-quasars and more.

Professional Experience

  • 2008 - Assistant Professor of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 2005 - 2008 Research Scientist, University of California at Berkeley
  • 2002 - 2005 Assistant Professor of Physics, Universidad Simón Bolívar
  • 1996 - 2002 PhD, Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania
  • 1989 - 1994 BSc Cum Laude, Physics, Universidad Simón Bolívar