Argonne National Laboratory

Chao Peng

Assistant Physicist - Experimentalist

Nucleons and nuclei are QCD laboratories granted by nature

Biography

Chao is an experimental physicist in the Physics Division at Argonne National Laboratory. His research focuses on the medium energy experiments that aim for a better understanding of the internal structure of nucleons and their emergent global properties (spin, mass, size, polarizabilities, etc) in the confinement regime of Quantum Chromodynamics. He is also interested in studying the modification of a nucleon’s quark and gluon distributions when it is embedded in a nuclear medium, particularly in the light nuclei such as Deuteron, Helium-3, Helium-4, and Lithium-6. Chao is currently working on several electron scattering experiments at Jefferson Lab (PRad-II, X17, and SoLID), and is pursuing future experiments using the ePIC detector at the electron-ion collider. His expertise lies in the software development of Monte-Carlo simulations and analysis frameworks, and hardware R&D related to calorimetry, Cherenkov detector, and polarized Lithium source.

  • Education

    • Ph.D., Experimental Nuclear Physics, Duke University, NC, 2018
    • B.E., Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, China, 2009

  • Professional Appointments

    • Assistant Physicist, Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 2021 -- present
    • Postdoctoral Appointee, Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 2019 -- 2021
    • Associate, Quantitative Research, JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2018 -- 2019

  • Research Projects

    • Lead PI of Argonne LDRD Project: Development of Polarized 6Li and 7Li Sources
    • Co-spokesperson, SoLID-SIDIS Program with Longitudinally Polarized 3He (JLab E12-11-007)
    • Co-spokesperson, Inclusive Neutron g2 and d2 Measurement (SoLID Run Group E12-11-007A/E12-10-006E)
    • Co-spokesperson, PRad-II Experiment, (JLab E12-20-004)
    • Co-spokesperson, X17 Search in 3-60 MeV Mass Range, (JLab E12-21-003)

  • Selected Awards

    • 2023:              Argonne Impact Award; Development of a Novel Imaging Calorimeter for EIC
    • 2023:              Argonne Impact Award; [MEP Group] Experimental Determination of the Proton Mass Density
    • 2014 -- 2015: JSA Graduate Fellowship; Hardware Preparation of the PRad Experiment
    • 2014:              JSA 2014 Poster Competition 1st Place
    • 2013 -- 2014: JSA Graduate Fellowship, Simulation/Analysis Development for the PRad Experiment
    • 2008:             Nuclear Power Award, Academic Excellence in the Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University

  • Publications