Joseph David Lykken is a theoretical physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Background and education

He received his Ph.D. in 1982 from M.I.T. He works in the Fermilab Theory Department, and is a collaborator of the Compact Muon Solenoid

Compact Muon Solenoid

The Compact Muon Solenoid experiment is one of two large general-purpose particle physics detectors built on the proton-proton Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland and France. Approximately 3,600 people from 183 scientific institutes, representing 38 countries form the CMS collaboration...

 (CMS) experiment at the CERN

CERN

The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

 Large Hadron Collider

Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....

.

He is the son of David T. Lykken

David T. Lykken

David Thoreson Lykken was a behavioral geneticist and Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota...

, noted psychologist

Psychologist

Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...

, behavioral geneticist, and twin

Twin

A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...

 researcher.

Research

In 1996 Lykken proposed "weak scale superstrings," which posited extra dimensions of space within the reach of particle colliders, such as the Fermiab Tevatron,
and the CERN

CERN

The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

 Large Hadron Collider

Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....

. This, and related ideas will be subject to direct and indirect experimental tests in the coming years.

Professional activities

Lykken is a former member and subpanel chair of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, which advises the United States Department of Energy

United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

 and the National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...

. He is a Trustee of the Aspen Center for Physics in Aspen, Colorado

Aspen, Colorado

The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...

. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society

American Physical Society

The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...

 (APS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Association for the Advancement of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...

(AAAS), and is former chair of the APS Division of Particles and Fields.

Selected publications

Lykken's publications are available on the SPIRES HEP Literature Database http://www.slac.stanford.edu/spires/hep/.

External links

• Dr. Lykken's website at Fermilab
• Physics of the Universe Summit
• "...Joe Lykken is a very smart guy..." Washington Post article 2008-04-11
• Nobel Honors Glimpse Into Universe's Design "We'd been talking about it for years" says Lykken