Member of:
DUNE Executive Board
DUNE FD Technical Board
US P5 2023

My research is driven by three big open questions:
the mechanism responsible for the development of our matter-dominated, suitable for life universe ("where did the anti-matter go?");
the existence of New Physics at very high energy scales which should be detectable through precision measurements of flavor transitions; and
the origin of neutrino mass, which could be related to cosmic inflation, a key step in the development of our universe whose cause is unknown.
I initiated the Liverpool neutrino group in 2003.

Here are my main projects:

T2K (since 2003):
Tokai-to-Kamioka is the first "superbeam" off-axis long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. It uses the pulsed proton beam at the J-PARC facility in Tokai and the Super-K detector. The first beam neutrinos were produced at J-PARC in 04/2009, detected in the on-axis Near Detector (INGRID) in 11/2009, in the off-axis Near Detector (ND280) in 02/2010, and in Super-K in 02/2010.
My main construction contribution was the design and delivery of the electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) for ND280, and in terms of physics I have been ND280 Analysis co-coordinator in the crucial period leading to the electron-neutrino appearance discovery. I was the Project Manager for the �15M T2K-UK construction project which delivered on time and on budget the ECAL detector, readout electronics and the DAQ system for the Near Detector, and crucial elements of the neutrino production facility. The Liverpool group are working on neutrino interactions with the Near Detector and we are leading in oscillation (mixing parameters) measurements.

DUNE (since 2013):
We are members of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in the US which will use an intense neutrino beam from Fermilab and large underground Liquid Argon detectors in South Dakota to search for CP Violation in neutrinos and to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy. We are active in the development of the single phase LAr TPC technologies for the Far Detector.
One of the crucial elements of this $3B mega-project is the demonstration of technologies and construction methods, and the performance characterisation of our single phase LAr TPC for the 17 kton deep underground Far Detectors through the 750 kton protoDUNE-SP detector at CERN (experiment NP04) which I led jointly with Flavio Cavanna (Fermilab).

SBND (since 2013):
The Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) will be one of three liquid argon neutrino detectors sitting in the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab as part of the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program. MicroBooNE and the ICARUS-T600 are the intermediate and far detectors in the program, respectively. SBND will record over a million neutrino interactions per year which will be crucial in the study of neutrino oscillations, including searches for possible sterile states, and will also allow studies of neutrino-argon interactions in the GeV energy range with unprecedented precision.
We are providing the Cathode Plane for the TPC and we are preparing for physics exploitation.

Previous projects:

BaBar (1997-2010):
I was the Principal Investigator of the BABAR group at Liverpool. We analysed data of the SLAC B-Factory to study heavy quark transitions. In 2000-02 we had a leading involvement in the discovery of CP Violation in the B meson system. We pioneered the measurement of the angle alpha of the Unitarity Triangle using the decay (B0 to rho+ rho-). We were involved in the first observations and CP violation measurements in rare B decay channels (pipi, Kpi) and also in the observation of D-meson mixing. We have held various positions of responsibility within the collaboration. Our main contribution pre-1999 was the design and construction of the CsI(Tl) endcap electromagnetic calorimeter.

LAGUNA-LBNO (2011-2013):
A European Design Study for an underground facility for neutrino science and nucleon decay. Liverpool focused on the design of the Near Detector for the long baseline neutrino oscillation programme. We developed the model and simulation tools for a high-pressure Argon TPC which is also used in DUNE near detector studies. Funded through FP7.

MODES-SNM (2012-2015):
An EU FP7-funded programme for the delivery of a modular detector system for the detection of Special Nuclear Materials.

KM3NeT (2004-2010):
A European Design Study for a deep-sea ultra high energy cosmic neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean.

CPLEAR (1987-1997):
CP violation with tagged neutral Kaons at CERN. I achieved the first direct observation of the time-dependent decay rate asymmetry between originally tagged neutral kaons and their antiparticles, and I worked on the CPT and Lorentz violation searches.