Craig Group

Professor Craig Group is a distinguished faculty member in the Department of Physics at the University of Virginia's College of Arts & Sciences. Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Florida (2006), he leads an active research program in Experimental High Energy Physics with significant contributions to particle physics discoveries.

His educational background includes doctoral studies at the University of Florida, completed in 2006, establishing the foundation for his career in experimental particle physics.

Professor Group's research focuses on answering fundamental questions about the universe's building blocks and their interactions. His work spans multiple cutting-edge experimental frontiers including Higgs boson physics, dark matter detection, neutrino oscillations, and searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. He employs high-energy particle collisions and precision measurements to probe fundamental particle properties and interactions at scales inaccessible through conventional means.

His publications reveal consistent focus on detector development, data analysis techniques, and physics results from major international collaborations. The research trajectory shows progression from Higgs boson discovery efforts at the Tevatron to current leadership roles in next-generation experiments searching for dark matter and rare particle processes.

• American Physical Society Career Mentoring Fellow [2022]
• Nominated for Outstanding SPS Advisor [2017, 2018]
• Cory Teaching Award [2015]
• DOE Outstanding Mentor Award [2009]

Professor Group maintains active mentorship of students and junior researchers through the Society of Physics Students and has served on multiple departmental committees including the Faculty Honor Advisor role and Undergraduate Program Committee. His research is supported by substantial grants from the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation for participation in major international experiments.

He leads the UVA group's contributions to detector construction for the Mu2e experiment, including the cosmic ray veto system, and plays key roles in neutrino oscillation measurements with NOvA and dark matter searches with LDMX. His laboratory facilities include the High Energy Physics Lab where detector components are designed, built, and tested.