Pierre Capel

Apl. Prof. Dr. Pierre Capel is a Professor of Nuclear Physics at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz since 2018. Previously, he held positions as Associate and Assistant Professor at Université libre de Bruxelles (2011–2017) and conducted postdoctoral research at institutions including JGU Mainz and TRIUMF. His research focuses on halo/exotic nuclei, nuclear reaction theory (breakup/transfer/radiative capture), and mathematical methods in physics.

Capel leads a research group studying reactions involving loosely-bound nuclei, with current PhD students including Monica Sanjinez Ortiz and Quentin Bozet. His work combines effective field theory (EFT) and chiral interactions to model nuclear reactions, with recent contributions to Coulomb breakup analysis and neutron skin thickness extraction via π0 photoproduction.

Teaching responsibilities include courses like 'The Physics of Stars' and 'Writing Matters' at Mainz University. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles, with notable studies on 11Be and 19C breakup dynamics, optical potentials from chiral EFT, and the ratio method for halo structure analysis.