Julia Thom-LevyView profile
Professor
Julia Thom-Levy is a Professor of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, serving as Deputy Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Accelerator-Based Sciences and Education and Vice Provost for Academic Innovation. Her career at Cornell progressed from Assistant Professor (2005-2012) to Associate Professor (2012-2018) and Professor (2018-present), following prior research roles at SLAC and Fermilab. She earned her Physics Dipl. (1997) and Ph.D. (2001) from Hamburg University. Her research centers on experimental particle physics, with expertise in heavy quark physics, hadron collider physics, and silicon detector development for both particle physics and X-ray science applications. She leads critical work on CMS experiment upgrades at CERN's LHC, focusing on radiation-hard pixel detectors and Higgs boson/top quark physics analysis. Her 2013-2018 publications reveal a consistent focus on precision measurements in top quark physics and Higgs boson studies through CMS collaboration, alongside innovative detector technology development. The research demonstrates strong interdisciplinary connections between high-energy physics and advanced materials science. Awards and Honors: Fellow, German National Scholarship Foundation (1993-1997) She advises graduate student Lena Franklin and has mentored postdocs Joseph Reichert and Jose Monroy, along with undergraduates Hannah Hu, Benjamin Myers, Jeffrey Backus, and Alexander Albert. Her group secures significant funding including a $3.8M NSF grant for early universe research and $2.7M for the Active Learning Initiative. She directs detector R&D for CHESS light source applications and leads Cornell's academic innovation efforts through the Active Learning Initiative, which has transformed classroom instruction across STEM disciplines.
