Alexander Kappes

Prof. Dr. Alexander Kappes leads the astroparticle physics working group at the University of Münster's Institute of Nuclear Physics, part of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. His research focuses on neutrino astronomy via the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the planned IceCube-Gen2 detector, alongside seismic studies for the Einstein Telescope gravitational wave detector. He is actively involved in developing optical sensors for extreme environments and integrating machine learning for seismic analysis.

Key areas include hardware design (e.g., mDOM optical modules), simulations using Geant4 and COMSOL, and dark matter searches through neutrino data. His group collaborates with the DFG Research Training Group on Strong and Weak Interactions and receives funding from the DFG and BMBF. Professor Kappes teaches courses on astroparticle physics and ultra-relativistic heavy-ion physics, and his team has received the GNN Award for advancements in mDOM technology.

Current projects include optimizing IceCube-Gen2's LOM sensors and investigating gravitational wave sources in synergy with neutrino observations. The team also mentors students through laboratory courses and thesis projects in nuclear and particle physics.