Claudio Lenz Cesar

Claudio Lenz Cesar is a Full Professor at the Institute of Physics of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a founding member of the ALPHA Collaboration at CERN and has held visiting positions at institutions such as the University of Turku (Finland) and the University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP).

• Education:
  • PhD in Physics (MIT, 1995)
  • MSc in Physics (UFPE, 1988)
  • BSc in Physics (UFC, 1985)

Research interests include antimatter studies, precision spectroscopy, and gravitational physics. He pioneered techniques like Matrix Isolation Sublimation (MISu) for generating cryogenic beams of atoms, molecules, and ions, with applications in fundamental physics and interstellar chemistry.

Scientific achievements encompass the first trapping of antihydrogen (2010), laser spectroscopy of antihydrogen (2017-2018), and the development of Brazil’s first Penning trap for cold anions, cations, and electrons (2023). His work on the ALPHA-g experiment tests whether antimatter falls like matter under Earth’s gravity.

• Scientific Awards & Highlights:
  • Resolution on the 1S-2S transition in Hydrogen (PRL 1996)
  • First Production of cold Antihydrogen (Nature 2002)
  • First Laser Spectroscopy of Antihydrogen (Nature 2017, 2018)
  • First Penning Trap of South America (Comms. Phys. 2023)

Grants & Collaborations: Funded by Brazilian agencies FAPERJ, CNPq, Petrobrás, and RENAFAE. Collaborates with institutions like CERN, University of Turku, and IFSC-USP. His lab develops innovative techniques for cold particle manipulation and educational tools like DIY experimental physics kits for pandemic-era teaching.