Group Members

Reina’s current research interests are in understanding the particle nature of dark matter and neutrinos, and role of symmetry in fundamental physics. When not working with her fantastic team listed here, she can be found in Underground Laboratories, teaching, or skiing.

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Penny received her Ph.D. in experimental particle physics from the University of Virginia.  After the Ph.D. she worked as a Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA to analyze spacecraft data from solar energetic particle measurements.  She then transitioned to the aerospace industry in El Segundo, CA to work on instrument development and analysis for suborbital sounding rocket campaigns.  Since returning to the Eastern U.S. and arriving at Yale, she has worked on RF detection measurements and simulation.  In her free time she can be found running or spending time near the water.

Govinda received his Ph.D from Sejong University in COSINE-100 experiment in spring 2020. After his Ph.D, he joined the University of California, San Diego as a postdoctoral scholar before joining Reina’s group and working in the nEXO collaboration to develop cryogenic electronics for nEXO charge readout system. Govinda is excited to endeavor toward a research goal with DM-ICE and COSINE collaboration beyond testing the DAMA/LIBRA. Besides research, Govinda loves to read novels and enjoy elevated hiking and bike rides on hilly country roads.

Mike received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2020.  His thesis work was on the search for neturinoless double beta decay in Liquid Xenon with the full dataset of EXO-200 and R&D efforts for the next generation experiment, nEXO.  He joined the Maruyama Group in May 2020, where he works on the HAYSTAC experiment searching for Dark Matter axions using a resonant microwave cavity enhanced through the use of quantum technology.  

Pranava got his Ph.D. from Illinois Institute of Technology in 2019 in Experimental Particle Physics and joined the group as he was finishing up writing his thesis. His research is currently primarly focused on finding the fundamental properties of neutrino. On CUORE/CUPID, he has been leading the Muon Tagger protoyping efforts in addition to working on high level efficiency calculations in search for the neutrinoless double beta decay with the CUORE data. 

Jorge received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Experimental Astroparticle Physics in Summer 2021, where he worked on data analysis and simulation for the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) experiment. He joined the the group in July 2021, and currently he is working on the CUORE/CUPID experiments, which search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Outside of physics, Jorge enjoys photography and salsa dancing.

Sabrina obtained her PhD from Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany) in October 2022, where she worked on the developement of the PUMA experiment, aimed at studying the density tail of radioactive ions with antiprotons at CERN. She joined the group in May 2023 where she is primarily working on the search and detection of Axions with Rydberg atoms.

Xiran did her undergraduate in the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and her master’s at the University of Michigan. She is now a rising second-year Ph.D. student in Physics at Yale. She joined the Maruyama Group in Feb 2021, where she works on the HAYSTAC experiment searching for Dark Matter axions. In her free time, she likes to read and play the piano.

Sumita graduated from UC Berkeley in the spring of 2016 with a joint B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Materials Science and Engineering. Sumita started at Yale in June 2016 in Charles Ahn’s group doing MBE with SRO then moved around in Michel Devoret’s quantum information lab and David Moore’s AMO lab before settling into HAYSTAC in June 2019. Outside of lab, Sumita is a member of the Yale Climbing Team, one of two graduate liasons for the undergraduate Women in Physics, a graduate affiliate of Timothy Dwight College, and a volunteer for other outreach organizations such as the Girls’ Science Investigations.

Eleanor graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the spring of 2020 with a B.S. in Physics. She started at Yale in fall 2021 after a gap year as a software engineer at MathWorks. Eleanor primarily works on the RAY experiment, investigating the possibility of using Rydberg atoms for single-photon detection in axion experiments. Outside of the lab, Eleanor enjoys reading, rock climbing, crossword puzzles, and spending time with her cat.

Sophia completed her BS in Physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2020 and began Yale’s Physics PhD program Fall 2020. She is currently working with the Maruyama group on COSINE-100, a dark matter direct detection experiment aimed at studying WIMPs. In her free time, Sophia likes gaming, music, and playing with her dog.

Claire graduated from Yale University with a B.S. in Intensive Physics in 2021. Throughout her undergraduate years, she worked on the Mu2e experiment at Fermilab and the ATLAS experiment at CERN with Professor Demers. She spent her gap year doing research and lab management with Professor Maruyama’s HAYSTAC group before being accepting into the physics Ph.D. programs in the fall. She continues to pursue particle physics as a Yale graduate student. In her spare time, Claire loves making pottery, reading sci-fi and fantasy books, playing video games, and spending time outdoors. 

Ridge graduated from Rice University in 2018 with a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics. He joined the Maruyama Lab and CUORE in the summer of 2020, and has been working primarily on studying the detector response to seismic activity. Outside of work, he spends his time reading, swimming, and trying to cook.

Maya graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2021 with a B.A. in Physics. She joined Yale’s CUORE/CUPID group in the fall of 2022 and has been working on developing a muon veto system for CUPID and understanding low energy backgrounds in CUORE. Outside of the lab, Maya enjoys running, listening to live music, and reading.

Emily graduated from Iowa State University in 2022 with a B.S. in physics. They joined the CUORE/CUPID group at Yale during the summer of 2022 and have been working primarily on development for the Muon Veto system. Emily is active in various outreach programs at Yale, and enjoys reading, hiking, and playing Dungeons & Dragons outside of work.

Annie is a sophomore physics major in Ezra Stiles college working on HAYSTAC RAY. Off science hill she enjoys rooting for the Yankees, listening to music, and knitting. 

Din is a junior physics and mathematics double major working on HAYSTAC. He joined the group in December 2022 and worked on CUORE/CUPID until Summer 2023. Originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, he moved to a boarding school in the United Kingdom at age 16 to complete his secondary education. During this time he attended an ALICE Masterclass which led him to develop an interest in contemporary particle physics and the exploration of uncharted territory within it. When not at work/in class, he enjoys reading urban fantasy and horror fiction, listening to music, and every other Summer re-watching the Star Wars animated series. 

James officially joined Wright lab in June 2020, but has been deeply involved with the lab community since May 2017 during the construction of PROSPECT. Since then he has expanded his involvment in the lab and provides engineering/technical support for the APC, ATLAS, CUORE, CUPID, DUNE, MAD, and Project 8, as well as the next iteration of PROSPECT (PROSPECT-II). In his dwindling spare time he is working on refinishing his log cabin. When he can he enjoys hiking and disappearing into the woods.