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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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.  

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.

Tyler received his PhD from Duke University in Experimental Nuclear Physics in the Fall of 2024, where he built the first neutrino-induced nuclear fission detector as a member of the COHERENT Collaboration at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He joined the group in Winter of 2024 and is working on the RAY and ALPHA experiments to search for the dark matter candidate known as the axion.

Max received his Ph.D. from the University of California San Diego in 2023, where he built the first receiver and developed the data preprocessing pipeline for the Simons Observatory (SO) small aperture telescope (SAT). He joined Yale as a Mossman Postdoctoral Fellow in September 2023, where he leads electronics development for axion dark matter searches. His work focuses on extending quantum-limited detection to higher frequencies through both HAYSTAC’s squeezed-state receiver and ALPHA’s novel metamaterial approach. He maintains active involvement in CMB cosmology through analysis of the SO SAT’s data, which will test inflationary models and constrain fundamental physics. 

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.

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.

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.

Kelly is an undergraduate sophomore at Yale majoring in Physics. She joined the Maruyama Group in January of 2024, where she works on the ALPHA experiment. Outside of physics, Kelly enjoys watching documentaries, listening to new music,  and going to the gym. 

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.