Big questions, tiny particles: Sask. researcher receives Vanier scholarship for work in physics

A researcher based in Regina has received a prestigious scholarship to aid her work in unravelling mysteries at the subatomic level.

Alicia Postuma is a PhD candidate at the University of Regina (U of R) whose research delves into the behaviour of subatomic particles and the fundamental forces that govern their interactions.

“Honestly, it's just interesting,” she said, when asked about what attracted her to physics in the first place. “Physics really tackles a lot of the big questions. Like my research is, ‘What is everything made of?’ So the very smallest scales, but physics also deals with the very largest scales. With cosmology, “How did the universe start? How are galaxies formed?’”

“The questions are so interesting that I'm really happy I get to follow them,” she added.

Postuma’s unbound curiosity and interest in those big questions has landed her one of the most prestigious educational awards in all of Canada – the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Vanier Scholarship.

“I didn't get anything else done for the rest of the day,” she laughed, referring to when she found out she won. “I was essentially just running around telling anyone who would listen.”

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Postuma’s research sees her analyze data from the particle accelerator located at the Jefferson Lab in Newport News, Virginia.

For the uninitiated, a particle accelerator does exactly what the name implies, it accelerates particles which then smash into other particles.

For Postuma’s work, the accelerator speeds up electrons which then smash into protons.

The reaction offers a look inside the particle which is still very poorly understood.

“The proton kind of explodes. So you get all of these pieces flying everywhere. You detect the pieces, and then you have to kind of back calculate what was in there to begin with,” she explained.

(Courtesy: Alicia Postuma)

Postuma’s research for which she received her Vanier scholarship takes a different approach on those types of experiments.

“It’s essentially just taking a slightly different version of the reaction, a very special kind of explosion with the proton, in order to get just a new lens on what's going on inside of it,” she said.

As Postuma explained – when dealing with fundamental research – it’s always unclear how the findings will affect technology and science itself.

“When we first discovered electricity, we didn't realize how many different things it would power. Einstein's theory of general relativity is now used in GPS. But when he was coming up with it, he wasn't picturing a Global Positioning System,” she said.

“So I can't fully tell you what my research is going to be used for in the future, but we're creating that basic understanding of just how everything around us works, and I'm confident that's going to open a lot of doors for different technologies and discoveries.”

The Vanier Scholarship will provide funding for Postuma to continue her research for a number of years – while also opening up the ability to travel more.

“That means I can go to more conferences. I can share my results with more of the wider scientific community,” she said. “And I can possibly even get to the accelerator more often and do a bit more hands on stuff.

Dedicated to scientific outreach and education – Postuma noted the importance of promoting physics to the general public. It’s a process that starts with small steps.

“If I convince someone that physics is cool, that's a win,” she said. “It's also a win if I change someone's idea of what a physicist can look like … It's still a very, very male dominated field, and so I think it's good for people to see young women like myself in physics.”

Postuma takes an interest in scientific outreach, speaking to students about the importance of physics and experimental research. (Courtesy: Alicia Postuma)

She hopes to continue spreading the knowledge as her research progresses.

“I would love to see the mentality that anyone can be a scientist – that anyone can do science,” she said. “Like if you have a garden and you experiment with different light levels to see what makes your plants grow better, that's science. So part of my long term goal with outreach is to shift some of our conceptions of science so there aren't quite so many barriers around it.”

Looking to the future, Postuma now must complete the research she promised with the scholarship funding.

As for what lies after – she hopes to get job as a professor.

“I love research, and I love teaching and I would really hope to be able to keep doing both of them together.”