Katherine Mack
Teaching Affiliations
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Research Interests
My primary research interests are in theoretical cosmology, astroparticle physics, and galaxy formation. I'm particularly interested in the physics and astrophysics of dark matter, and how we might find clues about dark matter's fundamental nature by examining its impact on the formation and evolution of the earliest cosmic structures. I'm also interested in early universe cosmology and how exotic physics in the early universe may have left imprints on cosmological observables today.
Positions Held
- Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication (Outreach Faculty), Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 2022-present
- Assistant Professor of Physics, Physics Department, North Carolina State University, 2018-2023
- ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher, CAASTRO-CoEPP Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Physics, University of Melbourne, 2012-2017
- STFC Postdoctoral Fellow, Kavli Institute for Cosmology, Cambridge University, 2009-2012
Awards
- 2024 Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award, American Association of Physics Teachers, 2023
- Fellowship, TED (non-profit), 2021
- Women in Physics Lectureship, Australian Institute of Physics, 2017
- Faculty of Science Dean’s Award for Excellence in Engagement, University of Melbourne, 2016
- University of Melbourne Excellence in Engagement – Public Value, University of Melbourne, 2016
- Dyason Fellowship, University of Melbourne, 2016
Recent Publications
- Mack, K. (2024). How starlight's ‘secret code’ is unlocking the Universe’s past. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/light-galaxies-universe
- Mack, K. (2024). Here’s how we're understanding the origins of the first stars in the Universe. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/james-webb-space-teleoscope-first-stars
- Mack, K. (2024). Dark energy may be even stranger than we thought. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/dark-energy-strange
- Mack, K. (2024). How a solar eclipse revealed the warping of spacetime and opened a new window into the Universe. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/solar-eclipse-deeper-into-universe
- Mack, K. (2024). Earth is being bombarded by mysterious bursts of intergalactic radio waves. And it has scientists puzzled. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/fast-radio-bursts-mystery
- Mack, K. (2023). How new antimatter science could soon explain the existence of everything. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/studying-matter-discover-why-we-exist
- Mack, K. (2023). The James Webb Space Telescope has captured images of ancient galaxies that shouldn't exist. A cosmologist explains what could be going on.. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/james-webb-space-telescope-ancient-galaxies
- Mack, K. (2023). Why we don’t have to worry about being sucked into the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. BBC Science Focus Magazine. https://www.sciencefocus.com/
- Lin, W., Chen, X., Ganjoo, H., Hou, L., & Mack, K. J. (2023). Cosmology of Single Species Hidden Dark Matter. arxiv:2305.08943v1
- Ganjoo, H., Erickcek, A. L., Lin, W., & Mack, K. J. (2023). The effects of relativistic hidden sector particles on the matter power spectrum. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2023(01), 004. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2023/01/004
- Friedlander, A., Mack, K. J., Schon, S., Song, N., & Vincent, A. C. (2022). Primordial black hole dark matter in the context of extra dimensions. Physical Review D, 105(10), 103508. doi:10.1103/physrevd.105.103508
- Ando, S., Baum, S., Boylan-Kolchin, M., Bulbul, E., Burgess, M., Cholis, I., . . . Walker, D. (2022). Snowmass2021 Cosmic Frontier: Synergies between dark matter searches and multiwavelength/multimessenger astrophysics. arxiv:2203.06781v1
- O'Hare, C. A. J., Loomba, D., Altenmüller, K., Álvarez-Pol, H., Amaro, F. D., Araújo, H. M., . . . Zettlemoyer, J. (2022). Recoil imaging for directional detection of dark matter, neutrinos, and physics beyond the Standard Model. arxiv:2203.05914v3
- Mack, K. (2022). The History and Future of the Universe. doi:10.52750/172163
- Thomas, M., Trenti, M., Greiner, J., Skrutskie, M., Forbes, D. A., Klose, S., . . . Tanvir, N. (2022). SkyHopper mission science case I: Identification of high redshift Gamma-Ray Bursts through space-based near-infrared afterglow observations. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 39, e032. doi:10.1017/pasa.2022.22
- Lin, W., Chen, X., & Mack, K. J. (2021). Early Universe Physics Insensitive and Uncalibrated Cosmic Standards: Constraints on Om and Implications for the Hubble Tension. The Astrophysical Journal, 920(2), 159. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac12cf
Seminars
- Dark Matter: The Cosmic Mystery at the Heart of Particle Physics, TRISEP Summer School plenary presentation, University of Sudbury, Greater Sudbury, Canada, 2024/07/15
- The Communication Space, Cosmology From Home virtual conference, Cosmology From Home Conference, 2024/06/18
- Physics at the End of the Universe, Public talk, Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2024/04/23
- Physics at the End of the Universe, Public talk, Dynamic Earth Museum, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 2024/04/22
- Opening Remarks, Dark Matter, First Light, 2024/02/26, PIRSA:24020035
- Dark Matter, First Light, Astronomy Colloquium, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States, 2024/02/15
- Dark Matter: The Cosmic Mystery at the Heart of Particle Physics, AAPT Annual Meeting (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA), American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, United States, 2024/01/08
- Physics at the End of the Universe, Astrophysics Day, Assumption College School, Brampton, Ontario, Canada, 2023/11/28
- Dark Matter: A Cosmological Perspective, Beyond Spacetime conference, Western University, London, Canada, 2023/11/10
- Physics at the End of the Universe, Newbury Park High School, Newbury Park, California, United States, 2023/10/31
- Physics at the End of the Universe, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala, 2023/10/12
- A Map of Cosmic Time, Allman Family Lectures, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, United States, 2023/10/05
- Physics at the End of the Universe, AstroTours public event, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 2023/08/24
- Dark Matter, First Light, CITA Seminar Series, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Toronto, Canada, 2023/08/23
- A Map of Cosmic Time, Starfest (public event), Starfest, 2023/08/19
- Dark matter annihilation and early halos, Reionization Focus Group, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Toronto, Canada, 2023/08/04
- Dark Matter: A Cosmological Perspective, CAP Congress, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, 2023/07/19
- Science Communication, Bank of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2023/07/13
- Dark Matter at the Heart of Physics, Central Florida Astronomical Society, Florida, United States, 2023/07/12
- Panel Discussion: Open Questions in Early Universe, Quantum Simulators of Fundamental Physics, 2023/06/06, PIRSA:23060011
- Physics at the End of the Universe, NASA Neurodiversity Network meeting, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington D.C., United States, 2023/05/18
- Dark Matter, First Light, CIFAR Gravity and the Extreme Universe Annual General Meeting, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada, 2023/05/11
- Physics at the End of the Universe, Ontario Physics Teachers' Association conference, 2023/05/05
- From the Lab to the Universe: Studying Physics to Explore the Cosmos, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, 2023/02/11
- Dark Matter, First Light, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2023/02/10
- Physics at the End of the Universe, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States, 2023/01/23
- Cosmology, Dark Matter, and New Physics, Conference on Undergraduate Women in Physics, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States, 2023/01/21
- Dark Matter: The Cosmic Mystery at the Heart of Physics, Astronomical Society of St Andrews, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom, 2022/11/10
- Dark Matter and New Physics at Cosmic Dawn, Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 2022/10/29
- An Enlightening Evening of Dark Matter, Perimeter Public Lectures, 2022/10/26, PIRSA:22100150
- Dark Matter, First Light, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Menlo Park, California, United States, 2022/09/29
- How the Universe Ends, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States, 2022/09/27
- Dark Matter and New Physics at Cosmic Dawn, CIFAR Board Meeting, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada, 2022/09/13
- The Communication Space, ComSciConCAN, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2022/08/12
- Dark Matter, First Light, Astronomy Colloquium, University of Bern, 2022/01/01