Rate My Professor Daniel McKinsey

Daniel N. McKinsey serves as the Georgia Lee Distinguished Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, having joined the faculty in July 2015. Prior to Berkeley, he was a Full Professor at Yale University from 2014, having joined Yale's Physics Department in 2003 following postdoctoral research at Princeton University. McKinsey obtained his B.S. in Physics with highest honors from the University of Michigan in 1995 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2002. His doctoral thesis focused on the magnetic trapping, storage, and detection of ultracold neutrons in superfluid helium. Among his accolades are the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering and the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship. Additionally, he contributed to the 2013-2014 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5).

McKinsey's research program centers on non-accelerator particle physics, particle astrophysics, and low-temperature physics. He specializes in the development, construction, and operation of advanced detectors utilizing liquefied noble gases to explore phenomena beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Key applications of his work include direct detection of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter, searches for neutrinoless double beta decay, and precise measurements of low-energy solar neutrino flux. His investigations delve into the physics governing the response of these liquefied noble gases to particle interactions, precise calibration of detectors, and innovative experimental techniques to achieve unprecedented sensitivity to rare, low-energy events. As a leader in direct dark matter searches, McKinsey served as co-spokesperson for the LUX experiment and collaborates on the LZ experiment. He is also advancing research and development on superfluid helium detectors for low-mass dark matter candidates. Further interests include employing liquid xenon for gamma-ray imaging and the visualization of turbulence in superfluid helium. In addition to his research, McKinsey teaches advanced courses such as Quantum Mechanics (PHYSICS 137B) and supervises independent studies and research for graduate students (PHYSICS 295, 299).