Rate My Professor Justin Stevens

Justin Stevens serves as the Wilson & Martha Claiborne Stephens Associate Professor of Physics at the College of William & Mary. His academic journey began with a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Elmhurst College in 2007, followed by a Ph.D. in Physics from Indiana University in 2012, during which he conducted research at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. After completing his doctorate, he pursued a postdoctoral position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2012 to 2015. Subsequently, he held a senior position at Jefferson Laboratory from 2015 to 2016 before joining William & Mary in 2016 through a bridge appointment program between the lab and the university, advancing to his current associate professorship.

Stevens specializes in experimental nuclear and particle physics, with research interests encompassing quantum chromodynamics, hadron spectroscopy, nucleon structure, and particle identification detector technology. He plays a pivotal role in the GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab's Hall D, where he has served as the physics analysis coordinator for the GlueX collaboration. Stevens managed a $1.8 million project to construct the DIRC detector for GlueX phase II, overseeing budgeting, procurement, negotiating funding, and coordinating the transportation of delicate silica bars from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to Jefferson Lab in collaboration with teams from MIT and Indiana University; data taking with the new detector commenced in December 2019. He actively mentors William & Mary students, enabling undergraduates and graduates to participate in hands-on research at Jefferson Lab. In 2019, Stevens received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), one of the highest honors for young U.S. scientists. Within the department, he chairs the Graduate Studies Committee, serves ex officio on Graduate Admissions, and sits on the Merit Evaluation Committee.