Alexandros Gezerlis
Professor
College of Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Department of Physics
Research Areas
- Ultracold Atomic Gases
- Quantum Many-body Theory
- Nuclear Theory
- Nuclear Structure
- Nuclear Physics
- Nuclear Astrophysics
- Neutron Stars
- Fermions
- AMO
Instrumentation
Dr. Gezerlis’ research employs high-performance computing facilities, such as (Ontario’s) Sharcnet and the (US Department of Energy) National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC).
Education and Employment Background
Alexandros Gezerlis received his PhD in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, after spending three years at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He went on to work as a Research Associate at the University of Washington and the inaugural Herzberg Fellow at Technische Universitaet Darmstadt in Germany. He joined the University of Guelph in 2013, where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Physics.
Research Themes
Gezerlis’s research focuses on quantum many-body theory, with an emphasis on fermions. His research touches on a wide range of topics from ultracold atomic gases to terrestrial nuclei to the astrophysical objects known as neutron stars. Gezerlis uses microscopic simulation methods on modern supercomputers, along with more phenomenological approaches, to predict or postdict interesting physics. Key areas of focus include:
- From nucleons to nuclei. The interaction between nucleons arises from the fundamental theory of Quantum Chromodynamics. Regardless of their origins, nuclear forces are quite complicated: they depend on much more than the distance between the particles, while they also appear in three- and many- nucleon varieties. Nuclei are the finite systems emerging from these complicated interactions. A major current frontier, experimentally attacked in facilities such as TRIUMF (Canada), FAIR (Germany), and FRIB (USA), relates to neutron-rich nuclei.
- Neutron Stars. A neutron star can be thought of as an astrophysical laboratory, containing nucleon matter under extreme conditions. Neutron stars are layered, with increasing theoretical uncertainty as one approaches the center of the star. Gezerlis focuses on the crust and core, using terrestrial experiments to constrain nuclear theory, while also trying to quantify the theoretical uncertainty of astrophysically relevant microscopic calculations.
- Ultracold atoms. For most of the 20th century the study of pairing using atoms was focused on the fermionic and bosonic varieties of Helium. Then, experimentalists learned how to manipulate alkali gases (bosons in the 1990s, fermions in the 2000s). These systems can help probe new states of matter, simulating the complicated systems appearing in other areas of physics. Gezerlis is interested in the overlap of cold atomic systems with the physics of nuclei and neutron stars.
Highlights
- Research Excellence Award, Office of Research and Office of the Provost, University of Guelph, 2017
- Early Researcher Award, Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science, 2017
- Discovery Accelerator Supplement, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2016
- Inaugural Herzberg Fellowship, TU Darmstadt, 2013
Media Coverage
Research breakthroughs
- CEPS News: Up and Atom
- CEPS News: Rules of Attraction
- Physics synopsis: Pairing in Nuclei
- CEPS News: Unveiling the Secrets of the Universe
Awards and funding
- Laboratory Focus: CFI invests in U of G research leaders
Group
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ryan Curry | PhD Candidate |
| Jayani Dissanayake | PhD Candidate |
| Habib Yousefi Dezdarani | PhD Candidate |
| Obada Al Ajeh | MSc Candidate |
Alumni
Postdoctoral Fellows
- Dr. Ermal Rrapaj (11/2016 - 09/2018)
PhD Students
- Georgios Palkanoglou (08/2023)
- Matt Buraczynski (12/22)
MSc Students
- Ryan Curry (08/2023)
- Bernard Ross (06/2022)
- Nawar Ismail
- Sam Martinello (01/2020)
- Brendan Bulthuis (09/2013 - 08/2015)
- Alex Galea (09/2013 - 01/2016)
- Tash Zielinski (05/2015 - 08/2018)
- Matt Buraczynski (09/2015 - 08/2018)
- William Dawkins (05/2016 - 05/2019)
- Georgios Palkanoglou (01/2017 - 08/2019)
Undergraduate Research Students
- Bianca Sestili (Summer 2024)
- Matthew Burrows-Balka (05/2023-04/2024)
- Olivia Parker (05/2023-04/2024)
- Sean Geddes (Summer 2023)
- Rameen Jafri (Summer 2023)
- Kareena Bhalla (Summer 2022)
- Fatima Aljarrah (Summer 2022)
- Nicolas Peres (Summer 2022)
- Ryan Curry (05/2020 - 05/2021)
- Michael Stuck
- Jordan Atchison (05/2015 - 04/2016)
- Matt Buraczynski (05/2014 - 08/2014)
- Hillary Dawkins (09/2013 - 04/2014)
- William Dawkins (05/2015 - 08/2015)
- Jay Florica (05/2019 - 08/2019)
- Paul Foley (09/2019 - 04/2019)
- Bernard Ross (05/2018-08/2018)
- Brady Skene (09/2016 - 01/2017)
- Nicholas van Heijst (09/2018 - 12/2018)
- Kaitlin Williams (09/2017 - 04/2018)
Group News
- July 2025
Congratulations to Ryan Curry on receiving the NSERC PGSD - June 2025
Congratulations to Ryan Curry on receiving the CEPS Teaching Assistant Excellence Award - June 2024
Congratulations to Ryan Curry on receiving the Governor General's Gold Medal - March 2024
Congratulations to Ryan Curry on receiving an Ontario Graduate Scholarship! - June 2022
Congratulations Georgios Palkanoglou!
Third place in Theoretical Physics Oral Presentation at CAP - July 2021
Congratulations Georgios Palkanoglou!
Second place in Theoretical Physics Oral Presentation at CAP - October 2020
Congratulations Georgios Palkanoglou!
Recipient of the 2020 Constantine and Patricia Mavroyannis Scholarship - May 2020
Congratulations to Anish Verma on receiving an Ontario Graduate Scholarship!
Up and Atom - CEPS Research Profile - January 2020
Congratulations to Anish Verma on being awarded a Mitacs Accelerate internship! - September 2019
Congratulations to Nawar Ismail on receiving an NSERC CGS Master's Scholarship! - April 2019
Congratulations to Anish Verma on receiving an NSERC CGS Master's Scholarship! - March 2019
Congratulations to Matt Buraczynski on receiving an NSERC Alexander Graham Bell CGS Doctoral Scholarship! - March 2019
Congratulations to Jay Florica on receiving an NSERC USRA award! - March 2018
Congratulations to Nawar Ismail and Bernie Ross on receiving NSERC USRA awards! - January 2018
Congratulations to Ermal Rrapaj on getting an N3AS postdoc position! - August 2017
Congratulations to Nawar Ismail on winning 1st place overall in the College Poster Session! - February 2017
Congratulations to Nawar Ismail and Bernie Ross on receiving NSERC USRA awards! - February 2017
Congratulations to Will Dawkins on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship! - May 2016
Congratulations to Matt Buraczynski on receiving an Ontario Graduate Scholarship! - April 2016
Congratulations to Will Dawkins on receiving an NSERC CGS Master's Scholarship! - February 2016
Congratulations to Bernie Ross on receiving an NSERC USRA award! - June 2015
Congratulations to Matt Buraczynski on receiving the Governor General's Silver Medal for being the top undergraduate student in the University! - April 2015
Congratulations to Matt Buraczynski on receiving an NSERC CGS Master's Scholarship! - February 2015
Congratulations to Jordan Atchison and Will Dawkins on receiving NSERC USRA awards! - February 2014
Congratulations to Matt Buraczynski on receiving an NSERC USRA award!