Clarke Hardy

About Me

I’m currently pursuing a PhD in experimental particle physics, with a focus on rare event searches. I’ve previously worked with three international collaborations searching for dark matter, and I now work on nEXO — a planned tonne-scale experiment aimed at detecting neutrinoless double beta decay. The experience I’ve gained in data analysis and statistics through these projects has also led to contributions outside my main field, including a search for modifications to gravity at short distances using optically levitated microspheres. My day-to-day work spans data analysis, software development, detector R&D, and lab management.

Beyond research, I’m passionate about teaching math and physics. I serve as volunteer faculty at Mount Tamalpais College, which offers degree programs to the incarcerated population at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. There, I’ve taught precalculus and physics, and have also worked as a substitute instructor and tutor for other math courses.

Education

• Stanford University
  • PhD in Physics, expected 2025
• Queen’s University
  • MSc in Physics, 2019
  • BASc in Engineering, 2018

Research Interests

• Neutrinos: origin of the neutrino mass, neutrinoless double beta decay
• New interactions: micron-scale force search using levitated microspheres
• Dark matter: direct detection, WIMP dark matter, leptophilic dark matter
• Statistics & ML: advanced statistical techniques for use in fundamental physics
• Data visualization: creation of high-quality graphics for presenting complex physics data

News

• [Apr. 2025] I recently gave a talk at Yale for the NPA Seminar. Watch it here
• [Apr. 2025] I successfully defended my PhD thesis! My talk was entitled “In Search of Majorana Neutrinos and Micron-Scale Interactions”

Selected Publications