The 2023 Global Neutrino Network (GNN) Dissertation Prize is awarded to Ibrahim Safa, a postdoctoral research scientist at Nevis Labs of Columbia University.
“The GNN dissertation prize recognizes young postdoctoral candidates who have written an outstanding thesis and contributed significantly to the project. Primary criteria of the selection are the scientific quality, the didactics and the form of the thesis.” The award comes with a monetary prize of $1000.
Safa conducted his PhD work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under Professor Francis Halzen. His thesis, “New Physics with PeV Astrophysical Neutrino Beams,” looked at improving tau neutrino modeling at PeV energies and above. His work culminated in a public software now used by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and other experiments, such as the Tau Air Shower Mountain-Based Observatory and Askaryan Radio Array.
Safa also analyzed data from relevant neutrino observatories to derive dark matter annihilation limits and to characterize active galactic nuclei and search for neutrino counterparts.