This young man is tasked with unraveling one of the greatest physics mysteries

A University of Houston Ph.D. student is heading to Washington, D.C., to talk about one very strange particle: neutrinos. They are subatomic particles with small mass and no charge, and they are more plentiful than any kind of matter.

His name is Karim Hassinin, and he has been selected for the Science Policy and Advocacy for Research Competition (SPARC), a ten week training program run by the Universities Research Association. 

That role asks him to turn the puzzle of neutrinos into a story that makes sense to people who will never set foot in a particle physics lab.

Why neutrinos still feel like a mystery

Neutrinos are hard to pin down because they almost never hit anything, even as they stream out of the sun, nuclear reactors, and exploding stars. Those shy travelers are central to neutrino astrophysics, the study of how these particles carry information from distant cosmic events.

Physicists still do not know exactly how heavy neutrinos are or why they change type as they travel. They also hope that these questions connect to the deep puzzle of why the universe is made of matter instead of antimatter, a form of matter whose particles destroy their ordinary partners when they meet.

The work was led by Hassinin, a Ph.D. candidate in physics at the University of Houston. His research focuses on using computer simulations to understand how neutrinos interact with matter.

From Houston classroom to national conversations

During his first year of graduate school, Hassinin taught an undergraduate physics lab and watched students approach the same experiment with very different questions. 

That experience pushed him to rethink how to explain abstract ideas in simple steps and helped prepare him for the SPARC program, a series of online seminars that trains early career scientists in science policy and communication.

“Theory, at its core, is a kind of storytelling, and every model is just one way of seeing the world. Through this program, I hope to learn how to translate those complex layers of scientific reasoning into stories that anyone can understand, so people can see not just the data, but the wonder behind discovery,” Hassinin said.

Simulating neutrino collisions with computers

In his research, Hassinin builds detailed computer simulations, numerical experiments that let scientists test ideas in software when real experiments would be too slow or expensive. 

He sets up virtual neutrino beams that strike different materials so that he can predict how often the particles will bounce off atomic nuclei and what signals they will leave behind in a detector.

“We tell the generator how many neutrinos we want to use, what type of neutrino and what material we want the neutrino to interact with. We must understand something deeply before we can understand how to apply it,” said Hassinin.

The simulation work feeds directly into experiments that watch real neutrinos, because it helps researchers untangle what the detectors are seeing and separate rare signals from more common background events. 

Better models of neutrino interactions also sharpen the measurements that long distance experiments will make when they look for tiny differences between neutrinos and their antimatter partners.

On the front lines at Fermilab

Hassinin recently spent a summer at Fermilab as a visiting scholar, working with the Short Baseline Neutrino ICARUS detector on upgrades to its hardware and data reconstruction software. 

The ICARUS detector sits in the path of a powerful neutrino beam and looks for hints of sterile neutrinos, hypothetical neutrino-like particles that would hardly ever interact even compared with ordinary neutrinos.

That detector is part of the international Short Baseline Neutrino Program, which uses several liquid argon detectors arranged along the Booster Neutrino Beam to watch how the flavor of neutrinos changes with distance.

The same liquid argon detector technology will also be central to the huge detectors planned for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, an international experiment that will send intense neutrino beams from Fermilab to giant detectors deep underground.

By working on one of the smaller front line experiments now, Hassinin is helping to smooth the way for the much larger data sets that DUNE will deliver in the future. His work on software and hardware today will shape how quickly scientists can turn future streams of data into clear answers about neutrino behavior.

Another SPARC participant, Fermilab postdoctoral researcher Meghna Bhattacharya, studies how to use machine learning, computer methods that let algorithms find patterns in data, to spot bursts of neutrinos from nearby supernovae in DUNE. 

“These tools are designed to be integrated into DUNE, contributing to major questions about the universe’s evolution,” said Dr. Bhattacharya.

Why science stories matter for policy

The SPARC course gives early career researchers a structured look at science policy, the mix of laws and funding choices that shape research in the United States. 

Over ten weeks, participants practice writing clear summaries of their work, meet with policy experts, and prepare short talks aimed at leaders in Washington, D.C.

For Hassinin, this is a chance to connect the abstract questions of neutrino physics with everyday decisions about education, infrastructure, and technology. 

When he travels to the Science Policy Summit, he will stand in front of people who decide how big experiments are funded and how the next generation of students learns about science.

From particle beams to patient care

Bhattacharya likes to point out that tools from basic physics research often find homes in hospitals and industry. 

Proton beams that were first developed in large particle accelerators to study fundamental particles now power proton therapy, a type of cancer treatment that uses high energy protons to damage tumor cells while sparing more healthy tissue.

The machines that drive those treatments are direct descendants of accelerator technology, and they show how investing in questions about the universe can quietly lead to new ways to save lives. 

Hassinin hopes that by telling the full story of neutrino research, from giant underground detectors to medical spin offs, he can help more people see why these experiments matter.

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