JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – Scientists know that dark matter exists, but they cannot see it. Now, researchers at the University of North Florida will take a closer look thanks to a grant of nearly $600,000.

Drs. Chris Kelso and Greg Wurtz, both professors of physics at UNF, will be part of a global research team that will create a convergence framework to determine whether evidence of interactions between dark matter and ordinary matter can be found. They achieve this through “mineral detection”.

According to UNF, mineral detection could help determine what dark matter is by studying the interactions of crystals in rock samples exposed to dark matter for billions of years.

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Research shows that there is five times more dark matter than ordinary matter in the universe.

While ordinary matter makes up everything people can see, such as stars, planets and ourselves; Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter that has not yet been directly observed and has previously only been detected through its gravitational influence on visible matter.

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This project will test the feasibility of the mineral detection approach of observing interactions between ordinary matter and dark matter. The team aims to develop a new pathway to advance our understanding of the mysteries of dark matter.

The global research team includes professionals from UNF, Virginia Tech, University of Michigan, Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, University of Maryland, INFN Ferrara in Italy, University of Zurich in Switzerland and the Jozef Stefan Institute in Germany. .

The five-year grant will also fully fund tuition for four students in UNF’s interdisciplinary program. Master of Science Program in Materials Science and Engineering.