Dr. Christina Markert

Biography

Christina Markert joined the physics faculty at the University of Texas in 2006 after graduating from Frankfurt University, Germany in 2001. Her postdoctoral research was conducted at Yale University before becoming a research scientist at Kent State University. Markert’s research focuses on relativistic heavy ion physics, particularly properties of nuclear matter at high densities and temperatures. She is involved in experiments at the STAR detector at the RHIC collider and the ALICE detector at the LHC, with a particular emphasis on measuring hadronic resonance production. Her work aims to investigate the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), a state of matter hypothesized to have existed shortly after the Big Bang. By using heavy ion collisions in particle accelerators, her research recreates and studies this phase transition in the laboratory. At UT Austin, her research group collaborates with institutes in Texas and abroad to develop new detector components for the STAR experiment to enable precise measurements of particle masses and identification of particles produced during heavy ion reactions. Additionally, Markert’s group is involved in the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Europe to study the QGP at higher temperatures and energy densities. Besides her research, Christina Markert is passionate about teaching and mentoring students.

Research Interests