Grainger College of Engineering, All Events

Apr 10, 2026   11:00 am  
Rhondale Tso Seminar Room, Loomis 236
Sponsor
Physics Department
Speaker
Ben Hooberman (UIUC)
Contact
Brandy Koebbe
E-Mail
bkoebbe@illinois.edu
Views
38
Originating Calendar
Physics - High Energy Physics Seminar
Title: X-ray for the Earth: Finding Critical Minerals for Clean Energy with Cosmic-Ray Muons


Abstract: The transition to clean energy requires access to critical minerals beyond the reach of conventional exploration. This talk presents an approach using cosmic-ray muons, naturally occurring particles that penetrate hundreds of meters into the Earth and are reconstructed using a novel detector with AI-based computer vision. The goal is to see through the Earth, analogous to X-ray imaging in medicine, to locate the materials needed for the clean energy transition.


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