Bob Zheng is a doctoral candidate in the physics department at the University of Michigan. He received his B.S. from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010 and has been a graduate student and instructor at the University of Michigan since 2010. His dissertation focuses on testing string theory and supersymmetry through experiments in particle physics. He has published 7 papers and presented his work at several conferences.

1. BOB ZHENG
Department of Physics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Education and Training:
University of Michigan, Ph.D. Thesis Advisor: Prof. Gordon Kane. 2010 - Present
Washington University in St. Louis, B.S. 2010
Appointments:
Doctoral Candidate, University of Michigan Physics Department 2012 - Present
Graduate Student Researcher and Instructor, University of Michigan 2010 - Present
Undergraduate Researcher, Michigan State University 2009 (Summer)
Undergraduate Researcher, Washington University 2008 - 2010
Research Activities
Dissertation: New Tests of String Theory and Supersymmetry: 2011-Present
Worked with numerous collaborators at different institutions in the
US and abroad. Elucidated new methods for testing String Theory
and Supersymmetry at cutting edge experiments in particle physics.
Completed several papers examining implications of the Higgs boson
discovery for testing String Theory and Supersymmetry. Proposed
models explaining dark matter in String Theories with novel predictions
for dark matter experiments. Studied new signatures of Supersymmetry
at the Large Hadron Collider and future particle colliders. Recent paper
lead to invited contribution to CERN’s Future Collider Design Study.
Measuring Nuclear Equation of State Parameters: 2009 (Summer)
Worked with Prof. Bill Lynch and the Michigan State University
High Resolution Array (HiRA) group. Wrote a Monte-Carlo simulation
of HiRA efficiencies in cyclotron experiments probing the isospin-
asymmetric term in the nuclear equation of state via collisions of
Calcium isotopes.
Choptuik critical phenomena in gravitational collapse: 2008-2010
Worked with Prof. Wai-Mo Suen in the Washington University
numerical relativity group. Determined critical exponents of
black-hole/stable matter phase transitions for astrophysical
objects via numerical solutions to Einstein’s equations.
Honors and Awards:
Awarded semester fellowship from the String Vacuum Project (2014)
Recipient of Rackham One Term Dissertation Fellowship (2014)
Awarded Fellowship to attend 2013 Theoretical Advanced Studies Institute (TASI)
2010 Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society inductee.
2009 Michigan State University REU fellowship recipient.
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2. Conference Presentations:
Invited talks:
Planck 2015 at University of Ioannina, Greece
Division of Particles and Fields 2015 at the University of Michigan.
Baryon Lepton Violation 2015 at Amherst University.
MCTP Hidden Dark Matter Workshop 2014 at University of Michigan.
Presented talk at Supersymmetry 2015 at Lake Tahoe, California (hosted by UC Davis)
Presented talks during Phenomenology 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 at University of Pittsburgh
Teaching Experience:
University of Michigan Graduate Student Instructor for introductory physics lab courses.
Numerically scored course evaluations consistently within the top 15% when compared to
department-wide scores.
Publications: 7 pubished papers. See Inspires for citation counts. All author lists are alphabetical.
1. ”Reaching for Squarks and Gauginos at a 100 TeV p-p Collider ”
S.A.R. Ellis, B. Zheng, arXiv:1506.02644. Accepted to Phys. Rev. D.
Emphasized importance of future hadron colliders for discovering supersymmetry.
2. ”Dark Matter Production Mechanisms with a Non-Thermal Cosmological History”
B. Nelson, G. Kane, P. Kumar, B. Zheng, arXiv:1502.05406. Accepted to Phys. Rev. D.
Proposed novel class of dark matter models generically predicted by compactified string theories.
3. ”Simultaneous B and L Violation: New Signals from RPV SUSY”
C. Faroughy, S. Prabdhu, B. Zheng, Sep. 18, 2014. JHEP 1506, 073 (2015).
Identified new supersymmetric models with unique signatures at the Large Hadron Collider.
4. ”Superpartners at LHC and Future Colliders:
Predictions from Constrained Compactified M-Theory”
S.A.R. Ellis, G. Kane, B. Zheng, Aug. 8, 2014. JHEP 1507, 081 (2015)
Calculated supersymmetric particle masses and studied collider signatures for compactified M-theory.
5. ”R-Parity Conservation from a Top-Down Perspective”
B. Acharya, G. Kane, P. Kumar, R. Lu, B. Zheng, Mar. 14, 2014. JHEP 1410, 1 (2014)
Argued for the presence of a symmetry known as R-parity in ultraviolet complete theories.
6. ”Review and Update of the Compactified M/string Theory Prediction of the Higgs Boson”
G. Kane, R. Lu, B. Zheng, Nov. 22, 2012. Int.J.Mod.Phys. A28 (2013).
Elucidated decay branching ratio predictions for the Higgs boson in compactified string theories.
7. ”Higgs Mass Prediction for Realistic String/M-Theory Vacua”
G. Kane, P. Kumar, R. Lu, B. Zheng, Dec. 5, 2011. Phys.Rev. D85 (2012) 075026.
Predicted mass of the Higgs boson in compactified string theories, consistent with measured value.
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