Oliver Keith Baker facts for kids

Oliver Keith Baker is an American scientist. He studies tiny particles and outer space. He is known for his important work on the Higgs boson and dark matter. In 2002, he received a special award. It was called the Edward Alexander Bouchet Award. This award recognized his contributions to physics. It also honored his efforts to share science with others.

Early Life and School

Growing Up

Oliver Keith Baker was born in McGehee, Arkansas. This was in 1959. His parents were Oliver and Yvonne Baker. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.

College Studies

Keith Baker went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned his first degree in physics there in 1981. Later, he studied at Stanford. He earned two more degrees there. He got a master's degree in physics and math in 1984. Then, he earned his Ph.D. in physics in 1987. During this time, he worked on experiments with tiny parts of atoms.

His Career in Science

Early Research

After finishing his Ph.D., Dr. Baker worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This was from 1986 to 1988. He researched something called muon catalyzed fusion. This is a way to make energy using special particles.

Teaching and Research

In 1989, Dr. Baker joined Hampton University. He became a physics professor there. He also worked at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. In 2002, Hampton University gave him a special professorship. This was for his work in physics research. It also recognized his efforts to teach and inspire others.

Work at Yale University

In 2006, Dr. Baker became a professor at Yale University. He was the first tenured African American professor in Yale's physics department. He is part of the ATLAS Collaboration. This group of scientists discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. The Higgs boson is a particle that helps explain why other particles have mass.

Dr. Baker also studies something called "paraphotons." These are like hidden versions of light particles. He thinks they might help explain dark matter. Dark matter is a mysterious substance in space. Scientists believe it makes up a lot of the universe.

In 2010, Dr. Baker became the director of Yale's A. W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory. This lab has advanced tools. They use them to study tiny particles like neutrinos. They also research dark matter and other basic rules of physics. In February 2021, he was given a special professorship at Yale. It was called the D. Allan Bromley Professorship of Physics.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Oliver Keith Baker has received many awards for his work:

• The Elmbers Innes Award from the National Society of Black Physicists.
• US ATLAS Distinguished Researcher.
• E. L. Hamm, Sr. Distinguished Teaching Award.
• In 2002, the Edward Alexander Bouchet Award from the American Physical Society.
• In 2006, he was added to the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.