Who’s Who at the Lab-Fernando Monteiro

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Name: 
Fernando Monteiro
Position: 
Postdoctoral Associate

What do you do here at Wright Lab? 

I work as a postdoc with assistant professor David Moore on the levitated microspheres experiment called Search for new Interactions in a Microsphere Precision Levitation Experiment (SIMPLE). This experiment uses a laser beam to trap a glass sphere with the size of a few microns inside a vacuum chamber. The sphere itself is used as a sensor to measure tiny forces and accelerations. This is a very versatile experiment in the sense that it can be used to probe many different things, such as dark matter, neutrality of matter (sum of proton and electron charges) and new interactions at short distance scales.

A curious fact is that these spheres are usually spinning at more than 5 million revolutions each second. That means sometimes the surface speed is close to 1,000 miles/hour.

What is the most unique and/or exciting experience you’ve had here at Wright Lab?

The machine shop class was something I was not expecting when I started the postdoc. This is something I must recommend to anyone who can do it.

As a unique thing, I like the fact that I was the first postdoc hired by David Moore, and that I was able to see the lab evolving to the point that it now has two experiments running side by side.

What is something that people might not know about you that you’d like to share with the community?

I enjoy really spicy food. Despite the non-ideal New Haven temperatures, I have had some minor success growing ghost peppers at my bedroom window. I know it is much easier to buy them at the grocery store, but I like the challenge of growing them. It also happens that my wife also likes spicy food (maybe even more than me), meaning we are never afraid of cooking spicy dishes.

Where do you like to work remotely?

There is no specific place I prefer. The only thing I try to avoid is to stay at the same place for very long. Any desk works just fine.