Biographical Sketch:
Prof. Sarah Demers is an experimental particle physicist in the Yale Physics Department. She uses tau leptons to probe for and characterize physics beyond the Standard Model with the ATLAS experiment and hunts for signs of new physics at the Mu2e Experiment.
Before coming to Yale in 2009, she taught for two years as an assistant professor at Roberts Wesleyan College, and then returned to research with a postdoctoral position for Stanford’s Linear Accelerator Center, during which time she was based at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. She did her Ph.D. at Fermilab’s TeVatron as a student at the University of Rochester and she received her AB in physics from Harvard University. A member of the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and the Mu2e Collaboration at Fermilab, she investigates the fundamental building blocks of nature and the forces through which they interact.
Sarah’s work has been recognized with an Early Career Award from the Department of Energy as well as a US ATLAS Fellowship. She has several teaching and service awards from Yale. She teaches “The Physics of Music” and co-teaches “The Physics of Dance” at Yale, and she co-authored the book Physics and Dance with dancer, choreographer, and Yale Professor Emily Coates.
In July 2025, Sarah became Chair of the Physics Department at Yale.
Research:
Education:
Ph.D., University of Rochester, 2005
Honors & Awards:
- Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS)
- Holds a number of leadership positions in both the ATLAS and Mu2e collaborations
- Served on the national Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5)
- Yale Provost Teaching Award
- Yale Poorvu Family Award for Interdisciplinary Teaching
- Early career award from the United States’ Department of Energy (2011)
- Engaged with bringing science to the public realm and advocating for the equality of
women in science through radio programs, op-eds, podcasts, talks, and outreach experiences
Selected Publications:
