Biographical Information for David Toback
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Experimental High Energy Particle Physics
Texas A&M University
Contact Information:
Texas A&M University
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy
4242 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843
MIST M425
More detailed information (including more information my papers, projects and talks) can be found on my main home page which can be found Here
Dr. David Toback is Professor of Physics and Astronomy and a member of the Mitchell Institute at Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Thaman Professor for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. Prof. Toback received his B.S. in physics from M.I.T. in 1991, his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1997, and joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 2000. His area of specialization is Experimental Particle Physics and has focused on the search for new fundamental particles. This includes searches for Dark Matter with the CDMS experiment (formerly in Minnesota and moving to Sudbury, Ontario Canada), with the CDF Experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron (outside Chicago, IL). He is also working in the areas of Neutrino Physics (DUNE R&D), Quantum Computing and Big Computing. He has also been on the DZero experiment at Fermilab and the CMS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC (in Geneva, Switzerland). The search for new particles is motivated in part by the tantalizing possibility of understanding the mysteries of particle physics, the earliest moments in the Universe after the Big Bang, and the existence of the Dark Matter that pervades the Universe today with a single discovery. He spends most of his time on the CDMS experiment, while ramping down on the CDF experiment (where he is currently the co-spokesperson), and ramping up on neutrino physics. He is the author of the book Big Bang, Black Holes, No Math.
Dr. Toback is the recipient of numerous awards:
Texas A&M:
- Texas A&M Fraternity Advisor of the Year Award (2020)
- Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (2015)
- Sigma Alpha Mu National Faculty Advisor of the Year Award (2014)
- Sigma Alpha Mu (Gamma Kappa Chapter) Recognition Award (2014)
- Interfraternity Council and Collegiage Panhellenic Council Recognized Professor Award (2013)
- Texas A&M Fishcamp Namesake: Camp Toback (2013)
- Winner of the Sigma Xi Outstanding Science Communicator Award (2012)
- Named the Arthur J. and Wilhelmina D. Thaman Professor for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence (2012)
- Winner of the Honors and Undergraduate Research Program Teacher-Scholar Award (2011)
- Winner of the Student Led Award for Teaching Excellence: SLATE (Fall 2008 and Spring 2010)
- Named the Arthur J. and Wilhelmina D. Thaman Professor for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence (2008)
- Winner of the Association of Former Students Distinguished Teaching Award, University Level (2007)
- Winner of the Association of Former Students Distinguished Teaching Award, College Level (2004)
- Cited by the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets (2002)
- Winner of the Montague Scholarship Award from the Center for Teaching Excellence (2002)
University of Chicago:
- Nathan Sugarman Award for graduate research (1997)
- The Wayne Booth Graduate Student Prize, the University Wide Award for Graduate Student Teaching (1992)
- The Gregor Wenzel Prize, Department of Physics Award for graduate student teaching (1992)