Nathan Dzbenski, a Ph.D. alumnus in the Physics Department at Old Dominion University, has always had an extreme passion and interest in particle physics, and that spark ignited at Old Dominion University. The road to getting his Ph.D. was filled with unexpected twists and turns.
Dzbenski started college in 2002, but shortly after the terrorist attack on 9-11 he realized he needed to join the Army. "I deployed a bunch of times to the Middle East and south Asia, conducting over a hundred combat operations from high-threat protection to counter-insurgency operations," said Dzbenski. When he returned from his tours of duty, he volunteered at animal shelters to help shelter dogs become more approachable, teachable, and ultimately adoptable. "I also got into and still skydive, scuba dive, run ultra-marathons, and compete in Olympic weightlifting training," said Dzbenski.
After serving 10 years in the Army and volunteering in animal shelters, he returned to his academic journey at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) earning a Bachelor of Science. While attending UNCW Dzbenski was offered an internship at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator in Newport News. During his internship he encountered influential Monarchs who encouraged him to apply to the Physics Department Ph.D. Program. In 2014 he was accepted into ODU's graduate program and he immediately dove into research and classes.
Many ODU faculty members and Jefferson Lab scientists inspired Dzbenski, in particular Dr. Gail Dodge, Dean of the College of Sciences. "He was an excellent student," said Dean Dodge. "His unusual background was a huge strength because he was able to persevere even when the research was not going smoothly." Dean Dodge helped Nathan with his professional advancement and academic needs by supporting him as her student on the BoNUS experiment at Jefferson Lab.
"Being so close to a particle accelerator in Newport News was incredible. There are an enormous amount of experienced faculty and resources available to me as a Ph.D. candidate," said Dzbenski. "Over the past five plus years at ODU I've been the primary simulation software developer and data analyst for a high-energy physics experiment that's meant to examine the structure of the neutron" said Dzbenski. He also designed and built a system to measure the drift velocity in the gas used in the BoNUS detector, which helps to monitor that the experiment is running smoothly and which will help with analysis of the data later.
The BoNUS experiment started running at Jefferson Lab early in 2020, but COVID-19 prematurely ended it. "The experiment that I've been a part of consists of a world-wide collaboration of scientists, so as COVID-19 spread and travel restrictions began, the first thing that happened was a lack of personnel to run the experiment," said Dzbenski. Fortunately, the entire team of global scientists worked remotely to analyze the data that were taken and look for problems that needed to be solved. The BoNUS experiment has since resumed data taking.
COVID-19 prematurely ended their experiment at Jefferson Lab. "The experiment that I've been a part of consists of a world-wide collaboration of scientists, so as COVID-19 spread and travel restrictions began, the first thing that happened was a lack of personnel to run the experiment," said Dzbenski. Fortunately, the entire team of global scientists worked remotely to continue analyzing their findings to analyze all the previous data from the experiment and account for missing portions.
"ODU is an incredible place to do research and this type of experience extends to every Ph.D. program at ODU, and if you're willing to put the time and effort in, ODU is without a doubt the place to earn that title of Ph.D.," said Dzbenski. His time at ODU and working at Jefferson Lab has prepared him for his next venture. This fall he will be the Lead Data Scientist at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. "It's been a fun, crazy, intense, yet invaluable experience that I've had at ODU, and I'm truly grateful for every moment I've been here, and I'll take my experiences with me for the rest of my life," said Dzbenski.