Hi my name is Josh Hooker.

I am currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, TN. My main area of research is the structure of exotic nuclei and nuclear astrophysics.

I obtained my Ph. D. in Physics at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. My dissertation work was the study of two proton rich exotic nuclei: ⁹C and ¹⁰N. As a side project to my dissertation, I have also built and deployed neutron detectors to measure thermal and fast neutron spectrums at a 1 megawatt TRIGA (Testing, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) reactor for coherent neutrino scattering and sterile neutrino studies.

I attended Texas A&M University - Commerce in Commerce,TX where I obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Physics. During my time at Texas A&M-Commerce, I studied neutron stars and how the nuclear equation of state changes their observational properties seen by astronomers. Some of these effects include pulsar glitches (my thesis topic), mass-radius curves and neutron star cooling.

I have a strong interest in machine learning techniques and how these techniques can be applied to problems in physics that will push the boundary.

Outside of physics, some of my interests are:

• Photography/Wildlife photography

• Hiking

• Tennis