Unlocking the mysteries of dark matter, between passion and perseverance

Alvine Kamaha: An exceptional career in experimental physics, challenging stereotypes and pushing the boundaries of science.

Source : Alvine Kamaha

By Marianne Francois

Alvine Kamaha, originally from Cameroon, obtained her bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Douala. She continued with a first master's degree in theoretical atomic physics, then a second in high-energy physics at the Abdus-Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy. She then specialized in neutrino physics , fundamental particles of the standard model, and decided to move towards experimental research. This is how she joined Queen's University in Canada to work at SNOLAB on the PICASSO experiment, which aims to detect potential dark matter particles. Alvine Kamaha transformed her master's degree into a doctorate at Queen's University, where she also pursued a first postdoctoral fellowship. She then went to the United States, to the State University of New York at Albany, for a second postdoctoral fellowship to work on a drift chamber in search of dark matter.

Today, she is an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she works on a cylindrical drift chamber, still with the goal of discovering dark matter. The implications of the discovery of dark matter are the subject of much speculation. Such a discovery would lead to a new relationship between humans and matter and could pave the way for new technological advances.

Photo de Luis Felipe Alburquerque Briganti

Currently, Professor Kamaha is a member of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, dedicated to the search for dark matter. She contributed to the assembly of the detector used in the experiment, ensuring that contamination of the detector surface was reduced (a crucial step to avoid false positives). She also worked on the calibration of the detector. She has also won the DOE (US Department of Energy) Early Career Award and the Edward A. Bouchet Award for her contributions to this project and the advancement of dark matter research.

While Alvine Kamaha was in middle school (equivalent to high school in Quebec), the guidance counselor suggested she pursue a bachelor's degree (i.e., a DEC) in literature and disapproved of her decision to pursue science. In Cameroon, as in many countries, academia and science are overwhelmingly male-dominated. Determined, Alvine Kamaha chose to pursue a science bachelor's degree, defying a culture that tends to confine women to certain fields rather than others. At university, initially wanting to become a pilot, she moved toward physics under the guidance of the academic counselor, in order to acquire a comprehensive understanding of science.

His true love at first sight for physics came in Italy, when he was taught that some particles considered massless in basic courses could be studied experimentally and could possess mass. The idea of being able to shape knowledge and discover new fundamental concepts about the world around us gave him a passion for experimental physics, particularly physics beyond the Standard Model.

Her greatest advice to young and aspiring researchers is to find their passion. Professor Kamaha supports the idea of pursuing fundamental science for the sheer joy it provides: overcoming challenges, pushing the boundaries of our knowledge, exchanging ideas, and thriving in our quest for knowledge. She brings a message of hope in the face of obstacles stemming from gender and racial discrimination.

“Once you find your passion, any difficulty becomes a challenge that you enjoy overcoming,” she says.

She adds that if you're willing to make the necessary sacrifices, you can achieve any goal you set for yourself, despite the additional constraints that discrimination can impose. In her opinion, an adequate support system throughout our scientific adventure is essential: whether it's a mentor or peer encouragement... Passion, perseverance, and support are the key elements I took away from my wonderful meeting with Professor Kamaha.

At the end of our meeting, Alvine Kamaha and I parted with a beautiful anecdote. During an event that brought him together with several researchers around the world, he was told that a physicist, on the very morning of his wedding, was in his lab to complete a data collection. Science is truly a love story.

---

Additional references

• Sanford Underground Research Facility. (nd). Our Story. Accessed November 17, 2024. 🔗

• LUX-ZEPLIN Collaboration. (nd). LUX-ZEPLIN Experiment. Accessed November 17, 2024. 🔗

• Encyclopædia Universalis. (nd). Neutrinos - What are neutrinos? Accessed November 17, 2024. 🔗

• Futura Sciences. (nd). What is dark matter? Accessed November 17, 2024. 🔗

• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). (nd). Kamaha, Alvina. Accessed November 17, 2024. 🔗