Ragnar Stroberg earned a PhD in physics at Michigan State University, and he was at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) from 2009 to 2014. He is currently a staff member in the theory group at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).

As a graduate student at NSCL, he worked in Alexandra Gade's group, using gamma ray spectroscopy to study the structure of exotic nuclei. His thesis focused on using single-nucleon knockout reactions to study the evolution of shell structure with neutron number in the silicon isotopic chain.

After graduating, Stroberg was a postdoctoral fellow in nuclear theory at TRIUMF in Canada. Following that, he was a visiting assistant professor at Reed College in Oregon, and then a research assistant professor at the University of Washington, before joining ANL.

At ANL, he works on ab initio nuclear theory, which is directly related to the physics he was working on at NSCL. Stroberg said the main difference is that he is using computers to answer questions, rather than an accelerator and detectors.

Stroberg met his wife, Jenna Smith—who also earned her PhD in 2014—at the MSU recruitment visit in 2009. They have a one-year-old daughter.

Stroberg said NSCL (and now FRIB) is a great place to be a student in nuclear physics. He said there is always a lot of activity taking place at the laboratory, such as experts from around the world visiting to give seminars and run experiments. He said the experience helped him learn about the state-of-the-art in nuclear theory, even though he was studying experimental physics.

“My PhD adviser, Alexandra Gade, was—and continues to be—a terrific mentor,” he said. “Despite being very busy, she is seemingly always available to answer questions, give advice, or write letters of recommendation. I also learned a lot about physics and other things from other grad students and staff members on long bike rides or at happy hours. I still remember Titus Morris (now at Oak Ridge National Laboratory) explaining symmetry breaking and restoration to me by scribbling equations on a cocktail napkin at Crunchy's.”