BNL-Yale Collaboration in Instrumentation Development for the Physical Sciences

March 12, 2026

Seven people standing posing for a picture in front of the DUNE assembly setup at Wright Lab."\ enlarge

The group in Wright Lab's high bay in front of an assembly area for the DUNE charge readout planes. Credit: Yale Wright Laboratory/Victoria Misenti

Editor's note: The following article was originally issued by Yale University’s Wright Laboratory to highlight ongoing collaborative research efforts between the Wright Lab and Brookhaven Lab’s Discovery Technologies Directorate. For more information about Brookhaven’s role in this work, contact Danielle Roedel, 631-344 8350, droedel@bnl.gov.

On February 27, a group from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)’s Discovery Technologies Directorate visited Yale Wright Laboratory (Wright Lab) to discuss ongoing scientific collaborations, including joint work on the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), and to explore new initiatives and opportunities for collaboration in the areas of instrumentation development for fundamental physics.  

The BNL group included Gabriella Carini, Associate Laboratory Director for the Discovery Technologies Directorate at BNL; Juan Estrada, Deputy for Research and Scientific Division Head, Instrumentation Department; Matt Worcester,  Particle Detectors Group Leader, Scientific Division, Instrumentation Department; and Steven Linden, Staff Scientist, Particle Detectors Group, Scientific Division, Instrumentation Department. 

The BNL group toured Wright Lab’s research facilities, including the high bay where Prof. Karsten Heeger’s group is assembling the charge readout planes for DUNE, the sites of the ALPHA and HAYSTAC axion dark matter search experiments, and the clean room for the production of stave cores for the ATLAS experiment. 

Four people posing in by HAYSTAC experiment at Wright Lab. enlarge

The group visited HAYSTAC, an axion dark matter detection experiment at Wright Lab. Credit: Yale Wright Laboratory/Karsten Heeger.

The group also met with Wright Lab Director Heeger, Advanced Instrumentation Development Center (AIDC) Director Jack DiSciacca, Director of Cores Ben Myers, Physics Chair Sarah Demers, and Physical Sciences and Engineering Building (PSEB) Director Peter Duda to discuss opportunities for collaboration enabled by the instrumentation initiative at Yale and the new AIDC; learn about the  upcoming PSEB; and discuss potential opportunities for  U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Genesis mission, which aims to leverage advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to double scientific productivity and encourages university-lab partnerships. 

Heeger said, “Wright Lab and Yale Physics have had many outstanding collaborations with BNL over the years. Our joint work on DUNE, ATLAS, and the EIC supports some of the largest experimental efforts in physics and leverage the local infrastructure and facilities we have at Wright Lab.”  

Heeger continued, “Looking forward, Yale’s recent initiatives in advanced instrumentation development, quantum science and sensors, and AI present further opportunities for collaboration. The programs and facilities of the AIDC and PSEB will allow us to leverage their unique capabilities to promote collaborations, train students in cutting-edge technologies, and advance discovery science.”  

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