I am an associate professor at the University of Oregon in the Department of Physics and a member of the Institute for Fundamental Science. My research is in particle physics phenomenology and I am interested in understanding the nature of dark matter. Dark matter comprises nearly 85% of the known matter content of the Universe, but its identity remains a mystery. Specifically, I focus on methods and techniques of detecting various candidates of dark matter. I am a co-founder of the SENSEI experiment, which uses silicon CCDs to look for dark matter candidates that are less massive than a proton. In addition, I investigate the potential of astrophysical and cosmological probes to detect models of ultralight dark matter. You can find a list of my publications at INSPIRE-HEP. I am a member of the 2023 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5), which was charged with creating a roadmap for the next two decades of particle physics in the US.
Since arriving at UO, I created -- in collaboration with Prof. Kate Kelp-Stebbins and the UO Comics Studies program -- the UO Science and Comics Initiative. You can read more about the initiative here!
Brief CV
2022 - present // University of Oregon, Associate Professor of Physics
2017 - 2022 // University of Oregon, Assistant Professor of Physics (on leave 2017-2018 AY)
2016-2018 // CERN, theory group fellow
2013-2016 // CN Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, postdoctoral fellow
2011-2013 // Fermilab theory group, graduate student fellow
2008-2013 // University of Wisconsin - Madison, PhD Physics
2003-2007 // University of Chicago, AB Physics and Mathematics
Awards and Honors
2021 // New Horizons Prize in Physics with Rouven Essig, Javier Tiffenberg, and Tomer Volansky
2020 // NSF CAREER Award
2011 // Fermilab Fellowship in Theoretical Physics
2010, 2011 // Elizabeth Hirschfelder Scholarship for Graduate Women
2008 // NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2008 // GANN Fellowship
Group Members
Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in joining my group!
Thomas Bouley (PhD student)
Aria Radick (PhD student)
Thomas Schwemberger (PhD student)
Pouya Asadi (IFS postdoc)
Ben Lillard (IFS postdoc)
Former group members
Anna-Maria Taki (IFS postdoc, 2019-2022)
Teaching
Winter 2024 // PHYS610: General Relativity I, please see Canvas for course information.
Code
QEdark
474 Willamette Hall
Eugene, OR 97403
tientien[at]uoregon[dot]edu
The University of Oregon is located on Kalapuya Ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people.