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Abigail Vieregg is an assistant professor of physics a with the Enrico Fermi Institute and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago. Vieregg is an experimental physicist, known for building millimetre and radio detectors and improving analysis techniques for observing the cosmic microwave background and high energy neutrinos. She is notable for her outreach work to engage new and young audiences with science research.

Education
Vieregg received her undergraduate degree in physics from Dartmouth University in 2004. She then moved to the University of California, Los Angeles in 2010 where she received a masters in 2006, then PhD in 2010.

After completing her PhD, Vieregg received an NSF Postdoctoral award from the Office of Polar Programs to study the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. During her postdoctorate, Vieregg studied the CMB by working on detectors like BICEP2 and Keck Array both located at the South Pole.

Research and Career
In 2014, Vieregg began as an assistant professor at the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago. Vieregg's work focuses on answering questions about the nature of the early universe. Her work looks at both questions in cosmology, studying the CMB, and particle astrophysics, looking at high energy neutrinos.

In cosmology, she studies the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). By analyzing data from Bicep 3 and the Keck Array, Vieregg and her students learn more about the inflation of the early universe. Beyond analysis of current experiments, Vieregg continues to be involved in the planning of the next stage of CMB detectors. This detector, CMB-S4, is a ground-based CMB experiment that increases the sensitivity of CMB detection. This experiment will allow scientists to detect or to rule out slow roll inflation, as well as allowing for new measurements on neutrino mass and study neutrino's interactions with light. Vieregg recently led discussions on the cryostat and cooling devices for this new detector.

Vieregg's work on neutrino's allows her to study particles with 10 million times more energy than can be produced in current man-made particle accelerators like CERN. Vieregg leads the team analysing data on neutrinos and ultra high energy cosmic rays on the antarctic-balloon- detector experiment ANITA. Her team also works to deploy arrays for the ground-based experiment Askaryan Radio Array (ARA), and is leading an effort to make an interferometric phased array trigger, which will increase instrument sensitivity.

Outreach Activities
Vieregg maintained a blog while working at the South Pole, providing pictures and details about life on the South Pole, as well as updates on experimental progress.

Vieregg has worked as an Ambassador for the Worldwide Telescope Program, parterning with Clarke Middle School in Lexington, MA, to help students do research projects on Astronomy topics of their choice. She developed a free software which creates 3D visualization of the universe from real astronomical data. Vieregg has continued her work as an ambassador at the Adler Planetarium, giving talks to museum-goers through the Astronomy Conversations program.

As part of the Cottrell award, Vieregg is working to increase the retention of women physics majors between their first and second years. She is constructing a mentorship program and providing more active-learning based teaching for first year mechanics students.

Awards
2019 Presidential Early Career Award

2018 Cottrell Award

2017 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship

2017 Shakti P. Duggal Award

2016 NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowship

2011-2013 NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, Office of Polar Programs