Faculty profile

Alan Chen

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ProfessorPhysics & AstronomyMcMaster University

Alan Chen

Professor

Physics & Astronomy

Faculty of Science

McMaster University

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

In this role since 2013

Email ORCID

Supervision signals

Professors usually supervise graduate students in their department's programs.
No graduate courses on record.
19 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Senior (last) author on 4 recent papers, a sign of leading a research group.

These signals come from public records. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

210

Publications

2,469

Citations

h-index

Collaborators

Publications by year

Counts cover the works listed on the university profile; citation counts come from Dimensions.

Academic profiles

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Contact

chenal@mcmaster.ca (905) 525-9140 ext. 27096

Research

Research areas, by share of publications

Nuclear physics research studiesPhysics and Astronomy
Nuclear Physics and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy
Astronomical and nuclear sciencesPhysics and Astronomy
Neutrino Physics ResearchPhysics and Astronomy

Research areas are derived from OpenAlex topics of their publications.

From the 150 most recent of 210 publications.

Direct Measurement of 59Cu(p,α)56Ni Precludes a Strong NiCu Cycle in Type-I X-Ray Bursts

Bhathi N, Randhawa JS, Kanungo R, Refsgaard J, Alcorta M, Ahn T, Andreoiu C, Bardayan D, Bhattacharjee SS, Davids B

The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ)2026

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae3de6

β-delayed proton pandemonium: A first detailed Cl31(βpγ)P30 decay scheme

Budner T, Friedman M, Sun LJ, Wrede C, Brown BA, Pérez-Loureiro D, Surbrook J, Adams A, Ayyad Y, Bardayan DW

Physical Review C2026

DOI: 10.1103/v4dz-yytr

$$β$-delayed proton pandemonium: A first detailed $^{31}$Cl($βp γ$)$^{30}$P decay scheme

Budner T, Friedman M, Sun L, Wrede C, Brown BA, Pérez-Loureiro D, Surbrook J, Adams A, Ayyad Y, Bardayan DW

2026

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2510.04456

Object detection with deep learning for rare event search in the GADGET II TPC

Wheeler T, Ravishankar S, Wrede C, Andalib A, Anthony A, Ayyad Y, Jain B, Jaros A, Mahajan R, Schaedig L

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment20253 citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2025.170659

Total absorption spectroscopy for the β+ decay strength distribution of Ga60

Owens-Fryar G, Lyons SM, Richard AL, Spyrou A, Brown BA, Robin CEP, Meisel Z, Berg HC, Chester A, Chen AA

Physical Review C20251 citationsSenior author

DOI: 10.1103/physrevc.111.065801

Signature of 0+ excited state and shape coexistence in 94Kr through 93Kr(d,p)94Kr reaction

Walter D, Kanungo R, Holl M, Roy-Garand S, Hu BS, Holt JD, Alcorta M, Andreoiu C, Bhattacharjee S, Chen AA

Physics Letters B2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2025.139352

Elastic scattering of He3+He4 with the SONIK scattering chamber

Paneru SN, Brune CR, Connolly D, Odell D, Poudel M, Phillips DR, Karpesky J, Davids B, Ruiz C, Lennarz A

Physical Review C202412 citations

DOI: 10.1103/physrevc.109.015802

Impact of age on the host response to sepsis in a murine model of fecal-induced peritonitis

Sharma N, Chen A, Heinen L, Liu R, Dwivedi DJ, Zhou J, Lalu MM, Mendelson AA, McDonald B, Kretz CA

Intensive Care Medicine Experimental202411 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1186/s40635-024-00609-8 PMID: W4392599830

Measuring neutron capture cross sections of radioactive nuclei

Dillmann I, Kester O, Baartman R, Chen A, Junginger T, Herwig F, Kaltchev D, Lennarz A, Planche T, Ruiz C

European Physical Journal A202310 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1140/epja/s10050-023-01012-9 PMID: W4376277959

Radiative Capture on Nuclear Isomers: Direct Measurement of the Al26m(p,γ)Si27 Reaction

Lotay G, Lennarz A, Ruiz C, Akers C, Chen AA, Christian G, Connolly D, Davids B, Davinson T, Fallis J

Physical Review Letters202216 citations

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.042701

Courses taught

Introductory Physics
PHYSICS 1A03 · last taught 2026
Undergraduate
Physics
ARTSSCI 2D06B · last taught 2024
Undergraduate
Physics
ARTSSCI 2D06A · last taught 2023
Undergraduate
Modern Physics
PHYSICS 2C03 · last taught 2021
Undergraduate

Research institutes and memberships

Origins Institute

Frequent collaborators

Co-authors at McMaster University. Thicker lines mean more shared papers.Explore the network

Annika Lennarz

Physics & Astronomy

21 shared papers, latest 2026

James Charles Waddington

Physics & Astronomy

2 shared papers, latest 2007

Ryan Lewis

Engineering Physics

1 shared papers, latest 2003

Researchers with similar interests

Soo Hyun Byun

Physics & Astronomy

Nuclear Physics and Applications

David Cowan

Medicine

Nuclear Physics and Applications

John Mernagh

Medical Imaging

Nuclear Physics and Applications

David Novog

Engineering Physics

Nuclear Physics and Applications

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Subject: Prospective PhD student: Nuclear physics research studies Dear Professor Chen, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Direct Measurement of 59Cu(p,α)56Ni Precludes a Strong NiCu Cycle in Type-I X-Ray Bursts" (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

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Alan Chen

Research

Direct Measurement of 59Cu(p,α)56Ni Precludes a Strong NiCu Cycle in Type-I X-Ray Bursts

β-delayed proton pandemonium: A first detailed Cl31(βpγ)P30 decay scheme

$$β$-delayed proton pandemonium: A first detailed $^{31}$Cl($βp γ$)$^{30}$P decay scheme

Object detection with deep learning for rare event search in the GADGET II TPC

Total absorption spectroscopy for the β+ decay strength distribution of Ga60

Signature of 0+ excited state and shape coexistence in 94Kr through 93Kr(d,p)94Kr reaction

Elastic scattering of He3+He4 with the SONIK scattering chamber

Impact of age on the host response to sepsis in a murine model of fecal-induced peritonitis

Measuring neutron capture cross sections of radioactive nuclei

Radiative Capture on Nuclear Isomers: Direct Measurement of the Al26m(p,γ)Si27 Reaction

Courses taught

Research institutes and memberships

Frequent collaborators

Annika Lennarz

James Charles Waddington

Colin Kretz

Patricia Chia-Ying Liaw

Ryan Lewis

Alison Fox-Robichaud

Researchers with similar interests

Soo Hyun Byun

David Cowan

John Mernagh

David Novog