The fellowship will take him to Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, where he will work with Professor Julia Harz in theoretical high-energy physics. 

At Mainz, Aaroodd will study Leptogenesis, a mechanism that may help explain one of the fundamental mysteries of the universe: why it contains far more matter than antimatter. Working with Harz and her research group, he will focus on improving theoretical calculations using the Closed Time Path formalism, a more fundamental approach for studying the dynamics involved in generating the matter-antimatter asymmetry. 

The collaboration is a natural continuation of work already underway between Aaroodd, Harz’s group, and WashU Physics Professor Bhupal Dev, who also visits Mainz during the summer through a Humboldt fellowship. For Aaroodd, the matter-antimatter asymmetry is the problem in physics that interests him most, and Professor Harz's group is known for pushing the theoretical side of that question forward. “What I like about this problem is that the question is simple, why is there something instead of nothing, but getting to a real answer takes some genuinely hard math. That's exactly the kind of challenge I want to spend my time on,” he said.

The fellowship will also bring Aaroodd back to Germany, where he completed his master’s degree. Beyond his research, he looks forward to connecting with other DAAD and Humboldt scholars from around the world, building a network that will extend beyond his time in Mainz. 

We congratulate Aaroodd on this exciting opportunity and look forward to seeing where his research takes him!