Science at the South Pole

Brian Keating, professor of physics at University of California San Diego, researches cosmic microwave background (CMB) in an effort to learn more about the origins and evolution of the universe. In particular, Dr. Keating is searching for a particular polarization pattern of CMB light, termed B-modes. As director of the Simons Observatory in northern Chile and as part of the BICEP collaboration at the South Pole, Dr. Keating searches for B-modes that are predicted by physicists to hold secrets behind events that occurred shortly after the Big Bang.