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About

Akaa Daniel Ayangeakaa joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina in the summer of 2020, following his tenure as an Assistant Professor at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Benue State University in Makurdi, Nigeria, and went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Radiation and Environmental Protection from the University of Surrey, UK. He completed his PhD in Nuclear Structure Physics at the University of Notre Dame, where his research focused on exotic modes of collective excitation, including nuclear rotations and vibrations.

After earning his PhD, Ayangeakaa held a postdoctoral position at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and served as a visiting research fellow at the University of Maryland before joining USNA. His research centers on understanding the evolution of nuclear shapes in proton- and neutron-rich systems, quantifying how these shape changes influence nuclear properties.

 

Professional Experience

  • Associate Professor, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill NC (2024 – Present)
  • Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill NC (2020 – 2024)
  • Assistant Professor, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis MD (2017 – 2020)
  • Visiting Research Fellow, University of Maryland, College Park MD (2017 – 2017)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne IL (2013-2016)
  • Adjunct Professor, Chicago State University, Chicago IL (2015 – 2015)
  • Research/Teaching Assistant, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame IL (2007-2013)
  • Lecturer, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria (2005 – 2007)

 

Honors and Awards

  • Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Graduate School Award in Science. The highest honor bestowed on a Notre Dame graduate student (2013)
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award. Presented by the University of Notre Dame Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning (2010)
  • Valedictorian, Combined 3rd, 4th, & 5th Convocation of Benue State University, Nigeria (2002)
  • Best Poster Presented at the biannual Nuclear Chemistry Gordon Research Conference. Selected for oral presentation. (2015)
  • Best Poster Presented at the biannual Nuclear Chemistry Gordon Research Conference. Selected for oral presentation. (2013)

 

Selected Publications

Click here for a complete list or visit scholar.google.com/ayangeakaa (or adsabs) for the most up-to-date list and related publication metrics.

  1. N. Sensharma, U. Garg, D. P. Burdette, J. L. Cozzi, S. Frauendorf, K. B. Howard, Q. B. Chen, S. Zhu, M. P. Carpenter, P. Copp, F. G. Kondev, T. Lauritsen, J. Li, D. Seweryniak, J.Wu, A. D. Ayangeakaa, D. J. Hartley, R. V. F. Janssens, A. M. Forney,W. B.Walters, S. S. Ghugre, and R. Palit: Longitudinal Wobbling Motion in 187Au. Physical Review Letters 124, 052501(2020)
  2. A. D. Ayangeakaa, R. V. F. Janssens, S. Zhu, D. Little, J. Henderson, C. Y. Wu, D. J. Hartley, M. Albers, K. Auranen, B. Bucher, M. P. Carpenter, P. Chowdhury, D. Cline, H. L. Crawford, P. Fallon, A. M. Forney, A. Gade, A. B. Hayes, F. G. Kondev, Krishichayan, T. Lauritsen, J. Li, A. O. Macchiavelli, D. Rhodes, D. Seweryniak, S. M. Stolze, W. B. Walters, and J. Wu: Evidence for rigid triaxial deformation in 76Ge from a model-independent analysis. Physical Review Letters 123, 102501 (2019).
  3. A. M. Forney,W. B.Walters, C. J. Chiara, R. V. F. Janssens, A. D. Ayangeakaa, J. Sethi, J. Harker, M. Alcorta, M. P. Carpenter, G. Grdal, C. R. Hoffman, B. P. Kay, F. G. Kondev, T. Lauritsen, C. J. Lister, E. A. McCutchan, A. M. Rogers, D. Seweryniak, I. Stefanescu, and S. Zhu: Novel DI = 1 Sequence in 78Ge: Possible Evidence for Triaxiality. Physical Review Letters 120, 212501 (2018).
  4. A. D. Ayangeakaa, U. Garg, C. M. Petrache, S. Guo, P. W. Zhao, J. T. Matta, B. K. Nayak, D. Patel, R. V. F. Janssens, M. P. Carpenter, C. J. Chiara, F. G. Kondev, T. Lauritsen, D. Seweryniak, S. Zhu, S. S. Ghugre, and R. Palit: In-beam spectroscopy of medium- and high-spin states in 133Ce. Physical Review C 93, 054317 (2016).
  5. A. D. Ayangeakaa, R. V. F. Janssens, C. Y.Wu, J. M. Allmond, J. L.Wood, S. Zhu, M. Albers, M. P. Carpenter, H. David, C. Hoffman, B. Kay, A. Korichi, T. Lauritsen, D. Seweryniak, B. Bucher, A. O. Macchiavelli, A. Wiens, C. J. Chiara, J. Harker, H. Crawford, A. Richard, K. Kolds, A. Korichi: Shape Coexistence and the role axial asymmetry in 72Ge. Physics Letters B 754, 254 (2016).
  6. B. Bucher, S. Zhu, C.Y. Wu, R.V.F. Janssens, D. Cline, A.B. Hayes, M. Albers, A. D. Ayangeakaa, P. Butler, C. Campbell, M.P. Carpenter, C.J. Chiara, J. Clark, H. Crawford, M. Cromaz, H.M. David, C. Dickerson, E.T. Gregor, F.G. Kondev, J. Harker, C.R. Hoffman, B.P. Kay A. Korichi, T. Lauritsen, A.O. Macchiavelli, R. Pardo, A. Richard, M. Riley, G. Savard, M. Scheck, D. Seweryniak, M.K. Smith, R. Vondrasek, and A. Wiens: Direct Evidence of Octupole Deformation in Neutron-Rich 144Ba. Physical Review Letters 116, 112503 (2016).