I am an Assistant Professor in Physics at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly).
I attended the the University of Dallas, graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics in 2004. I continued to study physics at the University of Chicago earning a master's degree in 2005 and a doctorate in 2010. For my dissertation I developed a technique for measuring the composition of cosmic rays using imaging Cherenkov telescopes, like VERITAS and TrICE.
At Cal Poly, I specialize in experimental particle astrophysics, searching for the highest energy neutrinos and cosmic rays. I started my more recent work on the radio detection of high-energy particles working on ANITA as a postdoc at the University of California, Los Angeles. I am also a member of the ARA collaboration. I also did a postdoc in science education at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where I taught, developed curricula and exhibits, and worked with educators.
Email me at swissel (at) calpoly.edu.