Kelly Stifter

The goal of my research is to develop detectors to search for particle-like dark matter across the full theoretically well-motivated mass parameter space (keV and above). I am a Co-PI of the DMQIS (Dark Matter Quantum Information Science) group, which is focused on developing quantum-sensor-based dark matter detectors. In particular, I work to deploy cryogenic optical beam steering systems at SLAC for the sub-eV calibration of quantum sensors. I am also a member of the SuperCDMS collaboration, which is currently under construction and expects to produce world-leading dark matter search results by 2026.

Kelly previously held a Lederman Fellowship at Fermilab, where she lead the first dark matter search for the SENSEI@SNOLAB detector and laid the groundwork for developing the next generation of detection techniques based on quantum technology. She completed her Ph.D. in 2021 at Stanford University working on the LZ dark matter experiment, and received her B.S. in physics and mathematics from The University of Minnesota in 2015.