PhD in Physics at University of Ljubljana, 2001
A high-energy physicist with three decades of experience, he dedicates his career to exploring fundamental questions about the Universe. I am passionate about bridging scientific discovery and practical application, and I focus on transferring advanced instrumentation from large-scale experiments to medical imaging. I am the coordinator of a European Innovation Council Pathfinder project, PetVision, guiding a consortium of innovators to develop groundbreaking technologies to make healthcare systems more accessible and efficient. My work not only advances physics but also promises transformative impacts on global healthcare.
Interests: Particle detection, Photon detectors, Applications of HEP detectors to Medicine and Biology, Cherenkov light detection, High timing applications
Zaposlitev
from 2001, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2005-2006, CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research
1996-2001 University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
Področje raziskovanja
Experimental particle physics - Identification of charged particles
In the international research collaborations HERA-B, Belle, Belle II and Belle, I am investigating rare processes in the mesons B and D decays and searching for deviations from the Standard Model of elementary particles. I focus on identification methods for charged fundamental particles that exploit the phenomenon of Cherenkov radiation induced in transparent matter by fast charged particles. I am particularly interested in developing instrumentation for the rapid detection of single photons under severe operating conditions, in areas with strong magnetic fields, high trace frequencies and high background radiation.
Medical Physics - Study of diagnostic imaging methods for positron emission tomography
Positron emission tomography is one of the main functional molecular imaging techniques that allows the tracking and study of various biological processes. In medicine, it is mainly used to diagnose cancer. Unfortunately, it is inaccessible to most of the world's population due to the high cost of equipment. In several international projects, I am researching new approaches to develop a new generation of more powerful and cheaper positron tomographs.
I focus on developing gamma-ray annihilation detectors, which, by accurately measuring the detection time, would allow a simplification of the technique and a wider use of the apparatus in different medical fields. I place particular emphasis on the rapid detection of photons. I am also investigating reconstruction methods that would optimally exploit the measured quantities.
Lectures
Physics Laboratory Courses @ University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
Instrumentation Laboratories on ICFA - School on Instrumentation in Elementary Particle Physics
Projekti
- Belle II,
- LHCb
- PetVision, Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder Open Project
- DRD4 Development of photodetectors and particle identification techniques