Hey! I am Nathan Rutherford (he/him), a Ph.D. candidate in theoretical astroparticle physics. I was born and raised in Unadilla, New York, USA (a tiny town of 1,091 people, as of the 2022 census). Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in theoretical astroparticle physics being advised by Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and unofficially co-advised by Dr. Anna Watts. My work focuses on inferring constraints on the microphysics of visible matter and dark matter using neutron star measurements and Bayesian statistics. 

I received my B.S in physics and mathematics from SUNY Oneonta in 2019. While at SUNY Oneonta, I was actively engaged in independent studies ranging from Lie Algebras to Quantum Field Theory and worked as a calculus tutor. Typically, people who graduate with a bachelors in physics and math go straight to graduate school, however, I took a gap year because I did not get accepted in to any of the physics Ph.D. programs that I applied to. 

During my gap year, I worked as an account manager for Coca-Cola beverages Northeast (Coke Northeast for short) and worked on improving my applications from Physics GRE tests scores to personal statements to self-studying Einstein's theory of general relativity. At Coke Northeast, I was the person in charge of ordering the soda and coordinating with store managers from Walmart to gas stations about various soda displays. Most work days at Coke Northeast would start at 5 A.M. and end between 3-5 P.M. So, improving my application was a tough challenge, but so worth it. 

In August 2020, I started physics graduate school at the University of New Hampshire. I earned my MSc in physics from UNH in May 2023. Finally, I will be defending my Ph.D. in the spring of 2025 and will be applying to postdoctoral positions in the USA and Europe in the fall of 2024.

When I am not doing physics, I enjoy training my teenaged sassy yellow lab  Ms. Faye Valentine, growing plants, and cooking (especially anything to deal with pesto or chocolate)! I am also an avid PC gamer and anime watcher.