Name: Jose W F Valle
Current position: PhD
Affiliation: IFIC (AHEP), Valencia
Field of research: High energy and astroparticle physics
What is your career trajectory to date?
1990-present SENIOR, Valencia U., IFIC
1987-1990 VISITOR, Valencia U., IFIC
1986-1986 VISITOR, Barcelona, IFAE
1983-1985 POSTDOC, Rutherford Lab, UK
1977-1982 PHD, Syracuse U.
What are the most exciting open questions in your research area?
The family problem, the nature of neutrinos and the origin of their masses, connections to unification, gravity and cosmology.
What do you like and dislike about being a scientist?
The expression of curiosity subject to experimental falsification or confirmation.
Which of your skills are you most proud of, or find most useful?
Creativity and critical thinking.
In your career so far, at what point were you the most excited, and what were you excited about?
The discovery of neutrino oscillations and the confirmation of the existence of neutrino mass of which I was lucky to be a theory pioneer.
What new skills would you like to learn in the next year?
I wish to learn more about the theory of gravitational waves and phase transitions.
What advances or new results are you excited about or looking forward to?
The discovery of neutrinoless double beta decay,
Progress on flavour physics,
Advances in cosmology.
What is the biggest obstacle that is slowing down your research field right now?
Excessive bureaucracy in securing funding.
What role do you think a community network like EuCAPT can play in developing theoretical astroparticle physics and cosmology in Europe?
Coordination, leaving enough room for imagination and small experiments.
What’s your favorite food?
Mediterranean.
Have you lived in a different European country than you do now? If so, would you like to tell us something about it, e.g. a fond memory or something you found surprising?
I lived in the UK, the memory is quite pleasant, but this was quite a while ago.
How do you like to relax after a hard day of work?
Gastronomy, music, social nets
Do you have any non-physics interests that you would like to share?
Reading, listening to music and watching movies.
What do you hope to see accomplished scientifically in the next 50 years?
Understanding of the arquitecture of the fundamental interactions, including gravity. Elucidating the nature of neutrinos and understanding the origin of their mass. Understanding fermion mass hierarchies and mixing patterns.