Thomas J. Bowles, PhD, Fellow of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Gets the Star Treatment!

    LOS ALAMOS, NM, April 04, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Thomas J. Bowles, PhD has participated in The Star Treatment, a prestigious video series hosted by renowned lawyer and television personality, Star Jones. This premier video series is extremely limited — Marquis Who's Who qualifies 500 listees on an annual basis for this elite service. Backed by a storied career in media that spans more than two decades, Star works closely with Marquis listees to assist with networking goals and commemorative efforts that can be shared with a worldwide audience.

Dr. Bowles is a fellow with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where his primary focus is to ensure the scientific health and technology vitality of the laboratory. Dr. Bowles is also an affiliate professor at the University of Washington. As a Los Alamos Fellow, Dr. Bowles has contributed significantly to the understanding of dark matter, an elusive substance that comprises 70% of the matter in the known universe, according to current scientific consensus.

Dark matter is a form of matter that does not absorb, reflect, or emit electromagnetic radiation, including light, making its detection very difficult. Dr. Bowles explained that the universe is made up of 5% ordinary matter, including the atoms that make up the books, desks, water and air around us, while the other 95% is made up of unknown matter. Of this vast quantity of unknown matter, 70% is dark matter, and 25% is dark energy, an exotic form of energy that causes the universe to expand over time.

Dr. Bowles' interest in dark matter began during his PhD at Princeton University, where he became interested in particles called neutrinos when he was working with his thesis advisor Prof Gerry Garvey and with Prof Hamish Robertson. Neutrinos are ghost particles that barely interact with matter; they pass through the earth like glass. For a long time, physicists thought they would never be able to detect them. However, Dr. Bowles and his team were able to detect neutrinos by building observatories a mile underground to observe the Sun's center. The underground observatories allowed them to observe neutrinos because cosmic rays from outer space obscure the signal from the neutrinos.

Dr. Bowles led the U.S. effort with Russia on joint research, working on a program called the Soviet-American Gallium Experiment. The Russians had an underground laboratory, which they needed, while the U.S. had the computers and high-tech equipment the Russians needed. The collaboration was a success, and Dr. Bowles spent a few months a year for 12 years in Russia working in the underground laboratory. Through the experiment, Dr. Bowles and his team were able to detect neutrinos from the Sun and proved that neutrinos have some mass, albeit very small. They were also able to show that neutrinos are a form of dark matter.

After the Soviet-American Gallium Experiment, Dr. Bowles worked on another experiment called the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. The observatory was built 6,900 feet underground in a nickel mine in Canada. The Canadian government loaned the experiment 1,000 tons of heavy water worth $300 million that is used in their nuclear reactors. The scientists built a detector that was 11 stories tall and had 10,000 photo-multipliers around the outside looking at the flashes of light the neutrinos created. The experiment proved that the neutrinos had mass, providing further evidence that neutrinos were a form of dark matter, for which it was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015.

Dr. Bowles' research on dark matter has led to a greater understanding of the universe's composition. Still, much of Dark matter remains unknown, and researchers are still trying to understand its properties. Dr. Bowles mentioned that the research into dark matter was essential to understanding the universe's evolution and how galaxies formed. Scientists are now working on detecting dark matter particles directly, which would provide a greater understanding of the substance.

While Dr. Bowles continued his research, he also moved into management at Los Alamos and became a member of the Senior Executive Team with oversight of the discretionary research at the Lab. In 2005 Dr. Bowles was asked to serve as the Science Advisor to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, which he did for four years. That led to Dr. Bowles getting involved in Technology-Based Economic Development. Dr. Bowles credits Gov. Richardson for providing him with opportunities to grow Clean Energy in New Mexico.

New Mexico, like many other states in the United States, is facing significant challenges related to environmental and societal issues. Dr. Bowles outlined some of the most pressing concerns that the state is facing and proposed some potential solutions to address these issues. One of the most significant problems that New Mexico is currently facing is related to the environment. The state has been in a 20-year drought, and climate change has had a severe impact on the region. Forest fires caused by the drought have become more frequent, and the intensity of these fires has been increasing. As a result, many people have had to evacuate their homes, and several hundred square miles of forest have been burned.

Dr. Bowles proposes that the state needs to address these environmental issues by moving away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy economy. This transition would involve replacing fossil fuel jobs with clean energy jobs that are high paying, sustainable, and provide a positive impact on the environment. "While this transition may be challenging, it is necessary if we want to leave a better world for future generations."

The other major problem that New Mexico is facing is related to societal issues. The state is currently experiencing an increase in poverty, and Dr. Bowles believes that this problem can only be solved by creating more well-paying jobs. He proposes that a clean energy economy is a way to achieve this goal. His nonprofit organization, NAIMI (the North American Intelligent Manufacturing Initiative), has received funding from the U.S. government to study methods to create a clean energy economy. The study at www.naimi.us outlines specific steps that need to be taken by local and state governments, businesses, universities, and the education system to make this transition possible.

While these proposed solutions are promising, Dr. Bowles acknowledges that addressing these issues will require a holistic approach that involves collaboration and cooperation between various stakeholders. Local and state governments, businesses, and individuals all need to work together to drive change toward a common good. Dr. Bowles emphasizes that a collaborative approach is necessary to move the needle forward and create a better world for future generations.

Another problem that Dr. Bowles addresses in the interview relates to education and workforce development. He notes that as technology becomes more sophisticated, the workforce needs to be equipped with the necessary skills to use it effectively. This requires keeping educational standards up to date and ensuring that the workforce is adequately trained. Dr. Bowles proposes that the state invests in education and workforce development programs that provide training for the skills required for the clean energy economy.

For his part, Dr. Bowles stands ready to help ready society to take the steps necessary to protect the environment, as well as to help it gain a deeper understanding of the forces that make up the universe as we know it. Because of his passion for knowledge, as well as his willingness to lend a hand to help a world in need, Dr. Bowles is truly a worthy recipient of the Star Treatment

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