The composition of our universe is largely unknown and misunderstood. Florida Tech’s Marcus Hohlmann and Francisco Yumiceva received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to research the properties of dark matter, which makes up 25 percent of the universe.

Hohlmann says scientists have not directly detected dark matter particles yet. “The only effect that we know of is the gravitational effect…but it doesn’t emit light…, so it’s hard to observe.” To better detect the particles, Hohlmann and Yumiceva are upgrading a compact muon solenoid detector to make it operate at higher intensities.