Dr Clara Nellist
Dr Clara Nellist is a particle physicist and science communicator with extensive experience in her field. Her academic journey began with the completion of her PhD at the University of Manchester in the UK, where she focused on developing a novel pixel detector for the ATLAS experiment at CERN. She then transitioned to LAL in Orsay, France, where she continued her work on pixel detectors for the ATLAS upgrade while also analysing the properties of the Higgs boson.
Following her time in France, Clara moved to the University of Göttingen in Germany to study the top quark, the heaviest known particle. Her next endeavor took her to Nijmegen in the Netherlands as an Excellence Initiative Fellow at Radboud University, where she also joined Nikhef. Currently, she serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and continues her affiliation with Nikhef. Her research focuses on investigating the top quark with the ATLAS experiment, as well as exploring dark matter through machine learning algorithms.
Driven by her passion for science communication, Clara is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) fields. She is an active member of the TIGERÂ in STEMM group and engages with audiences on various social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, sharing informative videos on particle physics. In addition to her professional pursuits, Dr. Clara is an avid photographer and long-distance runner.
This website serves as a reflection of Dr. Clara’s work, interests, and personality. To make navigation easier, the blog posts have been categorized into different sections. Readers interested in her scientific research can explore the science section, while those curious about her outreach efforts can find related content in the outreach section. For photography and filmmaking enthusiasts, the photography/video section offers a glimpse into her creative work. The travel section highlights her academic adventures, and the gallery showcases photographs from her journeys.
For those active on Twitter, you can follow Dr. Clara’s updates in 280 characters or fewer by clicking here.
If you appreciate Clara’s communication work and would like to support her endeavours by keeping her caffeinated, consider buying her a coffee using the link provided below. But please do not feel obligated.
Dr Clara Nellist 
I really want work in Cern. But i don’t know how I start to work and study. Which objects should I study? I am 17 years old. I am Turkish. I am waiting your answer.
Hello, Efe.
It’s great that you’re enthusiastic about working at CERN. If you’re wanting to be a physicist here, you’ll need to study physics and maths at school, and continue with physics at university. There are also positions for engineers and computer scientists (as well as many vital support staff who keep everything and everyone running!) so it depends what interests you most.
In the long term, the good news for you is that Turkey recently became an associate member of CERN, meaning you could one day be a staff member at CERN. Otherwise, most scientists work for Universities and are attached to one of the experiments (such as ATLAS or CMS).
If you’d like to chat directly to physicists at CERN, you could organise a virtual visit to the ATLAS experiment for your school (http://atlas-live-virtual-visit.web.cern.ch/atlas-live-virtual-visit/) which would also look good on a university application.
Let me know if you would like more information.
Clara
I am thankful for answering me. I am thinking about things you told.
Have a good day.
Can you give me more information about the ATLAS experiment?
You can find information about the ATLAS experiment on the website, here: http://atlas.cern/discover/about .
Thank you for helping me
Hi Clara,
Just saw your presentation in TEDx AUBG (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIe-ewyzkvs). You have explained the complicated things in a very simple manner. Also the presentation was very very interactive. I want to know how can I make a similar type of presentation or which software can be used for such presentations. Please let me know on my mail id: vineetrathore@gmail.com
Hi Vineet. Thanks for the nice feedback about the presentation! I made it with Prezi and they have a free version you can use to try it out and use with their logo on. If you want presentations without their logo on, then you have to pay a subscription.