Blog, Science, Travel

RD50 Workshop

As I mentioned in my last post, this week I'm at a workshop discussing the development of semiconductor devices that can survive in the very heart of experiments on the LHC (and beyond!). This collaboration is call RD50 and is, unimaginatively, the 50th research and development group at CERN. This workshop meets twice a year; once at… Continue reading RD50 Workshop

Blog, Science

Test Beams

The last ten days or so I've spent at CERN testing new designs of pixel detectors for the ATLAS experiment. Since it was the IOP's #iamaphysicist event on the same day we were setting up, I tweeted out the following picture. https://twitter.com/claranellist/status/735752393724284930 To measure our pixel detectors, we need a beam of particles from a… Continue reading Test Beams

Blog, Science

ATLAS Blog – Notes from Underground: Pixel Prototypes

The ATLAS Blog is currently focusing on the work that takes place when the LHC is not colliding protons for the experiments. The series is called "Notes from Underground". This week's post is from me and focuses on the work of developing new pixel detectors for upgrading ATLAS, specifically the IBL. You can read it here: I obviously recommend… Continue reading ATLAS Blog – Notes from Underground: Pixel Prototypes

Blog, Science

Successful installation of the ATLAS Insertable B-Layer

On the 8th of May, I had some fantastic news in my inbox: the IBL, or Insertable B-Layer, had been taken 100m underground and installed into the ATLAS experiment at CERN! Unless you're an ATLAS physicist yourself, you probably don't know what I'm talking about when I mention the IBL. In short, it's an extra layer… Continue reading Successful installation of the ATLAS Insertable B-Layer