It’s the last two days before I leave for CERN. The next six weeks will be an all-out science-packed physics-fest. A few key events have started happening just in the past few weeks which have me very excited about this summer. Despite being very tired, and feeling very drained, I am actually quite thrilled about this trip.
The first big event in the past few weeks is the appearance of my post-doctoral researcher at SMU. He’s still in the throes of wrapping up his thesis, but that will all be settled in the next two weeks. Despite that, we’ve hit the ground running, including beginning to make some in-roads to ATLAS physics and all-important detector operations and development work. In fact, I would say that the determination and enthusiasm level on the ATLAS side of my life has increased by a factor of 10 since his arrival. Having a post-doctoral researcher who serves as the research nexus of the group is critical to any faculty physics program.
The arrival of this researcher also helps to glue together my work with a graduate student who is joining me for the summer. We now have all levels of the research enterprise in physics represented, sans an undergraduate researcher. We’ve begun weekly progress meetings (no more than an hour, to keep in line with my philosophy that time and attention are finite and precious resources in physics), and we’re starting to think deeply about physics at a hadron collider. The past week has been filled with discussions about single-diffraction, double-diffraction, minimum bias, decays of heavy bosons, simulations of fundamental physics, and triggering.
CERN will be our Mecca this summer, our Hajj on the wings of a great jet airplane and on the backs of Geneva public transportation. This trip would be impossible without the support of my friends and colleagues, who have generously offered to host my student, post-doc, and me until we get setup. A roof over ones head, and money to buy food, are two of the most critical things to building happiness in research. Freed from the fears of finding housing and food, we will be liberated to put all our efforts into thinking about the universe, and how to unlock its mysteries.
I’ll try to be vigilant about reporting some stories of the summer here. In addition, I’ll be collecting audio this summer in preparation for a series of podcasts in the fall. If your interested in talking about your passion for physics, about how you got into this field and what keeps you going every day, I’d love to talk to you this summer!