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Spring 2012 ACLASS NSF/CREST Students' Presentation
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Date:April 27, 2012
Time: 1:00pm - 4:30pm
Room: Olin 202 (Intro Physics Lab)
Click here to view / download the itinerary for the Students' Presentation event
Past Events
Physics Colloquium and Seminar in Spring 2012
| January | Format | Speaker | Affiliation | Place and Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 2012 | Seminar | Mr. Adeleke Adeyemi | Hampton University | Olin 128 at 3:30 pm |
| February | Speaker | Affiliation | Place and Time | |
| Feb 02, 2012 | Colloquium | Dr. Claudia Rankins | NSF Program Director | Student Center, Theater |
| Feb 09, 2012 | Seminar | Dr. Paul Gueye | Hampton University | Olin 128 at 3:30 pm |
| Feb 16, 2012 | Colloquium | Dr. Mool Gupta | UVA, Director of I/UCRC | Student Center, Theater |
| Feb 23, 2012 | Colloquium | Dr. John Arrington | Argonne National Laboratory | Student Center, Theater |
| March | Speaker | Affiliation | Place and Time | |
| Mar 15, 2012 | Seminar | Dr. Alberto Accardi | Hampton University | Olin 128 at 3:30 pm |
| Mar 22, 2012 | Colloquium | Dr. John Zavada | NSF Program Director | Student Center, Theater |
| Mar 29, 2012 | Colloquium | Dr. Peter Delfyett | University of Central Florida | Student Center, Theater |
| April | Speaker | Affiliation | Place and Time | |
| Apr 12, 2012 | Colloquium | Terrence Buck | Brookhaven National Lab | Student Center, Theater |
PhD Thesis Defense - Alex Harvey
Date: November 15, 2011
Location: Marine and Environmental Science
Time: 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Room: 1st floor, conference room
Title:Transition Radiation From Random Fibers
as a Constraint for Particle Identification in ATLAS. (December 2011)
Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Vassilios Vassilakopoulos
Co-Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Kenneth W. McFarlane
Abstract
Experiments at the design energy of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) face a challenge in particle identification. Interesting event signatures involve leptons while the hadron to lepton ratio of the LHC is 106. Transition radiation, as a constraint on identification of ultra-relativistic electrons, can be significant in rejecting the hadronic background while efficiently selecting interesting events. The ATLAS Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) is designed to produce and detect transition radiation (TR) with this in mind. It is therefore important that details of TR performance at discovery energy scales be understood in detail. The preferred demonstration of understanding for experimental high-energy physics is agreement between an ab-initio simulation and test or calibration data. The simulation of TR in ATLAS software (version 17), in the barrel section of the TRT currently uses a Lorentz-factor-dependent calibration function to match measured performance data. The model of the TRT barrel radiator material in the software uses a regularly spaced foil structure, while the actual radiator is made of semi-random fibers. The goal of this work is to study whether a simulation based on the characteristics of the actual material through the introduction of a degree of randomness will improve the agreement with data, as a function of Lorentz factor, angel and particle type, with little or no parametric adjustment, thus allowing a more confident extrapolation into regions that are unable to be calibrated. I present two TR models where one considers the fiber orientation and the other considers the aggregate density of the fiber material. The TR model based on aggregate density matches the TR performance of detector data at the TR probability saturation level of TR better than the physically incorrect model without parametric adjustment and with a fraction of the parametric adjustment used with the incorrect model for TR in the onset level.
SPIN-UP Workshop (Visit Event Site)
Date: May 13-15, 2011
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the SPIN-UP Regional Workshops consists of a series of regional workshops aimed at increasing the undergraduate physics population at universities. The 2011 SPIN-UP Regional workshop is the first ever dedicated to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The theme for this historical event has been identified to be “Human Capital Development in Physics” to provide a venue and framework for fruitful discussions to achieve this goal, including the increase of infrastructure and resources to set the proper environment for research and education by the faculty.
Physics Department Colloquium
Date: Thursday - March 30, 2011
Location: Student Center Theater
Speaker: Hugh Montgomery, Director Jefferson Lab
Title: Jefferson Lab - The Next Ten Years and Beyond
Abstract: Jefferson Lab had its 25th anniversary a little more than a year ago. After successful operation of its 6 GeV continuous wave superconducting radiofrequency accelerator for a decade, the laboratory is constructing an upgrade to double the energy of the accelerator to 1 2 GeV, and to extend its experimental capabilities. The result will be an exciting physics program, which will extend well beyond 2020. The beautiful superconducting radio-frequency technology also offers other opportunities, for example, in photon physics.