Research
Detector development for the HL-LHC and applications outside HEP
I obtained a BSc in 2007 and then a PhD in Nuclear Physics in 2011. During my PhD I carried out analysis of data delivered from the preliminary R3B silicon tracker which was constructed from AMS double sided silicon micro-strip detectors as well as analysis of data from scintillator based TOF detectors and drift chambers. I helped to setup and calibrate these detectors, after which a large program of experiments was carried out into nucleon-nucleon scattering reactions. This enabled measurements of reaction cross-sections and momentum distributions along with reconstruction of excitation energy levels using the invariant mass technique.
Following on from my graduate studies, I undertook five years of postdoctoral work giving me extensive experience in the area of instrumentation for charged particle tracking. I have taken part in detector design, simulation, construction as well as assembly and testing of silicon detectors in the LSDC cleanrooms. During my postdoctoral work I successfully commissioned a large area silicon tracker for the PRaVDA consortium and before that, a novel silicon based calorimeter. The majority of my expertise is in silicon micro-strip detectors, but I also work with hybrid pixel and more recently with CMOS detectors.
My current position is as a Research Fellow in the Liverpool ATLAS Upgrade group where I am working on testing and commissioning large area pixel detectors (quads) that will be used for the upgrade of the ATLAS inner tracker at the High Luminosity LHC. Tests are conducted on the sensors themselves as well as their readout circuitry and build up of the DAQ systems necessary to readout many detector together. In addition, I am taking part in the efficiency and resolution measurements of these detectors at test beam facilities in CERN and DESY.