Texas Tech Expert Available to Speak on International Particle Physics Experiments
February 28, 2007
By: John Davis
Scientists from Texas Tech participate in Swiss high-energy physics experiments.
The heaviest piece of the Compact Muon Solenoid particle detector will make the
momentous journey today Feb. 28 into its experimental cavern more than 300 feet underground
in the Large Hadron Collider accelerator at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.
High-energy physicists from Texas Tech University have played leading roles by designing
and building two detectors for the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. All these detectors'
optical fibers, light sensors, front-end electronics, and enclosures were designed,
produced, and tested at Texas Tech by students, postdoctoral fellows, and the department
staff during the last several years.
This effort constitutes the largest physics project ever undertaken and has been decades
in the making, says Nural Akchurin, an associate professor of physics at Texas Tech
and a project manager at the collider.
Akchurin is available to speak on today’s event and Texas Tech’s involvement in the
international program.
A huge gantry crane will take 10 hours to lower the CMS detector’s preassembled central
section into place. It’s one of four international particle physics experiments at
the collider.
[Editor’s Note: Geneva, Switzerland, is seven hours ahead of Central Standard Time.]
CONTACT: Nural Akchurin, associate professor of physics, Texas Tech University, Cell
in Geneva: 41-76-487-4227, akchurin@highenergy.phys.ttu.edu