Student info and photos:VW

People
Work Description

Jan VALENTA
Institute of Physics, Prague
valenta@fzu.cz

 The topic of my PhD. thesis is 'Data Acquisition System for an Experimental Apparatus'. I develop support software for development of Read Out Drivers (ROD) for the ATLAS experiment. ROD is a hardware board, which uses 5 digital signal processors and an FPGA array to present the current status of connected detectors. Operator can also monitor the configuration of the detectors and the quality of the data in the run mode through the ROD. I am also interested in the top quark's mass reconstruction from dilepton decay channel using the method which I am a co-author. The reconstruction method was the topic of my diploma thesis and I am still enhancing it.

Silvia VENTURA
Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati
silvia.ventura@roma2.infn.it

For my Diploma thesis I've worked for the KLOE collaboration I've analysed the phi decay in f0(980)+gamma. For my PhD thesis I'm partecipating to the Atlas experiment at LHC, with the 'Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati' group. My research work is dedicated to the study of the physics processes characterized by muons in the final state. The muon signature allows to identify the most interesting channels,as the Higgs decay in four muons state. The optimal selection criteria and identification algorithms are found by detailed simulation studies, that takes into account the actual detector performances, which are studied by beam tests and/or cosmic ray tests.

Mikko VOUTILAINEN
Helsinki Institute of Physics
mikko.voutilainen@hut.fi

For my Ph.D. thesis I am working on the selection and triggering of electrons and photons on hadron-hadron colliders using isolation cuts. I have written and tested an algorithm for selecting isolated electrons using tracker and electromagnetic calorimeter at CMS experiment at the future LHC p-p collider at CERN. The code is included in the ORCA simulation and reconstruction package. I have also done work on an extension of the algorithm for selecting isolated photons. Currently I am applying for a grant to work at the CDF experiment at Fermilab. Besides continuing my research there I also intend to gain experience on a working experiment.

Joanna WENG
Institut fuer Experimentelle Kernphysik, Karlsruhe
Joanna.Weng@cern.ch

 For my Diploma thesis and at the beginning of my PhD. thesis, I have studied the discovery potential of CMS at the LHC for a light Standard Model Higgs boson in the decay channel H -> 4 muons. Therefore I have worked in the object oriented framework of CMS with full simulated and reconstructed signal and background samples to estimate the expected signal significances in this channel. Recently I started to work on the parametrisation of electromagnetic and hadronic showers in the CMS calorimeters. For the Detector simulation in CMS a GEANT4 based toolkit is used. A detailed shower simulation is a very CPU-time consuming procedure. The parametrisation method to accelerate the simulation was already successfully used in H1 or CDF within a GEANT3 based framework. I am now developing the software (C++) to allow to profit from this technique also in the object oriented framework/GEANT4 of CMS.

Andreas WILDAUER
Universitaet Innsbruck
andreas.wildauer@cern.ch

I am a participant in the austrian doctoral student program working at the ATLAS experiment at CERN. The ATLAS detector is one of four detectors foreseen to operate at the LHC proton-proton collider starting in 2007. My current work is focused on the study of potential Higgs Boson discovery channels involving b-quarks in the final state. Therefore I am developing a vertex finding and fitting software package using the full detector simulation and reconstruction of the ATLAS experiment. The reconstruction of the primary vertex is important for almost all physics analyses and in particular the finding of secondary vertices is essential for efficient b-tagging. In the past I have studied the performance of the ATLAS e/gamma High Level Trigger Software. The e/gamma trigger has the highest contribution to the overall expected trigger rate. The understanding of electron selection efficiencies, jet rejection factors and rates is highly relevant for the functionality of the trigger. The results have been published in the ATLAS HLT Technical Design Report.

Catherine Cart 02/2004