This is a list of contacts for particle physics research groups who can help schools visit university research scientists and departments, many of which work on projects connected to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
They may also be able to help enrich an activity connected with a planned school visit to CERN or upon return.
Contacts for local particle physics research
Birmingham – Christina Lazzaeroni
Glasgow (experimental) – Valerie Flood
Glasgow (theoretical) – David Miller
Imperial College London – Jordan Nash
Nottingham – Anastasios Avgoustidis
Queen Mary University of London – Seth Zenz
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory – Sophy Palmer
Royal Holloway, University of London – Veronique Boisvert
University College London – Mario Campanelli
Speakers and contacts by region
All these particle physicists are happy to give talks to schools or other groups on the topics listed. If you would like to invite them to give a talk, please contact them directly.
Scotland
- ‘Computer simulation of elementary particles’
- ‘Searching for that God (damn) particle: the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider.’
- Particle Physics for Scottish Schools (PP4SS) exhibition
Rebecca Crawford – Science Connects Glasgow:
- can arrange talks in Scotland
North West England
- ‘New physics at the LHC’
- ‘What’s the matter with antimatter?’
- ‘What can particle physics do for us?’
- ‘Why are neutrinos so interesting?’
- ‘Secrets from the Sun.’
- ‘Neutrinos are not ice-cream! And other quantum nursery rhymes.’
- talks on Higgs boson, the LHC and ATLAS, and antimatter
Hywel Owen – Manchester:
- ‘From splitting the atom to cures for cancer: a tour through the world of particle accelerators.’
- ‘Quarks and gluons – the story of elemental particle physics.’
- ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it: the start of the LHC.’
- ‘Angels and Demons: the story of antimatter.’
- LHC physics, dark matter and the Higgs boson
- ‘Exploring the unknown with the Large Hadron Collider’
- ‘Shedding light on dark matter.’
North East England
- talks about astroparticle physics, the search for dark matter and deep underground science
- general particle physics talks, suitable for sixth formers
- talks about cosmology, black holes, gravitational waves and extra dimensions, suitable for sixth formers and GCSE students
- for sixth formers:
- dark matter: understanding the gravity of the situation
- dark matter and creativity (a talk discussing dark matter physics as well as the role of creativity in physics)
- misadventures on the path to big physics discoveries (a talk about mistakes in physics)
- general particle physics talks, suitable for age 14 upwards
- talks about the Higgs boson and simulations in particle physics for sixth formers and beyond
- modelling of epidemiology, suitable for age 12 upwards
- ‘The hunt for the Higgs’, suitable for sixth formers
Yorkshire
Rob Edgecock – Huddersfield:
- ‘Applications of particle accelerators.’
- ‘A walk through the universe’ (Key Stage 1 and 2)
- ‘Dark matter: the stuff of the universe’
- ‘Neutrinos and the universe’
- ‘The ideas of particle physics’
- ‘Quantum physics’
- ‘QCosmology and the LHC’
- ‘The Higgs boson’
Kristin Lohwasser – Sheffield:
- a virtual tour through CERN and the ATLAS experiment
Vitaly Kudryavtsev – Sheffield:
- ‘Cosmic rays’, suitable for ages 15 and above
- ‘Dark matter in the universe’, suitable for ages 15 and above
- LHC physics, dark matter and the Higgs boson
- exploring the unknown with the LHC
- shedding light on dark matter
Midlands and East Anglia
- ‘From Quarks to galaxies’
- ‘The Large Hadron Collider – why should we care?’
- ‘Our universe.’
- ‘Searching for dark matter.’
Anastasios Avgoustidis – Nottingham
- ‘Parallel worlds.’
Cristina Lazzeroni – Birmingham
Sinead Farrington – Warwick:
- the ATLAS experiment, Higgs search and Higgs measurements
Wales
Chris Allton – Swansea University:
- ‘Particle physics from apples: how Newton paved the way for the Large Hadron Collider.’
Graham Shore – Swansea University:
- ‘The LHC @ CERN – what do we hope to find and when?’
Tegid Wyn Jones – Swansea University:
- Welsh language a speciality
South West England
Physics talks from University of Bristol
- ‘Quarks and leptons: the Standard Model of elementary particle physics’
- ‘Relativity and the twin paradox’
- ‘Wave particle duality: is the electron there when you are not looking?’
- ‘The Higgs boson and other things we don’t know yet’
- ‘Matter and antimatter’
- ‘What time is it on Mars: how to measure time on earth and other planets.’
- ‘Particle physics and the LHC.’
Paras Naik – Bristol
Martin Lavelle – Plymouth:
- ‘What’s the matter with antimatter?’
- ‘From the light bulb to quantum computing’
- ‘Chocolate, mirrors and the speed of light.’
London, South and South East
Chamkaur Ghag – University College London:
- ‘Dark matter detection experiments.’
David Miller – University College London:
- ‘The sex life of the proton’
- ‘Cosmic etiquette’
- ‘Z, LEP and the universe.’
Jon Butterworth – University College London:
- ‘ATLAS and the LHC.’
Nikos Konstanidis – University College London:
- Higgs boson
- general ATLAS and the LHC talks
Ryan Nichol – University College London:
- particle physics in Antarctica
- cosmic rays and neutrinos
Mario Campanelli – University College London:
- general talks about CERN and the LHC
Laura Manenti – University College London
Gavin Hesketh – University College London:
- ‘Solving a subatomic mystery: the Higgs boson and the LHC.’
Frank Deppisch – University College London:
- ‘Beyond the Standard Model’
- the LHC
- neutrinos
Pedro Teixeira-Dias – Royal Holloway University of London:
- ‘The Higgs boson’ (for A-level students)
Veronique Boisvert – Royal Holloway University of London:
- ‘The LHC: a tunnel to the beginning of time’
Jocelyn Monroe – Royal Holloway University of London:
- ‘Dark matter: you can’t see it but it’s everywhere!’
Bob Brown – Rutherford Appleton Laboratory:
Email: bob.brown@stfc.ac.uk
Stephen Haywood – Rutherford Appleton Laboratory:
- ‘What makes the world tick.’
Email: stephen.haywood@stfc.ac.uk
William Murray – STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory:
- ‘The LHC and the discovery of the Higgs boson.’
Suzie Sheehy – STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory:
- ‘Five things you should never do with a particle accelerator’
- ‘Accelerated dreams.’
Steve Worm – STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Email: steve.worm@stfc.ac.uk
Peter Kalmus – Queen Mary, University of London:
- particles and the universe, antimatter, the forces of nature
- ‘Mirror images, antimatter and time reversal.’
Paul Kyberd – Brunel University:
- ‘Working at CERN’
- ‘Darkness visible’
- ‘Neutrinos and conservation laws’
- ‘CP violation and the origin of matter.’
Steve Lloyd – Queen Mary, University of London:
- ‘The discovery of the Higgs boson’
- ‘ATLAS and the Large Hadron Collider.’
Sanjaye Ramgoolam – Queen Mary, University of London:
- ‘String theory and hidden dimensions of spacetime’
- ‘Duality between gravity and light in string theory.’
Henrique Araujo – Imperial College London:
- ‘Mining For WIMPs: the search for dark matter underground.’
Gavin Davies – Imperial College London:
- ‘Holding it all together: the Higgs boson.’
Ulrik Egede – Imperial College London:
- ‘Searching for cracks in the Standard Model.’
Elliot Leader – Imperial College London:
- ‘Quarks: seeing inside the fundamental particles in nature.’
Ken Long – Imperial College London:
- ‘Neutrinos and the physics of flavour.’
- the Higgs boson discovery and other high energy topics
- ‘Dark matter in the universe.’
- ‘Everything you ever wanted to know about quarks – but were afraid to ask’
- Higgs discovery
- ‘Atom smashing – the world’s biggest experiment.’
- ‘Superstrings’
- ‘Einstein’s universe.’
Darren Baskill – University of Sussex – main contact:
- use this contact to request talks from the Sussex group
Antonella De Santo – University of Sussex:
- ‘The Big Bang experiment.’
Fabrizio Salvatore – University of Sussex
Simon Peeters – University of Sussex:
- ‘Studying the universe from 2km underground – detecting dark matter and neutrinos’
- ‘Captain Neutrino.’