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Dr Jacob Kempster to co-lead major Large Hadron Collider working group
By: Justine Charles
Last updated: Wednesday, 4 September 2024
Dr Jacob Kempster
Dr Jacob Kempster at Bexhill 100 Car Show
From October, Research Fellow Dr Jacob Kempster will be co-leading the LHC Effective Field Theory Working Group (LHC EFT WG), a major working group of the world-renowned Large Hadron Collider (LHC) based at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.
The LHC EFT WG, one of 11 within the LHC Physics Centre at CERN (LPPC), brings together experimentalists from ATLAS, CMS and LHCb, as well as theorists from across high-energy physics. Their aim is to investigate, explore and strategise on the most powerful ways to interpret LHC data through effective field theories.
It is a high-visibility group with cross-disciplinary work between theory, data-analysis, statistics and machine-learning, and the work and recommendations of this group affect a very large portion of contemporary LHC publications, as well as many papers by theorists.
Since 2022, Jacob has been representing the ATLAS Top Group in this forum as an EFT Convener. He will now take on the larger role leading the group as an ATLAS Chair.
“The LHC EFT WG is really fun to be a part of. There is a lot of responsibility, with major reach in recommending the best methodologies and practices for potentially thousands of physicists to use, but the detailed discussions are invigorating and the insights we gain from so many different experts are second to none”, Jacob said.
Jacob is also passionate about public engagement and inspiring the next generation. He recently won a grant with the British Science Association on the Community Buddy scheme, in collaboration with Community Supporters, an educational and environmental charity founded by CEO Lindsey White.
During the summer, he captivated visitors at Bexhill Carnival and the Bexhill 100 Car Show, exploring topics from basic magnetism to the science of the LHC. He organised exhibits featuring a range of activities aimed at inspiring young people and showcasing the many paths available to them in STEM. These exhibits connected local residents directly to expert scientists from academia, industry and activism, who volunteered their time to take part.
Jacob said: “It was a real joy to bring together academics, charities and enthusiasts to talk all things science with members of the public. I look forward to dedicated school visits later this year where we will pop-up an indoor planetarium, teach kids about the mission of the James Webb Space Telescope, learn all about the sun with a mini-solar-observatory, and even build and fire some bottle-rockets for hands-on-fun!”