Ringside Seats for US CMS Graduate Students During the Startup of the LHC

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

CERN'S Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ranks among the top scientific endeavors of the decade. Although predictions vary as to precisely what will be observed at this new energy frontier, theorists are in broad agreement that something new will be discovered. The excitement surrounding this scientific opportunity has led to a sharp increase in the number of graduates seeking to pursue research at the LHC for their Ph.D dissertations. Because of the unprecedented scale and complexity of the LHC detectors, working on the commissioning of such detectors provides the students with a highly valuable experience which contributes to their education in ways that simply cannot be duplicated. Moreover, meaningful participation requires a physical presence at CERN. With the imminent turn-on of the LHC, the next few years provide a special window of opportunity. However, the combined effect of sharply increased student interest in the LHC, higher living costs in Geneva and the weakening of the U.S. dollar, has made student support more problematic. To ensure that students will have time at CERN, this proposal comprises a program consisting of about 10 special single-year (non-renewable) travel supplements per year, for three years, awarded competitively, for US CMS graduate students to be resident at CERN during the one-year period of their support. With regard to broader impact, the recipients will be ?natural ambassadors? in two senses. First, their day-to-day interactions with counterparts from other countries will lead to friendships that will promote mutual understanding in the near term and may lead to future international scientific collaborations. Second, upon their return to the U.S. they will be integrated into US CMS? existing Education and Outreach program, where their relative youth makes them plausible role models for potential scientists of high-school and middle-school age.