Nov 9 2012
Sudan Paramesvaran, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Riverside, has won the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) achievement award for the Hadron Calorimeter subdetector at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland.
Sudan Paramesvaran, a postdoctoral scholar at UC Riverside, is seen here standing before the Hadronic Forward calorimeter at CERN.
CERN is the location of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a powerful particle accelerator. UC Riverside faculty, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students are involved in the LHC's CMS experiment, a large particle-capturing detector whose discoveries are expected to help answer questions such as: Are there undiscovered principles of nature? What is the origin of mass? Do extra dimensions exist? What is dark matter? How can we solve the mystery of dark energy? And how did the universe come to be?
The Hadron Calorimeter subdetector is an integral part of the CMS detector, and measures the energy of hadrons —particles composed of quarks and gluons. It is one of the central components of CMS, and is the primary detector for the reconstruction of hadronic jets and missing energy, a key signature for physics beyond the Standard Model (a comprehensive theory that explains the interactions between all fundamental elementary particles).
Paramesvaran serves as the Hadron Calorimeter (HCAL) Operations Manager for the 2012-2013 data-collection run of CMS. The data sample collected in this run will be five times larger than last year.
"Sudan works hard, has excellent technical judgment, leadership skills, and a good feel for operations," said Bill Gary, a professor of physics and astronomy and Paramesvaran's advisor. "This is an important position, making him the group leader for a team of around ten physicists in charge of operating the HCAL detectors and their associated systems."
For Paramesvaran, working as part of the HCAL team has been both a challenging and rewarding experience.
"I am delighted to receive this award from CMS," said Paramesvaran, who began working with Gary in June 2010. "I would like to thank HCAL project management for the confidence they expressed in me in appointing me Operations Manager. It has been a thrill and honor to be part of such an interesting and exciting era in CMS operations. I would also like to thank Professors Bill Gary and Owen Long for their support in allowing me to fulfill this role."
Paramesvaran was nominated for the award within the HCAL community. An HCAL committee ranked the shortlisted candidates and then made a single choice for the award.
Paramesvaran will receive a certificate at a ceremony at CERN next month.