CUWiP 2018 Oxford, UK

Daniela Bortoletto: Daniela Bortoletto is a professor of experimental particle physics who uses powerful accelerators for exploring the energy frontier and investigating the most fundamental constituents of the Universe. She is a co-discoverer of the Higgs boson and the top quark. She is currently studying the properties of the Higgs boson and searching for new physics at the LHC. In addition she plays an important role in the development of instrumentation for particle detection. Daniela was the E. M. Purcell distinguished Professor of Physics at Purdue University before joining the University of Oxford in 2013. She has received numerous awards including an U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Award and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is the author of over 700 physics papers. Daniela is a sought-after lecturer and advisor about particle physics. She has been a member of the U.S. Particle Physics Projects Prioritization Panel (P5), the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) to the U.S. Department Of Energy (DOE) and NSF, and the Mathematical and Physical Science Advisory Committee (MPSAC) to the NSF. She is currently the Chair of the Fermilab Program Advisory Committee. Daniela is passionate about gender issues in physics and increasing female participation in physics and other sciences.

Tracey Berry: Tracey Berry is a senior lecturer in particle physics. I did my undergradaute degree and PhD at Oxford - my PhD was on the Collider Detector at Fermilab. After that have a PPARC (now STFC) fellowship at the University of Liverpool. I then moved to the University of Royal Holloway, to work on the ATLAS dectector - always searching for evidence of new physics at the highest possible centre of mass. I am involved in equality and diversity and am IOP Project Juno Champion for RHUL and on the assessment panel and assess Departments nationally.

Yinyan Ch: Heya, my name is Calvados (just call me Calv for short) and I am a second year Physics undergraduate in Jesus college. It has always been an arduous task for me to pick my area of interest since my curiosity for the world around me is constantly overflowing. in the first year, I chose Astrophysics as my short option and it really provided me with a resourceful insight into the application of technology as well as the big theory behind natural phenomenon. This year we have a few more applied options such as ‘classical mechanics’ and also more theoretical l ones such as the ‘philosophy behind the theory of special relativity’. (Told you, you will never get bored in Oxford :DD) Apart from Science-related interests, I am a huge fan of humanity as well, including theatre, drama and literature; cheesy sports like frisbee and archery are also my thing. I am a foodie. ;D Joining the Oxford University Woman in Physics society means you are at the frontier of a global movement, gender equality among STEM students. I am very proud of my own college, which has been able to achieve exact gender equality in the past two years for Physics subject. Not to mention how much faith I have in Oxford university as a whole to be the leader in this prospected trend.

Laura Chen: I am a postdoctoral research at University of Oxford. My current research is in laboratory astrophysics, where I create scaled astronomical environments to understand phenomena like ultra high energy cosmic rays and turbulent dynamo. I also study shock and ablation physics of recovered meteorites to develop simulations for deflecting potentially hazardous asteroids. I completed my PhD at Imperial College London. I have worked at several US national labs, including NASA. Outside of physics, I enjoy snow sports, running, water sports, and dancing.

Megan Engel

Hello! I am a final year DPhil student in the Department of Theoretical Physics studying biophysics. My research involves molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations of DNA molecules, and I work closely with experimental DNA nanotechnologists to help inform the design of artificial DNA nanostructures. I am also exploring the use of non-equilibrium statistical physics analysis methods for coarse-grained computer simulations like mine.

I completed my Masters and Bachelors degrees at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where I was born and raised. My BSc was in Astrophysics, and my MSc featured experimental studies of single DNA molecules.

While I love learning about physics, my life wouldn’t be complete without music! I play the piano and guitar and sing. I also love to read — fantasy and science fiction are my favourites. My husband of two years lives in Oxford with me and we are aspiring dog-owners (though currently residing in an unobliging, animal-unfriendly housing complex).

Olivia Ghosh: Olivia is a third-year undergraduate Visiting Student at St. Peter's College, Oxford. Originally from California, Olivia has been studying physics at Columbia University for two years, and has done research in Particle physics at CERN and Condensed Matter physics at Columbia. Olivia is passionate about inspiring women and minorities in physics, and is interested in pursuing graduate work in physics after completing the undergraduate course.

Judith Hillier

Judith Hillier is an associate professor in science education (physics) at Oxford University Department of Education. After completing her PhD in condensed matter physics from the University of Leeds and the Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble, she studied on the Oxford PGCE Internship scheme and then taught for several years in an Oxfordshire comprehensive school, becoming Key Stage 3 Co-ordinator. She teaches on the PGCE course and the Masters in Learning and Teaching course, and runs the Teaching Physics in Schools option for 2nd year Physics undergraduates. She is also a founding member of the Oxfordshire Schools Physics Partnership, sponsored by the Ogden Trust (see Physics Education 48(3) 271-273).

Research

Factors influencing the recruitment and retention of physics teachers in the teaching profession
Knowledge and professional practice of pre-service physics teachers
Explanations in science education
Pedagogical practices in physics education

As a physicist turned physics educator and educational researcher, she is deeply interested in building research-informed networks and collaborations across the different parts of the education sector, and between the education and science communities

David Sloan: I run the Physics of Fine-Tuning project at Oxford, bringing together a wide range of cosmological issues related to naturalness and issues of fine-tuning. My research is mainly focused around the application of mathematical tools to questions of cosmology. In particular I’m interested in the measure problem, attempting to define the probability of a universe such as our occurring within the set of all possible universes which could have arisen. I also work in quantum cosmology, both in the form of Loop Quantum Cosmology and Shape Dynamics, attempting to understand the big bang singularity.

Sue Geddes: Admin assistant/PA for the Particle Physics Department

Migle Stankaityte

Hi! My name is Migle (or Mi for short) and I am in the first year of my DPhil studies with the Particle Physics (PP) Sub-Department at Oxford University. I am part of the Oxford ATLAS Exotics Group where I will be looking for beyond Standard Model physics by investigating final states with two bottom quark jets and initial state radiation, and implementing new techniques for this search. I did my undergraduate degree with the University of Birmingham, where I made life-long friends and had the pleasure of working on various experiments such as NA62 and HiSPARC.

When I’m not off making histograms, I enjoy cooking for my friends, travelling, reading horror fiction and training with the Oxford University Powerlifting Club. I also love organising and being involved, so I am currently the Graduate Student Liaison for 1st year PP graduate students.

Yuanyuan Sun: Hello my name is Yuanyuan Sun, a second year physicist from China. Although some people around me in my country don’t think a female should do physics, I was helplessly attracted to this fascinating subject in college and decide to do it in university. I’m an outreach ambassador in my old school. When I’m not doing problem sheets I usually sing and dance. I’m very proud to be able to help organise CUWIP this year.

Giovanna Tancredi: Giovanna received her Master in Physics from the University of Palermo in 2006 and Ph.D. from Royal Holloway University of London in 2010. She is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Oxford working in the group of Dr Leek. Her current research involves using superconducting circuits for the development of quantum computing.

Imogen Thrussell: Hey! I’m a 4th year undergraduate studying condensed matter physics and atmospheric physics. For my masters project I’m currently studying infrared spectra of different minerals in order to create an unmixing algorithm to use on asteroid data. I am often involved in outreach work and I believe it is really important to encourage women to try every and any career/subject/hobby they want to!

Sabrina Sterzl

Sabrina Sterzl is a DPhil student in her second year in Condensed Matter Physics. She did her undergraduate at the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Currently, she is working on the characterisation of the optoelectronic properties of semiconductor nanowires by THz spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy in order to create new devices in the nanoscale.

Aprajita Verma: I'm a research fellow and Deputy Project Scientist for the UK E-ELT programme working in the sub-department of Astrophysics. I got my BSc and PhD at Imperial College London, followed by a short post-doc, and then moved to the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany. My research is based on understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. In particular, my work focusses on determining the properties of star-forming and black hole hosting galaxies and the role of dust and metallicity in their evolution. I am very interested in outreach and am co-PI of the Citizen Science Project Space Warps (spacewarps.org), a search for gravitational lenses.

Anita Nandi: I'm a fourth year DPhil student in Particle Physics at the University of Oxford. I got my undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge before coming to Oxford in 2014. I work on the LHCb experiment at CERN, exploring the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in our universe by investigating the most fundamental constituents of the world around us. I lived at CERN for 15 months as part of my research, which was an amazing experience for meeting people and exploring a new country. Outside of work I enjoy writing science articles, playing Ultimate Frisbee, reading and cooking.

Heather Williams: Dr Heather Williams is a Principal Medical Physicist for Nuclear Medicine at The Christie Hospital and honorary Lecturer at the University of Manchester, has a particular interest in positron emission tomography (PET). Heather is also a Director of ScienceGrrl, STEMNET ambassador, and is an active member of the Women in Physics Group Committee at the Institute of Physics, UK PET Physics Group, and IPEM Nuclear Medicine Special Interest Group. Heather also likes standing up and talking about science, and encouraging others (particularly women) to do so. When she's not busy with all that, Heather enjoys running, hiking and introducing her sons to the wonders of the universe, often at the same time.

Maria Giovanna Foti: I am a first year Graduate Student in Particle Physics at the University of Oxford. I did all my undergrads in Bologna (Italy), where I started working on the physics of the Higgs boson. I have joined the ATLAS experiment to study the Higgs boson decaying to a pair of b-bbar quarks, and thus testing the Standard Model.

The committee is grateful for the help from:

Gabriel Gallardo: Aspiring physicist. Avid musician. Occasional photographer. Budding YouTuber. My current research involves looking for new physics at the ATLAS experiment at CERN, specifically signs of electroweak supersymmetry. I am also working on optimising the missing transverse energy trigger at ATLAS. I like making music. I play bass, guitar, and piano. I sing as well, and am a member of the Oxford Commas, Oxford’s hottest all-male a cappella group. I like to take photos in my free time. I’m also making a vlog about my experiences at Oxford

Martina Pili: I am a first year Graduate Student in Particle Physics at the University of Oxford. I got my both my Bachelor’s and my Master’s degree at the University of Cagliari (Italy), where I started working on the CERN-based LHCb experiment. In addition to the great results achieved in Flavour Physics, LHCb aims to perform precision measurements in the electroweak sector. I am currently working to perform the first precision measurement of the W boson mass with the LHCb detector. This is a very challenging goal but it will play a key role in testing the fundamental symmetries of the Standard Model.

Organising Committee

The committee is grateful for the help from: