Particle Physics Masterclasses
On 29 February 2012, NUI Maynooth will join the International Masterclasses in particle physics. This gives secondary school students the opportunity to discover the world of quarks and leptons for themselves, by performing measurements on real data from CERN, to meet active particle physics researchers, and to link up with like-minded students from other countries. We will join thousands of other secondary school students at around 100 universities and laboratories around Europe and worldwide in a programme stretching over three weeks. This is the first time this takes place in Ireland; there will also be a Masterclass event at UCD Monday 12 March.
Physics at the most fundamental level - the smallest and most basic building blocks of matter - is an exotic world. But after a few introductory talks and working with data from CERN, the students will have gained insight in the fundamental matter particles and the forces between them.
In the morning, the students will be introduced to particle physics, experiments and detectors in lectures given by active particle physics researchers. After having lunch with lecturers and tutors, they will work on their own with data from the ATLAS collider at CERN. Afterwards they are invited to a video conference where they will discuss and compare their results with students from Innsbruck, Copenhagen and Ferrara and with the moderators at CERN.
We are inviting 5th and 6th year students to join us at NUI Maynooth Wednesday 29 February. To register, follow the link below.
For more information on the masterclasses, see the International Masterclasses web site.
Programme
Venue: Physics and Chemistry Theatre (PCT), Science Building, North Campus, NUI Maynooth (no 17 on this map)
| 0930 | Welcome and introduction | Prof D.M. Heffernan |
| 0945 | The world of quarks and leptons | Dr. J.I. Skullerud |
| 1030 | Refreshments | |
| 1100 | Particle physics experiments | Philip Ilten (UCD) |
| 1145 | Break for lunch with lecturers and tutors | |
| 1300 | Analysis of real data from CERN | |
| 1500 | Video conference with CERN and students from Innsbruck, Copenhagen, Ferrara and Vila Real | |
| 1630 | End. Each student will be given a certificate of participation |
Registration
The numbers are limited to 40. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, but with preference given to 5th and 6th year students from the local area (North Kildare and adjoining areas).
Registration is now closed. Those who have registered will receive an email by Thursday evening (23 Feb) with further details.
Note that there will also be an event at UCD Monday 12 March.