Ohio State Physicists Play Part in World's "Big Bang Machine"

In the early hours of September 10, Ohio State physicists anxiously joined other physicists around the world to watch as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland, was turned on. At 4:28 a.m., cheers went up as the first beam was successfully steered around the 17-mile loop of underground tunnel in the world's most powerful particle accelerator.

The $8 billion LHC, which took 18 years to design and construct, will allow physicists to study the smallest-known particles in the universe, which are the fundamental building blocks of all things. The new capabilities it provides should lead to a real "new morning" for physics.

Nine Ohio State physicists are collaborating on the three largest experiments (ALICE, ATLAS, and CMS); including professors Thomas Humanic and Michael Lisa (ALICE); professors K.K. Gan, Richard Kass and Harris Kagan (ATLAS); and professors Stanley Durkin, T.Y.Ling, Richard Hughes, and Brian Winer (CMS).

Ohio State is the only institution in the United States collaborating on three of the four LHC detectors. The experimental efforts are jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.

CONTACT: Stanley Durkin, professor of physics:
(614) 292-7331-lab web page
durkin@mps.ohio-state.edu

Ohio State University Department of Physics