Research Internship at CERN (GEM LAB- CMS,LHC) |
Summer of 2011 was the first time I visited CERN as a tourist on a hiatus from the then hectic middle school schedule. That grade 13 me (probably still am 13) didn't have the slightest clue about what CERN actually did or even that atoms could be split. All we'd been taught was that atoms were the most fundamental, indestructible components of all matter. So when the tour guides spoke of particles inside the atom, I probably judged their IQ level a bit, but was mostly baffled by everything I saw and heard.
By the time I got back from the vacation though, everything I had learnt had trickled out my brain like water in a fist and CERN was just the 'cool museum' that was part of my main bragging arsenal at school. A few months later however, my dad made me read a newspaper article about the discovery of the Higgs Boson, dubbed the 'God Particle'. Again, I understood jack shit from the article, but it was enough to get me hooked and delve deeper into the atom. I had to someday be capable enough to work at this place!
Fast forward 5 years, a dull afternoon in the freshman's dorm at University and a Particle Physics exam due in a few hours motivated me to write down the whole classification of sub-atomic physics (according to the SM ofc) on the wall of my room. We called it the "Wall of the Particle Realm". That got me thinking about what I was doing with my life and what a waste I was putting all the research I had done as a child (to understand what neutrons even did in an atom). So I decided to apply to CERN for a student researcher position. Being a freshman in college, I was rejected for obvious reasons. I carried on with research on control systems, a field I had just stumbled upon, but something kept the passion for particle physics alive.
I decided to apply again when I was a Junior and had a bit of research experience, and was selected after a few unorthodox rounds of processing (that I didn't even know were actually interview rounds). The technical side of what I did for the next 8 months can be found below, but this was truly an experience that changed a lot in me, bolstered a lot of my core philosophies and gave me a whole new perspective on a researcher's life. I cannot thank my supervisors Dr. Jeremie Merlin and Dr. Michele Bianco and my program mentor Dr. Archana Sharma enough for helping me fulfil my only childhood dream! I will definitely try to get back here when I am done exploring the robotics scene in America!
By the time I got back from the vacation though, everything I had learnt had trickled out my brain like water in a fist and CERN was just the 'cool museum' that was part of my main bragging arsenal at school. A few months later however, my dad made me read a newspaper article about the discovery of the Higgs Boson, dubbed the 'God Particle'. Again, I understood jack shit from the article, but it was enough to get me hooked and delve deeper into the atom. I had to someday be capable enough to work at this place!
Fast forward 5 years, a dull afternoon in the freshman's dorm at University and a Particle Physics exam due in a few hours motivated me to write down the whole classification of sub-atomic physics (according to the SM ofc) on the wall of my room. We called it the "Wall of the Particle Realm". That got me thinking about what I was doing with my life and what a waste I was putting all the research I had done as a child (to understand what neutrons even did in an atom). So I decided to apply to CERN for a student researcher position. Being a freshman in college, I was rejected for obvious reasons. I carried on with research on control systems, a field I had just stumbled upon, but something kept the passion for particle physics alive.
I decided to apply again when I was a Junior and had a bit of research experience, and was selected after a few unorthodox rounds of processing (that I didn't even know were actually interview rounds). The technical side of what I did for the next 8 months can be found below, but this was truly an experience that changed a lot in me, bolstered a lot of my core philosophies and gave me a whole new perspective on a researcher's life. I cannot thank my supervisors Dr. Jeremie Merlin and Dr. Michele Bianco and my program mentor Dr. Archana Sharma enough for helping me fulfil my only childhood dream! I will definitely try to get back here when I am done exploring the robotics scene in America!