ATLAS award recognizes dissertation work investigating quark-gluon plasma
In the world of particle physics research, the people who study ânuclear physicsâ are a minorityâa little bit quark-y, you might say.Ěý
âOur field is slightly different,â says Kurt Hill, a 2020 PhD graduate in physics from the ŔÖ˛Ľ´ŤĂ˝ Boulder.
Consider that the at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) near Geneva, Switzerland, reserves 11 months of the year for researchers interested in what happens when protons collide, and just one month for ânuclearâ types who are more interested in colliding âheavy ions,âĚýtheĚýnuclei of atoms, such as lead, composing many protons and neutrons, to study the mysterious substance known as .Ěý
During his time at CU Boulder, HillĚýwas advised by Dennis V. Perepelitsa and Jamie Nagle, professors in the CU Boulder physics department, whose research is funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. He also conducted research at CERN during the ânuclearâ month of November for three years running, 2016 to 2018. Based on that work, he presented his , âInvestigations of p+Pb Collisions at Perturbative and Non-Perturbative QCD Scales,â in April 2020.Ěý
And now, Hillâs dissertation has been chosen as one of eight recognized by the ATLAS Collaborationâone of four major experiments ongoing at CERNâfor its 2020 ATLAS Thesis Awards.Ěý
âOnly Kurt works on the somewhat more exotic ânuclear physicsâ side, so it is a big deal for his work to be recognized at this level by the particle physics community,â says Perepelitsa. âHeâs also one of only two recipients from a university in the U.S.âthe other is from Berkeley.â
Hill, who grew up in Walnut Creek, California, earned bachelorâs degrees in physics and mathematics from the University of California, Davis, before taking time off to travel in Europe and Asia. When the time came to apply for graduate school, CU Boulder was his first choice, based on several factors.
âCU checked all the boxes. I love mountain biking and skiing,â he says. âAnd the (nuclear physics) research group I was eyeing is highly regarded in the field,â he says.
Hill also enjoyed spending time at CERN each fall.
âItâs this big central lab where everybody is kind of focused. All the people from different scientific efforts in this one place, the primary place in the world for this type of physics researchâit was really cool,â he says. âThere is a kind of buzz there. Everybody is doing exciting things.â
Only Kurt works on the somewhat more exotic ânuclear physicsâ side, so thatâs a big deal."
What Hill was doing, specifically, was researching what happens when you collide protons with lead to âprobe the nucleus of lead.â Protons are made of quarks, held together by gluons, and mapping out particles emitted from such collisions advances the understanding of whatâs going on inside a nucleus. Ěý
âThat sounds like a simple thing, but with these small particles, itâs highly complicated, due to quantum mechanical effects,â Hill says. âWhen you make these collisions, small droplets of quark-gluon plasma are generated, and thatâs a primary goal, to study that plasma.â
He uses an analogy to describe quark-gluon plasma as a kind of liquid water, compared to protons and neutrons, which are more like iceââItâs so hot and dense that protons and neutrons have melted and canât really exist,â he says.
Despite his early success in nuclear-physics research, Hill decided to leave the academic world after graduation to pursue other interests.Ěý
âI couldnât really see myself as a professor as my main job, and even though I liked (nuclear physics), I didnât think I should invest the effort in a (postdoctoral fellowship) if I didnât see myself going all the way,â he says.Ěý
He now works as a software engineer for , an Oakland-based company that makes fixed-wing, autonomous electric airplanes used for crop-spraying.
âI do miss getting to collaborate with all these really interesting people from all over the world on a regular basis,â he says. âBut I had an opportunity to work with cool people on something exciting. To get to do something new is always attractive to me.â