Experimental Particle Physics

Christian Holm Christensen is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Discovery Center. Born in Copenhagen, he holds a degree in philosophy and a PhD in experimental physics. His research focuses on the design and development of high-velocity particle colliders. He has worked extensively at the Centre for CERN Research in Geneva and the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island.

Experimental particle physics is an open-ended task driven by curiosity. This inquiry-based model of experimentation employs creativity and theoretical questioning in much the same way that the artistic process seeks to examine rather than define. This talk will present the basic concepts of experimental particle physics while outlining the similarities between experimental models of art and science. Taking the summary of the Standard Model of particle physics as a point of departure, Christensen will illuminate how such theories provide a framework within which science investigates the nature of the universe.