Searching for New Physics with the CMS Experiment at the LHC

PhD Studentship in Experimental Particle Physics

Applications are invited for our STFC funded PhD studentship for the project: Searching for New Physics with the CMS Experiment at the LHC

Starting 1 October 2023

Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend (bursary) of approx. £19,668, which includes inner London weighting, plus payment of their full-time home tuition fees for a period of 42 months (3.5 years).

There is a possibility of a long-term attachment at CERN is for a year or longer.

Project

The Particle Physics Group within the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences at Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK is offering a fully funded STFC studentship to work on the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment (CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The studentship will commence on 1 October 2023.

The Particle Physics Group has been carrying out research in experimental particle physics for more than 25 years, with its current focus being the CMS experiment at CERN, the MICE experiment at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and Grid computing for particle physics (GridPP project).

The CMS group makes a significant contribution to the study of top quark production in proton–proton collisions using CMS data. The group also plays an active role in the maintenance, operation and upgrading of the Silicon Tracker, having contributed to the construction and commissioning of this detector and the current endcap electromagnetic calorimeter. We are looking to recruit a student to study the production of the top quark in both Standard Model and Beyond the Standard Model scenarios using CMS data from Run 2 & 3 and to contribute to activities related to the upgrade of the current CMS tracking detector. Successful applicants will also contribute to detector performance studies. A period of long-term attachment at CERN is associated with the CMS studentship.

Eligibility

Applicants will have or be expected to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree in an Engineering, Computer Science or Physics. A Postgraduate Master’s degree is not required but may be an advantage. Ideally an MSc/MPhys degree, in Physics or a closely related subject, is eligible for STFC studentships. Experience of C++ or python would be an advantage. This studentship has eligibility criteria relating to UK residency, for full details of the STFC eligibility criteria and other information, please visit the STFC studentship website

Please contact the Group Leader, Professor Akram Khan at Akram.Khan@brunel.ac.uk T: +44 (0)1895 266519 for an informal discussion about the studentship.

How to apply

Please submit your application documents (see list below) in one PDF file by 31 May 2023 to cedps-pgr-office@brunel.ac.uk. Interviews will take place in June 2023. Include:

Your up-to-date CV
Your personal statement (300 to 500 words) summarising your background, skills and experience
Your Undergraduate/Postgraduate Master’s degree certificate(s) and transcript(s)
Evidence of your English language skills to IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent, 6.0 in all sections), if appropriate
Contact details for TWO referees, one of whom can be an academic member of staff in the College
Completed EDI form – this in line with UKRI data protection laws (Privacy notice – UKRI)

Remember to state the title of the project in the subject of your email.