Expanded J-Term workshop offers additional training
CMS collaborators participate in tutorial sessions during the third annual J-Term workshop, Jan. 12-16.
Scientists, postdocs and graduate students who traveled to Fermilab last week for the third annual January-term workshop, got more than just a general introduction to the CMS experiment.
Responding to high demand for more in-depth CMS physics analyses and other sessions about the detector, J-Term organizers expanded the normally two-day agenda into a week-long program.
"The workshop is much more than just a software tutorial," said Fermilab physicist Frank Chlebana, who helped organize J-Term III. "We try to make sure to have something for everyone from the basic to the advanced level."
This year's extended program allowed attendees to get more information about the various US CMS physics analysis groups. From Higgs's searches to physics beyond the Standard Model, the sessions helped to motivate participants to develop more complex analyses.
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Frank Chlebana |
"They get to see the results of complex analyses using real data from the Tevatron," Chlebana said. "Many people found it very useful."
Graduate students and postdocs made up roughly half of the 130 registered participants at this year's workshop. While most of the students attended J-Term III to get a crash-course on the experiment, many of the senior scientists who participated took the opportunity to learn about how they can get more people involved.
"One major purpose of the workshop is to recruit people," Chlebana said. "Many people are available but don't know what they want to do."
At the workshop dinner, which was moved from the Kuhn Barn to the Wilson Hall atrium due to the double-digit, sub-zero temperatures, meeting participants enjoyed a performance by the CDF band, DSD. The social aspect has an important role, explained Chlebana, particularly on an experiment with 3,000 people.
"We encourage people to talk to each other so that they are more than just a name on an e-mail," he said.
-- Elizabeth Clements
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