Vellidis takes over as new CDF co-spokesperson
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Costas Vellidis |
On July 1, Costas Vellidis became the new CDF co-spokesperson, taking over for scientist Rob Roser. He joins current co-spokesperson Luciano Ristori in leading CDF’s transition from active experiment to data preservation center.
Vellidis previously worked on CERN’s ATLAS experiment and has worked at CDF for the past five years. He led the top quark analysis group and was involved in the search for the Higgs boson and its associated Monte Carlo simulations. He said his experience with the experiments will help him fulfill his goals for CDF in the coming years.
“It gives me perspective on how to go into a new phase of the CDF collaboration,” Vellidis said.
Ristori said Vellidis’ expertise in computing is a major asset that complements his own skills.
“He brings enthusiasm and commitment, which is what we need in this phase of CDF to get the maximum out of the Tevatron data,” Ristori said.
Preserving and maximizing the legacy of the Tevatron is Vellidis’ main priority. He has set a series of short-, mid- and long-term goals to reach that objective, starting with publishing CDF’s remaining results on Higgs physics.
“It’s an important piece of information that is complementary to what CERN has done,” Vellidis said. “Corroborating evidence for a Higgs boson from a different laboratory in a different experiment on a different continent is very important.”
Another longer-term goal is updating the mass of the W boson, should the physics community require a more precise measurement.
“The most precise measurement in the world of this aspect of the Standard Model comes from us,” he said. “It’s one of the Tevatron legacies.”
Vellidis said there is still a large data set that still needs to be analyzed, with luminosities going up to 10 inverse femtobarns.
“It’s a huge task, and it isn’t easy,” he said, adding that there is plenty of data to keep CDF scientists busy for years to come.
The collaboration's distant goals are to preserve the data and to transition the work of the CDF collaboration to a full-time analysis of the data.
CDF co-spokespersons are elected every two years. Rob Roser will focus on his role as head of the Scientific Computing Division, although, Vellidis said, Roser will support CDF in the process of data preservation.
—Joseph Piergrossi
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