News from the Chair

Easwar Narayanan wins Sigma Xi Award

The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider and the largest machine in the world

Easwar Narayanan

P&A graduate student Easwar Narayanan has been selected for this year's Sigma Xi Outstanding Graduate Researcher Award.

Easwar Narayanan is a second-year doctoral student searching for physics beyond the Standard Model in data from the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The new processes that he seeks may be revealed in small differences between predictions and observations of decays of B-mesons (bound states that include b-quarks). His particular topic is called CP-violation. To carry out this study, Easwar works on algorithms for triggering the detector, strategies for measuring the lifetimes of very short-lived particles, and predictions and recommendations for the operating characteristics of the detector in the future.

There will be a Virtual Awards Ceremony via Zoom on Monday, May 17 at 5 pm.

Sigma Xi

Founded in 1886 to honor excellence in scientific investigation and encourage a sense of companionship and cooperation among researchers in all STEM fields, Sigma Xi is a global honor society of scientists and engineers with a mission to enhance the health of research enterprise, foster integrity in science, and promote understanding of the role of science in improving the quality of life. With its proud traditions and extensive Chapter network (500 Chapters worldwide), Sigma Xi is a positive force in the research community locally, nationally, and internationally. Induction into Sigma Xi has been a milestone in many distinguished research careers, including those of nearly 200 Nobel laureates initiated into Sigma Xi while they were still graduate students.

The UNM Chapter is dedicated to furthering the goals of Sigma Xi in the Albuquerque area. It recognizes individuals in our community who excel in science and engineering research and teaching. For more than 3 decades the Chapter has co-sponsored a Distinguished Lecture Series on Science & Society themes to inform New Mexicans about important science issues of the day that impact their lives.