Curriculum vitae
CV
I am an experimental particle physicist on the CMS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and Assistant Professor of Physics at The University of Alabama since 2022.
Career
Appointments
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– present
Assistant Professor of Physics
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
- Set up the UA CMS HGCAL laboratory in 2024 and manage it. The lab performs quality control of hexagonal readout boards (hexaboards) for the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL), part of the detector upgrade for the High-Luminosity LHC.
- Analysis of CMS data: measurements of quantum observables in final states with top quarks, searches for new physics with boosted top quarks, and artificial intelligence for particle reconstruction and event identification.
- Set up a high-performance computing cluster at UA dedicated to CMS data analysis and machine learning, in service since May 2024.
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–
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Search for four-top-quark production in the single-lepton final state and its statistical combination with other final states, using the complete LHC Run 2 data set, with a focus on machine learning for event identification.
- End-to-end deep learning for particle and event identification with convolutional and graph neural networks, in collaboration with a Google Research team. Produced CMS Open Data sets with low-level detector information for machine learning, and collaborated beyond experimental particle physics, for example applying deep learning to strong gravitational lensing images that probe dark matter substructure.
- Detector upgrades: assembly of silicon sensor modules for the CMS Outer Tracker, with work on robotic automation at the Brown and Fermilab assembly sites, and reconstruction performance studies for the HGCAL Technical Design Report.
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–
Junior Researcher
Institute for Experimental Physics, University of Hamburg, DESY campus, Hamburg, Germany
- Search for heavy resonances decaying to vector-like quarks (hypothetical heavy quarks, such as partners of the top quark) in the all-hadronic channel at √s = 13 TeV, including the optimization of high-level trigger algorithms that use jet substructure.
- Search for tt̄ resonances, new heavy particles decaying to a top quark and its antiquark, at √s = 8 TeV, and commissioning of top tagging and of b tagging in boosted top jets.
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–
Research Intern
INFN Torino (Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics), Turin, Italy
- Measurement of the production cross-section ratios of the χc2 and χc1 states, and of the χb2 and χb1 states, with CMS.
- Dark current and temperature monitoring for the avalanche photodiodes of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL), and studies of electrons knocked out by cosmic muons in the CMS detector.
Career
Education
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–
Doctorate of Science in Physics
University of Hamburg, Germany
- Grade
- Summa cum laude (with highest honors), the highest grade possible, awarded after an in-depth review of the dissertation that includes an external, independent panel
- Thesis
- Searches for heavy resonances in all-jet final states with top quarks using jet substructure techniques with the CMS Experiment
- Advisor
- Prof. Alexander Schmidt (RWTH Aachen)
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–
Master’s Degree in High Energy Physics
University of Turin, Italy
- Grade
- 110/110 cum laude, with honorable mention (110 is the maximum on the Italian scale)
- Thesis
- Measurement of the ratio σ(pp → χc2) / σ(pp → χc1) with the CMS detector at LHC
- Advisor
- Prof. Stefano Argirò
- Erasmus
- Exchange student at the University of Helsinki, Finland
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–
Bachelor’s Degree in Physics
University of Turin, Italy
- Grade
- 110/110 cum laude
- Thesis
- Preparation for data taking of the Electromagnetic Calorimeter of CMS
Research
Leadership in CMS
The CMS collaboration is organized in physics and performance groups, with conveners and managers at several levels. I have held four of these roles.
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–
Level 3 Convener, Inclusive top + X (ITX) subgroup
Top Quark Physics group
The subgroup studies collisions in which top quarks are produced together with other particles. I follow about 20 analyses and organize the biweekly meetings.
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–
Level 2 Manager, Data Quality Monitoring and Data Certification
Physics Performance and Dataset group
Responsible for the quality and certification of the data that CMS delivers to more than 3,000 physicists. Implemented machine-learning-based data certification to reduce the human input the process needs.
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–
Level 3 Manager, “Very Heavy Fermions” analysis teams
Beyond Two Generations group
Coordinated seven analysis teams, each working toward its own journal publication: reviewing analyses and documentation, advising analyzers and upper management, and chairing regular meetings.
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–
Level 3 Manager, “Future New Physics” analysis teams
Upgrade Physics Studies group
Managed five analysis teams.
Research
Funding
-
–
Research in Elementary Particle Physics (Energy Frontier)
U.S. Department of Energy · Co-PI
Awarded for May 2023 to April 2026, and renewed for April 2026 to March 2029.
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–
High Luminosity (HL) LHC CMS Detector Upgrade Project Calorimeter Endcap
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) · Co-PI
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–
A Data-Agnostic, Continuous Machine Learning Framework for Application in High Energy Physics and Beyond
U.S. Department of Energy, Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs (SBIR/STTR), with Cerium Labs · Co-PI
Research
Honors
-
,
LPC Distinguished Researcher
LHC Physics Center (LPC), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Competitively awarded by Fermilab, in two consecutive years. The award includes salary support and a travel award.
-
Summa cum laude
Doctorate, University of Hamburg
The highest grade possible for a doctorate.
-
110/110 cum laude, with honorable mention
Master’s degree, University of Turin
Research
Publications and talks
Paper and citation counts are from INSPIRE, as of October 2026. I made a major contribution to 11 papers, from charmonium production (2012) to the evidence for four-top-quark production (2023). Five of my talks were plenary, at meetings including TOP, BOOST and the APS Division of Particles and Fields, and I have given invited colloquia at the University of Minnesota and Mississippi State University.
Teaching and service
Teaching and mentoring
Teaching at The University of Alabama
- Undergraduate
- Introduction to Physics with Calculus I (PH105), five semesters since 2023 with about 100 students each, including an honors section in Spring 2023; Introduction to Physics with Calculus II (PH106); Introduction to Modern Physics (PH253); Intermediate Classical Mechanics (PH302)
- Graduate
- Graduate Physics Seminar (PH597) and Research Techniques (PH590); Research (PH598) for the students in my group
- Assessment
- Peer teaching observations every year since 2023, and a Student Learning Outcomes assessment for each course
- Outreach
- Co-administrator of the Machine Learning for Science (since 2021) and HumanAI (since 2024) organizations in Google Summer of Code; facilitator and instructor at CMS training schools at the Fermilab LPC; co-organizer of machine learning hackathons; organizer and exhibitor at a public science fair; lectures for high school students
Mentoring
- Postdoc
- One postdoctoral researcher, since February 2024
- Graduate
- Main advisor of three graduate students (since 2024 and 2026); co-supervised two graduate research projects (2023–2025)
- Undergraduate
- Five undergraduate researchers since 2024, testing and inspecting HGCAL hexaboards
- Recognition
- Nathan Nguyen, an undergraduate researcher in my lab from 2024 to 2026 and now a graduate student in the group, received the 2024 US CMS HL‑LHC Detector Upgrade Essential Contribution Award and the 2026 Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award. Students have presented talks and posters at APS meetings (2025, 2026) and SESAPS (2024, 2025).
- Committees
- Chair of two graduate preliminary examination committees (2025) and member of four (2023–2024); member of two yearly-update committees (2025)
Teaching and service
Service
Collaboration committees
- CMS Young Scientist Committee, member 2015–2022
- CMS Career Committee, member 2020–2022
- Fermilab LPC Event Committee, member 2020–2022
Peer review
- National Science Foundation (MPS/PHY), proposal reviewer, 2026
- Physical Review D, referee, 2026
- Machine Learning and the Physical Sciences workshop at NeurIPS, paper reviewer, 2021–2026
- Synergy of Scientific and Machine Learning Modeling workshop at ICML, paper reviewer, 2023
- MDPI journals Symmetry and Universe, reviewer, 2024–2025
- CMS Collaboration, internal reviewer of papers on top quark physics and on searches for physics beyond the standard model, including an Analysis Review Committee in 2026
Department and university
- Graduate Recruitment Committee, 2025–2027
- Departmental Advisory Committee, 2024–2026
- Graduate Council Fellowship nominations review committee, 2022, 2023 and 2024
- College of Arts and Sciences diversity postdoctoral position committee, experimental particle physics, 2023
- Judge at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Conference, 2023, 2024 and 2025
Student recruitment
- Graduate recruitment table for the department at SESAPS, the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, 2023 and 2025
- Physics booth at the BCAS Open Day, 2026
- Faculty Research Showcase, recruiting undergraduate researchers, 2023 and 2024
Teaching and service
Professional development and memberships
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Since
Member, American Physical Society (APS)
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–
Bauer Grant Writing Workshop
College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Alabama
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Faculty Teaching Institute
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), Washington, DC
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ALI Workshop
College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Alabama
Toolkit
Skills
- Computing
- Data science
- Languages