Tanvi Wamorkar, Physics PhD candidate, sits down with the College of Science Graduate Program staff to talk about what it’s like to work and study at Northeastern University.
Please describe your research.
Under the guidance of my advisor Prof. Toyoko Orimoto and Post-Doc Dr. Andrea Massironi, I work on the ECAL (Electromagnetic Calorimeter) of CMS Experiment at CERN. CERN is the biggest and most international scientific collaboration in the world and our group is interested in using the Higgs Boson as a doorway to new physics. Since the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012, physicists at CERN have been trying to look for signs of new physics and my current project involves studying one such process involving photons since it’s the elementary particle that can be detected in CMS ECAL. This could help us learn more about phenomenon beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.
What is your favorite part about Northeastern?
My favorite part about Northeastern is the collaborative academic environment. The High Energy Experimental group is very encouraging and supportive of all the graduate students and the chance to learn from every faculty member with different areas of expertise is invaluable. Additionally, the Physics department has faculty who are powerhouses in their fields and the chance to do research with them during the first summer of the program gives every grad student the opportunity to find their calling.
Why did you choose to attend Northeastern?
Apart from the great research opportunities available at Northeastern’s Physics department, what attracted me most towards Northeastern were the friendly and helpful people I interacted with during the application process.
What is your favorite part of Boston?
The young and lively feel of the city is my favorite part of Boston. There’s, truly, an international mix of people here and the restaurants around the city serving a wide variety of food from Ethiopian to Italian adds to the love I have for Boston.
What advice would you give to an incoming graduate student?
Pursuing PhD in a natural science field will test your knowledge and patience from time to time and in such situations, my advice would be to stay optimistic because the end results make it all worthwhile. Make friends with people in your department and outside your work environment as well. I say this from experience because the support of my friends played a big part in making the two years I spent in Boston one of the most memorable ones.
