extremely hard and have been quick to learn and grow. “I’m proud of this project,” Rizatdinova said. “I’m very proud of my engineering team, and I’m grateful to all of the engineers involved in the project.” The lab has developed such a strong reputation that national laboratories now send their equipment to OSU for testing. “We have leading equipment, and that’s not a hyperbole,” Van de Wall said. “We have a lab with the highest-end technology to test and design things.” For students involved in the project, the experience is transformative. They get hands-on experience with cuttingedge technology while contributing to fundamental science. “Every piece that we make, you put your name on it,” Van de Wall said. “These students are extremely excited to have their name on components that go into the leading edge of high-energy physics.” The project also teaches resilience. “Don’t be afraid to break things,” Van de Wall said. “We always joke that if you’re not breaking things, you’re not actually working. Everybody who’s been on the project has broken something.” The ongoing work at OSU is scheduled to continue until 2027, with installation planned for CERN in 2028. The upgraded ATLAS detector will help scientists explore questions about the universe, potentially leading to the discovery of new particles and improving our understanding of dark matter and the Higgs boson. As Welch puts it, the particle accelerator is “E=mc 2 in real life,” converting energy from high-speed particles into new forms of matter that have never been seen before. Rizatdinova summarized the collaborative spirit that makes science like this possible. “We are collaborative by nature,” she said. “If we aren’t collaborative, we won’t survive.” Senior research engineer Steven Welch and Department of Physics head Dr. Flera Rizatdinova. OSU assistant research engineer Dr. Evan Van de Wall. OSU COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 33
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