The understanding of our universe, from the largest to the smallest, has progressed significantly in recent decades. Large, complex and expensive facilities have been essential in the pursuit of knowledge of the fundamental structure, constituents and forces in nature; and the demand to make observations, measurements and analyses has driven technological advancement.

Specifically, on 4 July 2012, experiments at the Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of a new subatomic particle. This breakthrough will be described and discussed in the context of its implications for our quest to understand the origin of mass.

Professor Elisabetta Barberio is a member of the Experimental Particle Physics Group at the University of Melbourne. She joined the University of Melbourne in 2004. Previously, she was a staff researcher at CERN, (CH), the European laboratory of Particle Physics. She played a crucial role in data analysis in the OPAL experiment at Large Electron Positron Collider at CERN. Precision measurements made at this collider have confirmed the theory describing the fundamental particle behaviour to an extraordinary degree of precision. She is currently participating in the e ATLAS experiment and her group had an importantrole in the discovery of the Higgs boson particle at the Large Hadron Collider.

Hosted by Australian Institutte of Physics, ACT Branch

Co-­hosted by the Australian National University

Doors open 5.30 pm, lecture commences promptly at 6.00 pm.