Research Assistant Professor Svende Braun from the University of New Mexico (UNM) has been appointed as co-convener of the B-Physics Weak Decays Working Group in the ATLAS Experiment at CERN. The ATLAS Experiment is a significant particle physics project conducted at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. It includes over 5,500 collaborators from 183 institutions across 42 countries, including UNM.
Each year, standout researchers within ATLAS are nominated to lead specific areas of study. Braun will oversee international teams studying weak interactions involving the b-quark, a subatomic particle that may provide insights into why matter predominates over antimatter in the universe.
“I am excited for this great opportunity, and I am looking very much forward to start as a Co-convener of the ATLAS B-Physics Weak Decays Working Group in October,” said Braun. “In this role I will be overseeing and closely following physics analyses within this sub-group and as such interacting with ATLAS analysis teams around the world. It’s an honor for me to be selected so soon after I joined the collaboration only half a year ago. I do have years of experience in B-physics from my previous work in other experiments.”
Braun joined UNM in January 2025, and her swift appointment to a leadership position underscores her expertise and growing influence in particle physics.
“It’s really impressive that Svende has been given this leadership role given that she has only been with us, and a part of the ATLAS working group, since January,” said Richard Rand, chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy.
The B-Physics Working Group is crucial for understanding fundamental forces and particles that influenced the early universe.
For more information about the ATLAS Experiment, visit atlas.cern/Discover.
