Life as an Experimenter - Reflections

I've been doing experimental physics for about three years.  I started during my sophomore year in college, went straight to graduate school, and continued here (albeit not quite immediately).  There are people out there who have been doing this for a lot longer than I have, but I've gained a few insights, by working with said people, and through my own experiences in the lab.  I thought I'd try to share a few of these, to help illuminate the past few days I blogged about.

Life as an Experimenter - Day Three

Today marks the third and final day in our beam time at CHESS.  I think the circles under all of our eyes may take away from the glamor a bit, but the right makeup specialist could fix that.  If they ever make a movie about us, which they should, I want to be played by some really awesome british actor.  I think that would be about right.  Someone with a strong jaw.  In case it's not obvious, lack of sleep is getting to me a little bit.  Read on for the final few hours of our experiment.

Life as an Experimenter - Day Two

Today I'm continuing my series on the life of an experimenter.  Today is the longest day, since we have beam time for all 24 hours.  And after the setbacks of yesterday, we feel compelled to use it to the utmost bit.  Read on for more tantalizing glimpses of the grit behind the glamor of the rock-star-like lifestyle of an experimental physicist.

Life as an Experimenter - Day One

I'm an experimental physicist.  If you think this sounds like a job second in glamour only to rock star you would be right.  Just like being a rock star, you have to deal with the people, the shows, the lights, the groupies . . . okay, maybe I'm lying about the groupies.  Unless you're Brian Greene.  Also similar to a rock star, no one really knows what it is we do behind the scenes (when we're not touring the nation or publishing papers).  I'd like to pull back that curtain a little bit.