RHIC to EIC!

Wow!

It’s the end of an era, one that I was able to sample over 25 years ago.

This article tells part of the story.

I suppose some people can work on a single project throughout their entire careers, but this has not been my experience.

One of my first “work” adventures happened while I was in college.

I had the opportunity to spend a few months, a Science and Engineering Research Semester (SERS), working on a project related to the discovery of Quark-Gluon Plasma.

My research extended beyond that time for another few semesters. Mike helped me with the data analysis tasks. He’s an amazing programmer! Sam supported me throughout the investigation.

I clearly remember two incidents.

1. When I was trying to clean the gold wire connections on an array designed to detect charged particles, I accidentally destroyed a few inches of the array. I felt horrible. I let Walter know about my mistake, and I was prepared to pack my bags for being so stupid. He took a deep breath. Then, he said that we would simply move that array to a location where it didn’t matter so much. He could have made me feel like a complete idiot. Instead, he let me know that we all make mistakes. We would move on.
2. I worked at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) before the PHENIX team assembled. Several organizations were competing for the chance to have their detectors included. It was a cut-throat competition. Sam did a great job of making everyone involved feel valued. Then, Glenn found out that his bid had failed. He kept working. He worked through the night, knowing that his bid had been discarded. In the process, he was able to join the PHENIX collaboration!

These experiences taught me a valuable lesson. Ideas matter, and people matter. Sam chose the best people, along with the best ideas, to make the PHENIX collaboration successful.

What did they learn?

They learned so many things. It turns out that the spin crisis has been resolved. I could go on.

I probably should spend more time learning about the details.

My point is that basic research matters. My efforts in college have made a difference in our understanding of the universe.

As the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) experiment winds down, a new experiment, the Electron Ion Collider (EIC) is ramping up.

I’m excited to see what else is going to be revealed!