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Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 1:49 am
by sltrukshan
I heard that high energy field in US is developing well. Is this true or just a hoax?

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 1:52 am
by Helio
Theory or experiment? I mean the experimental side is more Europe and US combined, i.e. LHC

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:54 am
by quizivex
sltrukshan wrote:Is this true or just a hoax?
Yes

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:16 am
by grae313
The highest powered accelerator the world has ever seen is about to open in Geneva. There will be new discoveries.

On the other hand, it is still oversaturated and not as well funded as CME.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:17 pm
by sltrukshan
grae313 wrote:The highest powered accelerator the world has ever seen is about to open in Geneva. There will be new discoveries.

On the other hand, it is still oversaturated and not as well funded as CME.
Over saturated?? Experimental side or theoretical?

And

What do you mean by CME? Do you mean condensed matter physics? But it is very broad field. What about funding for nanoscience and superconductor physics fields?

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:20 pm
by Helio
nano and superconductor are CME (condensed matter), those are two broad fields esp. superconductors, please be a bit more specific

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:28 pm
by grae313
sltrukshan wrote:Over saturated?? Experimental side or theoretical?
Well, I know for sure that in theory there are way more people wanting to do it than there are spaces available, and funding is relatively poor. Not sure about experiment, but my guess is it would be similar.
What do you mean by CME? Do you mean condensed matter physics? But it is very broad field. What about funding for nanoscience and superconductor physics fields?
I mean condensed matter experiment. It is a huge field with good funding. There is lots of room.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:30 pm
by buddyo
I'd say high energy in the U.S. is suffering. Most of the U.S. accelerators are turning off and things are moving overseas. The LHC, BESIII, etc. A lot of this is related to the U.S. cutting funding to fundamental sciences, which may get better next year, but might not. Write your local congressperson and let them know what you want!

This isn't to say you shouldn't go into high energy physics.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:45 pm
by garden
Yeppppppp, it is so hot now! X off Bu! Just hope for the next one!

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:23 pm
by twistor
Hot maybe, but it's a dry heat.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:31 pm
by fermiboy
twistor wrote:Hot maybe, but it's a dry heat.
Haha, that's the informal slogan of the city of Tucson. I heard that like 80 times when I was visiting U. of Arizona.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:59 pm
by sltrukshan
I heard that two major projects (groups) on SLAC have been turned down this march due to funding problem. Is that true? If it is true the future of high energy physics is very clear - No future :(

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:56 am
by jdhooghe
It's so hot for me that sweat is pouring down the crack of my ass like Niagra...Sorry, had to use a Robin Williams quote :D . But yes, high energy is being asked to bend over during this damnable economic crunch.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:08 am
by Helio
everything but CME gets bend over

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:17 pm
by will
^ Not true. Plenty of money in AMO as well. Bio- and medical physics seem to be doing alright for themselves also.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:29 pm
by Helio
okay let me rephrase everything that might not yield new products gets bend over

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:11 pm
by will
Well, high energy is pretty saturated... But if you're exceedingly bright and find new physics, you won't have any trouble despite the relative lack of funding. If someone's eking into the field because they thought the elegant universe was a really good book, they might have to reevaluate. Anyway, high energy hasn't come grinding to a halt...

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:33 pm
by twistor
Bio- and medical physics seem to be doing alright for themselves also.
Medical physics is funded mostly through NIH grants. NIH has been cutting back in recent years to the point and far fewer grants are getting approved. At many schools it's very difficult for medical physics students to get funding.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:23 pm
by sltrukshan
All of your answers are contradicting. Some says that high energy is bent over. Some says CME is bent over and some others says that even Bio/medical physics is not funded well in recent years. These are three major fields of physics.

Does it means that Physics is bent over? :D

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:59 pm
by superfun
The funding in the field overall went down this year, but as a student you can see that as the fact that the field is changing, not necessarily for the worse. Many departments had no change in their funds for next year, and are optimistic about the future. Also, the fact that many US facilities have been changing their program (SLAC) indicates confidence in LHC for certain projects, so they will focus on different projects. As a student, it may even be cheaper for your department to send you overseas to work on experiments. Even without that option, there is still the option for the ILC, which will be considered in the next few years based on the LHC's relative success.

Re: Is high energy getting hot?

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 1:47 am
by gcensr
The long term answer to this question depends on what is observed in addition to the Higgs at the LHC. If there's nothing new and unexplained, that sort of does it for a while experimentally, right?

Right now, though, it's a pretty good time to be in high energy experiment and high energy phenomenology - pretty easy to get a PhD with the LHC up and running soon. The question is what happens after that.

disclaimer: I'm a condensed matter person - this is just what I've been hearing during my visits.