SLAC Lecture | Expecting the Unexpected with AI at Particle Colliders

In particle physics, we search for new elementary particles that signal extensions of the fundamental interactions of nature. Experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce massive datasets, which physicists scour for evidence of hypothetical particles that have been suggested by theorists. But it is impossible to predict exactly what nature has in store. Can we discover something new without knowing in advance what we are looking for?

Progress in data science gives us new ways to mine the datasets from the LHC. Using artificial intelligence, we can search in a general way for events that are anomalous, signaling behavior outside of our current laws of physics. Coupled with advanced silicon microelectronics, we can apply AI to scan and sort data in real time, at the enormous rates at which the LHC collides protons. These game-changing technologies will work even more powerfully at future particle colliders, where era-defining discoveries might be around every corner.

Join us at the Kavli Building or online. Registration is required if you plan to attend in person.

Site entry will be allowed starting at 6:30 p.m. Proceed directly to the Kavli Building to check in.

We will also be streaming the lecture live on our YouTube page. You do not need to register if you plan to watch online.

Click here for more information about the SLAC Public Lectures.

About the Speaker:

A New Jersey native, Julia Gonski did her undergraduate studies at Rutgers University and her graduate studies at Harvard, receiving her Ph.D. in 2019. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University, Julia joined SLAC in 2023 as a Panofsky Fellow. Her research focuses on novel approaches to searching for new elementary particles in collider datasets, in particular incorporating machine learning and anomaly detection. She also works on real-time AI/ML with advanced data acquisition systems based on microelectronics. Outside of her research, Julia is involved in community organizing, outreach, and global inclusivity for the advanced particle colliders of the future.

Attend In Person:

The public lecture will be held in person at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, in the Kavli Auditorium in the Kavli Building (B51). Parking is free and can be found in front of the Science and User Support Building (B53). Doors open and site entry will be allowed starting at 6:30 p.m. Proceed directly to the Kavli Building to check in.

Registered guests should arrive before 6:50 pm to secure a seat in the auditorium. After 6:50 pm, waitlist and walk-up guests will be admitted if space is available due to registered guest no-shows. The lecture will start promptly at 7 p.m. and conclude at 8 p.m. There will be opportunities to chat with the scientists following the event. Registration is required if you plan to attend the lecture in person. The deadline to register is Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.

In order for SLAC to provide a safe environment for the public and our employees, and expedite access to the event, no handbags or backpacks larger than 12"x6"x12" will be allowed inside the venue. Exceptions to this policy will be made for all medically necessary items after proper inspection and for SLAC-badged staff.

To join the public lecture in person, you are required to follow all protocols and instructions from SLAC staff.

Host or Publisher SLAC Communications