Paul Jackson

Professor Paul Jackson

Professor

School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD, but is currently at capacity - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Cutting-edge research | Elite problem-solving | Progressive mentoring | Imaginative solutions | Piercing vocals

I am funded through the Australian Research Council Linkage and Discovery schemes and lead the Adelaide Experimental Particle Physics group. We test the fundamental forces of nature and search for new particles and phenomena. We analyse data from the ATLAS experiment located at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland and the Belle II experiment at KEK in Tsukuba, Japan while also contributing to the operations and upgrade of these facilities. 

My groups area of study is in searches for as yet undiscovered phenomena using new kinematic techniques. Jackson leads searches for evidence of supersymmetric particles with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hardon Collider and played an important role in the discovery of the Higgs boson. We take pictures of high-energy collisions with the ATLAS experiment to disentangle the building blocks of nature. 

 

Leading to images like these!

Event Displays from 2015 Exotic Multi-Jet and Di-Jet analyses

 

'Research Tuesdays' Public Lecture: ColliderScope  - Presented at the University of Adelaide, December 8th, 2015

'Research Tuesdays' Public Lecture: Master of the Universe - Presented at the University of Adelaide, August 30th, 2012.

Presenting at 'Research Tuesdays', December 2015
Presenting to a full house at the University of Adelaide's 'Research Tuesdays', December 2015. This was my second Research Tuesdays talk (and fourth public lecture) at the University. Photo credit: Laura Vanags Photography.

 

With ATLAS we have access to the WLCG (Worldwide LHC Computing Grid) to analyse data recorded by the detector at CERN.

We are expanding our local tier-3 computing centre to store and process huge volumes of ATLAS data and host the Monte Carlo simulation required to perform different detector studies and analyses. These computing resources are also being expanded to store data for Belle II.

The Adelaide group works towards the maintenance, operation and upgrade of the ATLAS detector. This includes building a world-class electronics laboratory on the Adelaide campus. This is a great opportunity for the training of students and staff in state-of-the-art techniques for high bandwidth DAQ R&D.

A summary of Adelaide's involvement in global fitting (left), hardware (centre) and kinematic techniques (right).

Other research opportunities in our group cover particle phenomenology, the development of a global fitting tool called GAMBIT, beam loss monitoring for high energy particle accelerators and medical physics applications of GEANT4 modelling (in conjunction with SAHMRI). I am one of the main developers of the Recursive Jigsaw Reconstruction technique.

The Adelaide group are active in the ATLAS collaboration and prominent in Australian particle physics. We are members of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics more details can be found here: https://centredarkmatter.org.au/. Contact me if you would like to know even more! 

 
Current Postdoctoral researchers mentored: 
  • Dr Harish Potti (formerly University of Texas, Austin)
  • Dr Gabriel Collin (formerly MIT)
Previous Postdoctoral researchers mentored:
  • Dr Jason Oliver (Postdoctoral research associate at University of California, Irvine)
  • Dr Abhishek Sharma (Postdoctoral research associate at University of British Columbia)
  • Dr Andreas Petridis (formerly Stockholm University, now data analyst in finance sector)
  • Dr Larry Lee (Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Tennessee)
  • Dr Nitesh Soni (now Director of Advanced Analytics, ScotiaBank, Toronto, Canada)

Opportunities for Students!

There are exciting projects for students at undergraduate, honours, MPhil and PhD level. If you're interested in any of the topics below or something related, please get in touch! Projects covered include:

  • Data Analysis with the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC - searches for Dark Matter, Leptoquarks and Supersymmetric particles
  • Data Analysis with the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC - measurements of the Higgs boson, top quark and W boson.
  • Upgrading the ATLAS tracker system to the new ITk (inner tracker) for the High-Luminosity LHC era.  
  • Data analysis with the Belle II experiment at SuperKEKB, Tsukuba, Japan - measuring leptonic and semileptonic B decays
  • Using collider physics and astrophysics to constraint dark matter signatures
  • Studies for the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) and SABRE-south experiment
  • Computing solutions to improve particle detector simulation
 
 
  • Appointments

    Date Position Institution name
    2021 - ongoing Professor University of Adelaide
    2016 - 2020 Associate Professor University of Adelaide
    2014 - 2017 ARC Future Fellow University of Adelaide
    2014 - 2015 Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide
    2011 - 2013 Lecturer University of Adelaide
    2008 - 2011 Senior Research Associate Stanford University
    2006 - 2008 INFN Research Fellow Universita' di Roma "La Sapienza"
    2004 - 2006 Postdoctoral Research Associate The Ohio State University
  • Language Competencies

    Language Competency
    English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
    French Can read, speak and understand spoken
    Italian Can read, speak and understand spoken
  • Education

    Date Institution name Country Title
    2001 - 2004 University of Victoria Canada PhD
    1998 - 2001 University of Victoria Canada MSc
    1994 - 1998 Lancaster University United Kingdom MPhys Physics and Cosmology
  • Research Interests

Recent Grants and Awards (* as lead CI)

  • *ARC LE230100085, "Enabling the Future of the Australian Collider Physics Program" (2023) $2.827M
  • *ARC DP220100007, "New Techniques for New Physics Searches at the CERN Large Hadron Collider" (2022) $608k 
  • ARC LE210100098, "Enabling the Future of the Australian Collider Physics Program" (2021) $1.974M
  • *ARC DP200101792, "Multi-messenger particle physics: Hunting for Leptoquarks." (2020) $330k
  • ARC CE200100008, Chief Investigator, "Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics." (2019) $35M 
  • ARC LE190100140 "Enabling the future of the Australian collider physics program." (2018) $864k
  • ARC LE190100196 "Construction of SABRE, Australia's first full-scale dark matter detector." (2018) $1.08M 
  • *ARC DP180100031 "A fast readout for new physics discovery at the Large Hadron Collider." (2017) $431k
  • Adelaide Convention Bureau Award to fund CHEP 2019 (2018) $72.5k
  • Academic Consortium 21 Special Project Fund "Fostering Collaboration in future particle physics detectors" (2017) $15k
  • University of Adelaide "Distinguished Award for Sustained Research Excellence" and Mid-career Researcher of the Year (2016)
  • University of Adelaide "Most Creative and Engaging Researcher Profile (Academic)" (2016) - Won a Macbook Pro
  • ARC LE170100162 LIEF "Full scale detector system for Dark Matter" (2016) $415k
  • Co-investigator with Nagoya University on "Program for Advancing Strategic International Networks to Accelerate the Circulation of Talented Researchers" (2016-2018) $400k
  • Awarded the Dean of Sciences "Order of Merit for Excellence in Research" (2015)
  • ARC LE160100980 LIEF "Detector system for the First Australian Experiment on Dark Matter" (2015) $215k
  • Awarded "Australia-Harvard Fellowship" from the Harvard Club of Australia (2015) $13k
  • ARC LE150100076 LIEF "Australian Participation in the Belle II Experiment" (2014) $150k
  • ARC LE150100073 LIEF "Australian Contribution to CERN Large Hadron Collider Experiment Upgrade" (2014) $175k 
  • Co-investigator on Harvard University 'Milton Fellowship' (2014-2015) $40k
  • Awarded "Australia-Harvard Fellowship" from the Harvard Club of Australia (2014) $15k
  • *ARC FT130100018 ARC Future Fellowship "Probing the experimental frontier of particle physics with high-precision and high-energy collisions" (2013-2017) $732k
  • Awarded the Dean of Sciences "Order of Merit for Excellence in Research" (2013)
  • DVCR Research Equipment and Infrastructure Award (2012) $12k
  • University of Adelaide - School of Chemistry and Physics 'Small Grant Scheme' (2012) $10k

 

Currently teaching:

  • Second Semester - BSc Advanced Coordinator (Physics), PPR II/PPR III (2023)
  • Second Semester - Course Coordinator: Experimental Physics III (2023)

Previous teaching:

  • First Semester - Physics IIA Practicals (2020)
  • First Semester - Physics for the Life and Earth Sciences (PLES) 1A (2019, 2021, 2022)) 
  • Honours Data Analysis and Modelling (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
  • Honours Particle Physics (2022, 2023)
  • 3rd Year Laboratory Course (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  • Principles and Practices of Research II and III. Mentor of approximately 8 students per year since 2014.
  • 2nd Year Classical Physics (2013, 2014, 2015)

 

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2024 Principal Supervisor Beyond the Standard Model physics with the ATLAS Experiment at the CERN LHC Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Camron Stephen Alley
    2024 Principal Supervisor Searching for Beyond the Standard Model physics with the ATLAS Experiment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Haylea Isobel Purnell
    2023 Principal Supervisor Searching for Anomalous Top Quark Decays with Run 3 Data from the ATLAS Experiment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr James Edward Napier Gallagher
    2023 Co-Supervisor Searching for Beyond the Standard Model Physics With the ATLAS experiment utilising Machine Learning Algorithms Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Matthew James Green
    2023 Principal Supervisor Searching for beyond the Standard Model physics at the Belle II experiment through the application of machine learning algorithms Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Cameron Cooper Harris
    2023 Principal Supervisor Searches for New Physics Beyond the Standard Model with the ATLAS Detector Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Aman Mukesh Desai
    2022 Principal Supervisor Studying rare processes containing bottom quarks at the Large Hadron Collider Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Dr Matthew Peter Fewell
    2022 Principal Supervisor Beyond the Standard Model physics with the ATLAS experiment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Hitarthi Pandya
    2022 Principal Supervisor Upgrading the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider while searching for new physics Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Judith Kull
    2021 Principal Supervisor Search for Top-Higgs Flavour Changing Neutral Current coupling in multi-lepton final states. Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with Doctorate Full Time Mr Charles Michael Grant
    2020 Co-Supervisor High energy and beyond-Standard Model physics Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Edmund Xiang Lin Ting
    2020 Principal Supervisor Jet and top-quark physics with the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Albert Xing Yi Kong
    2020 Principal Supervisor Upgrades to the Inner Tracker system and searches for Dark Matter with the ATLAS Experiment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Emily Kathleen Filmer
  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2021 - 2022 Principal Supervisor Triggering and Reconstructing Hadronic Jets in the Search for Dark Matter and Supersymmetry with the ATLAS Experiment Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Maximilian Alexander Amerl
    2019 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Measurement of Semileptonic B Decays and Global Fits of Leptoquark Models Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Philip Timothy Grace
    2019 - 2022 Co-Supervisor Novel Data Analysis Techniques for BSM Physics Applications Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Adam George Leinweber
    2019 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Novel Networks in Collider Searches for New Physics Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Anna Jane Mullin
    2018 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Searching for Four Top Quarks with the ATLAS Detector Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Ms Emily Kathleen Filmer
    2018 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Fast Simulation and a Search for Four-top-quark Production with the ATLAS Experiment Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Albert Xing Yi Kong
    2017 - 2021 Principal Supervisor Jigsaws Falling into Place: Advances in Event Reconstruction and
    Electroweak Supersymmetry at ATLAS
    Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Abhishek Sharma
    2016 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Search for Supersymmetric Electroweak Production and the Measurement of Higgs Production Cross-sections at the ATLAS Experiment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Jason Lea Oliver
    2015 - 2018 Principal Supervisor Search for Supersymmetry with the ATLAS Detector using the Recursive Jigsaw Technique in Zero Lepton Final States Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Anum Qureshi
    2015 - 2020 Principal Supervisor B-Physics in Lattice QCD and at Belle II Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Sophie Elizabeth Hollitt
    2015 - 2021 Principal Supervisor Search for Supersymmetry in Final States with 2 or 3 Leptons with Data Collected by the ATLAS Experiment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Damir Duvnjak
    2014 - 2018 Principal Supervisor Probing Supersymmetry with Recursive Jigsaw Reconstruction Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Marco Santoni
    2013 - 2015 Principal Supervisor New Physics Searches at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Kaustubh Naik
  • Board Memberships

    Date Role Board name Institution name Country
    2022 - ongoing Co-Founder Cygnus- Australia University of Adelaide Australia
    2019 - 2021 Board Member ATLAS Executive Board CERN Switzerland
    2016 - 2017 Advisory Board Member ATLAS Collaboration Board Chair Advisory Board ATLAS experiment Switzerland
    2015 - 2028 Member Belle II Collaboration Board University of Adelaide Australia
    2013 - 2015 Board Member ATLAS Speakers Committee Advisory Board ATLAS Collaboration, CERN Switzerland
    2012 - 2025 Board Member ATLAS Collaboration Board ATLAS Collaboration, CERN Switzerland
  • Memberships

    Date Role Membership Country
    2021 - ongoing Founder Fellow, Australian Institute of Physics Australia
    2021 - 2025 Member Canadian Association of Physicists Canada
  • Offices Held

    Date Office Name Institution Country
    2015 - 2020 National Representative International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG) -
  • Position: Professor
  • Phone: 83130269
  • Email: p.jackson@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 83134380
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Physics, floor First Floor
  • Room: 112
  • Org Unit: Physics

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