USLUA annual meeting
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
The US LHC Users Association (https://www.uslua.org) represents the US community of scientists and engineers working in the LHC physics and accelerator programs, and provides a forum of support for, and discussion of, US participation at CERN. We aim to support and uplift US personnel — particularly early career scientists and engineers — as well as acting as a communications channel between the community, US agencies, and the Congressional and Executive Branches.
Please note that early career members of our community are especially encouraged to attend in person, and travel support for a limited number of early career participants can be provided. Requests should be addressed to the Local Organizing Committee. We also encourage them to sign up for Lightning Round Talks to win a trip to our annual advocacy meeting to Washington DC in the Spring.
Early Career Scientists: There is still room left in the schedule for remote Lightning Round talks. Although registration for local participation closed on December 7th, remote registration is open until the meeting. No fee required.
Registration Fee:
- Non-Students: $275
- Students: $200 (possibility of aid - see registration)
- Pay here
Short URL: https://indico.cern.ch/e/uslua-general-2025

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Mini-symposium in honor of Henry Lubatti C520 (PAC)
C520
PAC
Physics/Astronomy Tower (PAC) 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 https://maps.app.goo.gl/YkrJ9TF9ehzutPnNA-
13:00
Check-In for Henry Fest
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Mini-symposium in honor of Henry Lubatti
It really lasts until 17:00, but we have our Exec Session at 15:00.
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13:00
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*Closed session* WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195Convener: Harvey Newman (California Institute of Technology (US)) -
Check-In (Collect Name Tag) WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
17:00
Joint reception with Henry Fest participants WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195
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Check-In (Collect Name Tag) WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
Welcome & Introductory Talks WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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Welcome, University of Washington and its Programs by Associate Dean for ResearchSpeaker: Prof. Xiaosong Li (University of Washington Seattle (US))
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USLUA Chair ReportSpeaker: Harvey Newman (California Institute of Technology (US))
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Introduction, Welcome, Logistics and SafetySpeaker: Shih-Chieh Hsu (University of Washington Seattle (US))
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10:00
Coffee WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
Report from APS DPF WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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Report from APS DPFSpeaker: Heidi Marie Schellman (Oregon State University (US))
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Government relations WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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Government relations and DC trip report and plansSpeaker: Lauren Larson (University of Texas at Austin (US))
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Government relations panel discussionSpeakers: Breese Quinn (University of Mississippi), Heidi Marie Schellman (Oregon State University (US)), Herman White, Kevin Pedro (Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (US)), Leland Cogliani (Lewis-Burke Associates), Sally Seidel (University of New Mexico / ATLAS)
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12:15
Lunch WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
Lightning Round Talks WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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HL-LHC Upgrade of the ATLAS LAr Calorimeter Front-End Readout ElectronicsSpeaker: Maria Bressan (Columbia University (US))
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Scaling together: Building the Backend Systems alongside the Detector for the CMS Phase 2 Outer Tracker UpgradeSpeaker: John Lawless (University of Tennessee (US))
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Jet Mass in Multijet Events as a Probe of QCD at CMSSpeaker: Lauren Meryl Hay (SUNY Buffalo)
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Developing and deploying GPU-accelerated tracking as-a-ServiceSpeaker: Miles Cochran-Branson (University of Washington (US))
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Colder than Ice, Stronger than Steel: The Mechanical Structures for the CMS Phase-II Outer Tracker Flat BarrelSpeaker: Christopher Cosby (Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (US))
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Search for single production of a Maverick Top partner using the ATLAS detectorSpeaker: Zackary Lee Alegria (Oklahoma State University (US))
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14:42
Tea WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
LHC Reports WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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ATLAS ReportSpeaker: Alex Zeng Wang (University of California,Santa Cruz (US))
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ALICE ReportSpeakers: Anthony Robert Timmins (University of Houston (US)), Daniel Tapia Takaki (University of Kansas)
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Careers WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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Career strategies for HEP postdocs, and how their faculty mentors can helpSpeaker: Robert Harris (Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (US))
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Breaking into Industry from HEPSpeaker: Nicholas Haubrich
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Questions & Comments from Early Career Scientists
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18:30
Conference Dinner Off site
Off site
Ivar's Salmon House
401 NE Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98105
map
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Reports from Agencies WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195- 22
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DOE HEPSpeaker: Regina Abby Rameika (Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (US))
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Questions & Comments from LHC Users
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10:00
Coffee WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
Report from CERN Users Office WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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Report from CERN Users OfficeSpeaker: Gaelle Duperrier (CERN)
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Lightning Round Talks WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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Improving vertex tagging efficiency in the search for Higgs decays to dark photonsSpeaker: Timothy Thankachen Mathew (University of Oregon (US))
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The Power of Positive Samples: Eliminating Negative Weights with Optimal TransportSpeaker: Camille Alessia Mauceri (Brown University (US))
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Lessons Learned at the CHARM Beam Test for CMS Phase-2 Outer Tracker ModulesSpeaker: Ashling Clare Quinn (Princeton University (US))
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Search for Higgs Pairs decaying to the bbgammagamma final state with 308ifb of data from ATLASSpeaker: Alex Zeng Wang (University of California,Santa Cruz (US))
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Cell-Level Classification of Merged Photons: Insights from a Simplified Calorimeter ModelSpeaker: Lauren Larson (University of Texas at Austin (US))
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12:10
Group Photo WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
12:20
Lunch WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
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AI in HEP: A3D3, IRIS HEP, WATCHEP et al: Extending Our DIscovery Reach WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195Speakers: Gordon Watts (University of Washington (US)), Shih-Chieh Hsu (University of Washington Seattle (US)) -
Committee Reports WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195Update from the Fundraising & Finance subcommittee:
Saptaparna Bhattacharya (Chair), John Stupak (Co-Chair), David Saltzberg (Co-Chair), Kiley Kennedy, Caterina Vernieri, Indara Suarez, Harvey Newman
USLUA is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit that needs funding to support its mission.
Typically raise funding through the following avenues:
- Lab drive
- Community drive
- Support for the users meeting (but only if the meeting is at FNAL):
- University Research Association (URA) Visiting Scholars Program
Travel support for annual meeting @ FNAL
- University Research Association (URA) Visiting Scholars Program
Our expenses:
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sending early career members to the DC trip
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materials to give staffers on the DC trip
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subsidizing early career members to attend our annual meeting
This year (2025), reached out to the national labs.
Traditionally, most of the national labs with LHC programs have supported us each year. We are optimistic about this support continuing in FY25-26, but the timeline compared to previous years has been delayed due to the government shutdown
Community drive in progress -- led by David
Received support during this meeting! Thank you!
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Quality of LifeSpeaker: Steven Goldfarb (University of Melbourne (AU))
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Meetings & EventsSpeaker: Steven Goldfarb (University of Melbourne (AU))
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15:00
Tea WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195 -
Invited Theorist WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195-
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Melting LHC detectors: a novel search for stopped long-lived particles
Particles at the TeV scale with lifetimes of a year or longer could have been abundantly produced at the LHC yet escaped detection because of backgrounds, and could still be trapped within detector materials. With gluinos in split-supersymmetry as a working example, we show that these trapped particles can be recovered from detector materials once prepared in liquid form, for example, by melting silicon detectors, extracting liquid argon from the electromagnetic calorimeter, or constructing a large water pool near ATLAS or CMS. These liquid samples can then be processed using iterative centrifugation followed by mass spectrometry, enabling single-particle sensitivity in macroscopic samples. This method can potentially discover gluinos up to 3 TeV in mass at the HL-LHC.
Speaker: Samuel S. Y. Wong (University of Washington)
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Awards & Concluding Remarks WRF Data Science Studio
WRF Data Science Studio
Physics and Astronomy Tower (PAC)
PAC 6th Floor, University of Washington 3910 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98195
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