Higgs@10 - Alumni Memories with Will Hogan Flanagan

What memories do you have from the 4 July 2012 announcement of the Higgs boson? 

"I certainly remember the run-up to the Higgs announcement. Since I was part of CMS, we had many months of approval meetings before unveiling the new result. On the day of the big announcement, it was impossible to get a seat in the main auditorium unless you had waited in line overnight. I watched the announcement from my desk in Building 510, perhaps a 100 meters from the main event.

My most exciting memory was 'opening the box' on a novel search  for Supersymmetry with Run 1 data. Unfortunately, no discovery for my VBF SUSY team!"

What is your best memory of working at CERN? 

"My best memories are climbing and wiggling around the CMS detector, installing new electronics between Run 1 and Run 2. I've maintained this love of building detectors throughout my career."

What skills did you develop during your CERN work experience which have been particularly useful in your subsequent career trajectory?

"Many of the skills I developed at CERN followed me through to my adventures in neutrino physics and neutron detection. Less tangible but still important was being part of an international collaboration and seeing how teams could come together from every continent, creed, and background."