Profile
Andreas Korn
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About Me:
Originally from Berlin, I live in Peterborough. I am a particle physicist smashing things together at the Large Hadron Collider. I do this to better understand what our world is made of.
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I grew up in Berlin, Germany. There I went to school and later studied physics.
Before I started living in the UK, my science job has taken me to several places in America (California and to the another Cambridge over there) and to Geneva, Switzerland.
Now I work on the ATLAS experiment. A really large camera looking at new particles created. As a particle physicist I am looking at the microcosm, with its zoo of particles.
Understanding these tiny things helps me and other scientists to better understand our whole universe! -
My Work:
I am looking for tiny new particles.
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As part of my university, UCL, I work on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The LHC collides particles (actually the nuclei of hydrogen atoms) and creates new particles that way. We can look at these collisions with cameras that are bigger and faster but otherwise quite similar to the one on mobile phones!
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My Typical Day:
I teach and do research. So I usually spend some time talking to my students. As they are sometimes away, I will often talk to them through a computer screen! Later in the day, the computer will also help me understand the pictures taken with ATLAS of particles bumping into each other.
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I start my day with checking and answering any messages left for me. Talking with people is pretty important. I work together with over 3000 people from all over the world. Different parts of the world life in different time zones. Somewhere people will start their day when I go to bed. So we can work on a problem almost around the clock!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Buy some fun gadgets for the kids of my local code club. They are amazingly smart!
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Education:
Primary School, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
Secondary School, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany
Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA -
Qualifications:
A Levels
Diploma in Physics
PhD in Physics -
Work History:
Postman
Computer Sales Assistant
Research Assistant
Project Scientist
Research Associate
Lecturer
Associate Professor -
Current Job:
Professor of Physics at University College London
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Employer:
University College London was founded almost 200 years ago!
We area big university teaching and researching many subjects from arts and engineering to science and maths. -
My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Curious, tenacious, special sense of humour
What did you want to be after you left school?
A particle physicist!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes. Enough said!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Accept the things I cannot change, have the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Tell us a joke.
German humour is no laughing matter ...
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