‘On the edge of what we know’
Name? Stefano Manzoni
Born? 1989
Job? First year postdoc at ATLAS (currently at CERN)
What does your research focus on? I study the Higgs particle. During my PhD research I mostly looked at the mass. Now I am trying to set boundaries for the strength with which the Higgs field influences itself. That is the so-called self-coupling.
Complicated? Well, we can measure this self-coupling in two ways. The first is a direct search for Higgs couples. The second is an indirect search where we do a very precise measurement of separate Higgs particles.
Favourite part? I love solving problems. And it’s fantastic that I can thread on the edge of what we know.
What keeps you up at night? (laughs) That depends. Well, actually, tight deadlines do. For instance when I have to finish something before a conference.
Hobbies? I love mountain sports such as climbing and skiing. I read news background stories on the sites of the Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Il Post. And I like to watch football, especially Inter Milan, the club from the region that I grew up in.
