LESLIE S. GROER

Curriculum Vitae

Available in postscript or pdf format.

HOME ADDRESS
380 B Brittany Court
Geneva, Illinois 60134-3625
U.S.A.
(630) 208-8151

OFFICE ADDRESS
MS 357, Columbia/DØ
Fermilab, P.O. Box 500
Batavia, Illinois 60510-0500
U.S.A.
(630) 840-5587
E-mail: groer@fnal.gov

Education

Ph.D. in Physics Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. A Search for Charged Higgs Boson Decays of the Top Quark Using Hadronic Decays of the Tau Lepton in Proton-Antiproton at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV at CDF. Thesis Advisor: Terence Watts.	October 1998
B.Sc. Honours in Applied Mathematics University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa	October 1988
B.Sc. Honours in Physics University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa	April 1988
B.Sc. in Physics and Applied Mathematics University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa	April 1987

Experience

Postdoctoral Research Officer, Columbia University, New York
May 1999-present

Research at the DØ Experiment at the
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Illinois.

DØ Calorimeter Task Force Co-Chair	Aug 2002-present
The task force is charged with:
Characterizing the calorimeter detector performance at all levels as a function of the readout and zero suppression thresholds. Tuning of detector simulation to the data at the cell and physics object level based on the observed calorimeter energy response and multiplicity distributions. Determining the zero suppression thresholds for detector readout and setting and tuning thresholds for the trigger algorithms to optimize the physics performance of the detector.

DØ Jets and Missing Transverse Energy Identification Group Co-Convenor	Aug 2002-present
Oversight and coordination of all activities involved with coding and tuning of algorithms for jet identification and optimization with data and Monte-Carlo. Certification of jet algorithms for use by the DØ collaboration in physics analyses. Determination, certification and oversight of data quality.

DØ Commissioning Coordinator	Jun 2001-Jul 2002
Oversight and management of the final installation and commissioning effort for the DØ detector for Run II at the Tevatron. Liaison with the laboratory and accelerator divisions. Coordination and liaison between the DØ experiment's detector, data-acquisition and offline software groups. Setting and overseeing the implementation of goals and strategies for data-taking with colliding beam for the start of Run II. Responsible for ensuring the DØ experiment obtains quality data for physics analyses.

DØ Trigger Board Co-Chair	Jun 2001-Aug 2002
Verification and certification of physics trigger algorithms and strategies for data taking. Setting and arbitration of priorities and bandwidth allocation to all DØ physics groups for data taking. Monitoring the performance of the overall trigger system and the development of diagnostics.

DØ Calorimeter Electronics Upgrade Installation and Commissioning Coordinator	May 1999-Jun 2001
Oversight of manufacture, testing and quality control of high-precision fast-readout custom-made electronics in a $4.5 million upgrade for the DØ detector. Installation, commissioning and calibration of electronic components for over 50,000 channels of calorimeter readout.. Debugging, integration and commissioning of readout electronics with the rest of the DØ data acquisition system. Management of and liaison between physicists, engineers, technicians and students. Supervision and mentoring of PhD thesis students and summer undergraduate students.

DØ Jet Energy Scale Subgroup Co-Chair	Oct 2000-Jun 2001
Co-chaired the Jet Energy Scale subgroup of the DØ Higgs and Top Group which was responsible for modeling and determination of schemes for measuring the jet energy scale for low-pt and b-jets.

Postdoctoral Research Officer, Rutgers University

Fermilab Computing Division C++ Working Group	Feb 1999-Apr 1999
Explored feasibility and designed prototype for ANSI/ISO C++ portability package that detects and incorporates fixes to various computing platforms to account for environments that do not comply with the ISO C++ language and library standard.

Graduate Research Assistant, Rutgers University, New Jersey
October 1991-October 1998

Research at the Collider Detector (CDF) at
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Illinois.

Data Analysis and Research	Oct 1991-Apr 1999
Reprocessed and validated data sets used in tau lepton analyses at CDF and studied online trigger efficiencies, particle identification efficiencies, luminosities and systematic effects. Involved in the development and maintenance of tau lepton identification analysis software. Developed code for and produced extensive Monte Carlo data sets. Participated in the port of analysis software from VMS to UNIX. Studied the use of feed-forward neural network algorithms with adaptive back-error propagation training methods for tau lepton particle identification. Searched directly for evidence of a charged Higgs boson signature and set the world's best limits on production. Published a journal article based on these results.

CDF Level 3 Online Trigger System	Oct 1991-Dec 1995
Installed the Run 1A Level 3 online trigger system, which is the final stage of the CDF data acquisition system. Provided 24/7 maintenance and support of the VMS and UNIX platforms. Participated in all aspects of design, development, implementation, installation and support of the upgraded Run 1B Level 3 trigger system, a large heterogenous data acquisition system controlling and analyzing over 10 MB/sec data flow through a finite-state machine over multiple networks, (Scramnet reflective memory, Ultranet, Ethernet) via TCP/IP, utilizing multiple client-server processes. Integrated the full system on a dozen multiple-processor systems.

Data Acquisition Expert	Nov 1993-Feb 1994
Primary responsibility for taking data with the CDF detector as a data-acquisition expert (ACE). Trained colleagues to fulfill a similar function.

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Rutgers University, New Jersey
September 1998-July 1991

Teaching Assistant (General Physics)	Sep 1988-Jul 1991
Taught laboratories, tutored recitations, graded homework, prepared and graded quizzes and administrated class and grading records.

Undergraduate Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
February 1984-August 1988

Teaching Assistant in Physics and Applied Mathematics	Jan 1985-Aug 1988
Graded tutorials, tutored students. Set up, supervised and graded laboratories.

South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape Town	Jan 1987-Feb 1987
Analyzed data for variable stars and made observations of variable stars and supernova 1986A with the 20-inch telescope at Sutherland in the Cape Province of South Africa.

Physics Department, University of the Witwatersrand	Dec 1986
Adapted and wrote software to model surfaces in string theories.

Low Temperature Physics Laboratory, University of the Witwatersrand	Dec 1985-Feb 1986
Wrote and adapted data acquisition and control software for low-temperature physics experiments. Developed an experiment for studying metal-insulator transitions in a two-dimensional matrix.

Schonland Centre of Nuclear Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand	Dec 1984-Jan 1985
Wrote software for statistical analysis of data and computer profile plotting for geological surveys.

Professional Activities

Fermi National Laboratory User's Executive Committee	Sep 2002-present
Elected to the Fermi National Laboratory User's Executive Committee for a two year term to represent the views of the laboratory's user community. Activities include: Outreach and education programs for the general public, quality of life issues of the laboratory community and its users and communication with elected representatives in Washington, D.C.

DØ Advisory Council	Sep 2001-present
Elected to a two year term on the DØ Advisory Council to represent the views of the DØ collaborators.

DØ Physics Analysis Editorial Board	Feb 2000-Jul 2000
Served as member of editorial board reviewing an analysis searching for signatures of large extra dimensions in diphoton and dielectron events. Results were published in 2001.

Chair of Graduate Student Association Subcommittee for Computer Classes at Fermi National Laboratory	Nov 1995-Oct 1998
The subcommittee arranged computing classes and administered $30,000 a year for class subsidies. Liaised with laboratory management. Managed World Wide Web pages, cgi-scripts,mailing lists and class rosters.

Fermi National Laboratory Library Advisory Committee	Dec 1997-Nov 1998
Provided subject area expertise to the Fermilab Library and staff.

Chair of the Physics Society Executive Committee, University of the Witwatersrand	Dec 1985-Dec 1986
Chaired Physics Society which had an annual membership of approximately 200 students.

Computing Skills

Platforms:	Unix (SGI IRIX, Red Hat Linux, Digital, Sun), VAX (VMS and AXP), PC (Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP).
Administration:	Unix (SGI, Linux, DEC), VMS, Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP.
Languages:	FORTRAN, C, C++, Visual C++, Pascal, PERL, Python, HTML, shell scripting, CGI scripting. Developing skills in Java and Object Oriented Analysis and Design.
Applications:	Document preparation tools (e.g. LaTeX, postscript), Unix tools (GNU and others, e.g. gmake, CVS/RCS), Microsoft Office Suite, Analysis Packages (e.g. PAW, ROOT), Simulation Packages (e.g. Pythia, Isajet).

Presentations

May 2002	Meeting of the Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Society (DPF2002), The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia Jet and Electron Identification in the Run 2 DØ Detector. Presented initial results for particle identification in the Run 2 DØ detector.
Jun 2001	Femilab Users Meeting, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois DØ Status for Run IIa. Presented the status of the DØ detector at the beginning of the Tevatron Run II and preliminary results from commissioning.
Oct 2000	IXth International Conference on Calorimetry in Particle Physics (CALOR2000), Annecy, France. DØ Calorimeter Upgrades for Tevatron Run II. Presented the status of the upgrades to the DØ calorimeter detector electronics for the Tevatron Run II.
Sep 2000	Laboratoire de Physique Nucleiaire et de Hautes Energies, Paris, France. The DØ Calorimeter Upgrade. Presented the status of the upgrades to the DØ calorimeter detector electronics for the Tevatron Run II.
Oct 1998	Thinkshop - Top Quark Physics for Run II, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois Rare Top Decays Involving Taus. Presented prospects for using tau lepton detection in the Tevatron Run II collider program in top quark analyses.
Jun 1997	Hadron Collider Physics XII Symposium, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York Present Searches for Higgs Signatures at the Tevatron. Presented an overview of searches for both Standard Model and MSSM Higgs signatures from proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV at Fermilab's Tevatron collider using both the CDF and DØ detectors.
May 1997	Frontiers in Contemporary Physics Conference: Fundamental Particles and Interactions, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee Higgs Searches at CDF. Presented an overview of searches for both Standard Model and MSSM Higgs signatures from proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV at Fermilab's Tevatron collider using the CDF detector.
Apr 1997	Joint Meeting of the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers, Washington, D.C. Search for Charged Higgs at High Tan Beta in CDF. Presented final results of a search for charged Higgs production from proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV at Fermilab's Tevatron collider using the CDF detector.
Jun 1996	New Perspectives 1996, Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois Charged Higgs search at CDF.
May 1996	Joint Meeting of The American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers, Indianapolis, Indiana Search for Charged Higgs in CDF. Presented preliminary results of a search for charged Higgs production from proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV at Fermilab's Tevatron collider using the CDF detector.

Awards

May 1986	Physics Essay First Prize Title: Ideas of Modern Cosmology
May 1986	Colin James Young Prize Awarded for the best project encompassing the application of the mathematical sciences to the real world.
Jan 1986	Robert Nemen Bursary
May 1985	Diamond Research Laboratory Bronze Medal Awarded for the top student in first year undergraduate Physics course.
May 1985	Award for Physics Project Investigation of the reaction n + ¹⁹⁷Au to n' + ^197*Au using the 12 MeV Tandem Accelerator at the Schonland Centre for Nuclear Sciences.
May 1985	Physics Essay First Prize Title: The Synthesis of the Elements : William A. Fowler - 1983 Nobel Laureate
May 1985	University Council Certificates of Merit Physics I Computer Science and Applied Mathematics I
Jan 1985	E.J.A. Leorincz Scholarship for Academic Excellence
Jan 1984	Standard Bank University Scholarship

Professional Associations

Member of the American Physical Society	1991 to present

Publications as Primary Author

Search for Charged Higgs Boson Decays of the Top Quark using Hadronic Decays of the Tau Lepton.
F. Abe et al., Physical Review Letters, 79:357-362, 1997.

A Search for charged Higgs boson decays of the top quark using hadronic decays of the tau lepton in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV at CDF. Groer, Leslie Stevan. PhD thesis. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, UMI-99-15441 (1998).

Present Searches for Higgs Signatures at the Tevatron.
L. Groer. Published in Proceedings for Hadron Collider Physics XII Conference, Stony Brook, 1997.

DØ Calorimeter Upgrades for Tevatron Run II
L. Groer. Published in Proceedings for IXth International Conference On Calorimetry In Particle Physics (CALOR 2000), Oct 9-14, 2000, Annecy, France. ed. B. Aubert, J. Colas, P. Nedelec, L. Poggioli. Frascati, INFN, 2000.

Publications as member of Editorial Board

Search for Large Extra Dimensions in Dielectron and Diphoton Production
B. Abbott et al., Physical Review Letters, 86:1156-1161, 2001.
Fermilab Preprint server, Physical Review Letters Server.

Publications List as Co-Author

List available in postscript or pdf format.

References

Available upon request.

groer@fnal.gov

Last modified: Mon Sep 23 14:36:30 CDT 2002