Wolfson College Cambridge: Dr Gareth Bird

Position Bye Fellow
School Physical Sciences Department of Physics - The Cavendish Laboratory
Email gareth.bird@cern.ch
Department link Cavendish Laboratory - HEP

Gareth specialises in High Energy Physics, developing software and hardware solutions for the Level-I Calorimeter Trigger of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. He is also pioneering a search for exotic particles using 'Back to the Future' triggers.

Gareth completed his MPhys at the University of Oxford before defending his PhD thesis at the University of Birmingham titled 'Commissioning of the Level-I Calorimeter Trigger Phase-I Upgrade and Searches For High-Mass Heavy Neutral Leptons in the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC'. Gareth now works as a Research Associate for the ATLAS group.

Gareth is committed to inspiring the next generation of physicists. He often seeks opportunities to supervise students, guiding them through their academic journeys and helping them develop a strong foundation in physics.

Gareth enjoys live alternative music, particularly post-punk, post-rock, and shoegaze, especially while he codes and writes.

Gareth's research specializes in bridging the gap between abstract fundamental high-energy physics and cutting-edge software and hardware solutions for processing large volumes of data. In his postdoctoral position, he dedicates his efforts to discovering innovative applications of high-speed hardware to explore the fundamentals of the universe while providing essential expertise for the ATLAS experiment's hardware trigger. This decides which of the 40 million 1MB events a second are interesting enough to store on disk. He has an active interest in long-lived particles and developing new high-speed hardware solutions to uncover previously undetectable experimental signals. He collaborates with theorists to develop new signal models for his 'Back to The Future' trigger.

What's on

Event Type (field_event_type)

A person holds a glowing light bulb filled with fairy lights in their cupped hands, against a dark and blurred background.

Wolfson Entrepreneurship Competition Final 2025

22/03/2025 at 10.00

Discover groundbreaking ideas and cutting-edge solutions as Cambridge’s brightest entrepreneurial minds compete for prizes over £10,000.

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Art Exhibition: 'Feel the Rhythm'

22/03/2025 at 10.00

Visit Wolfson's latest exhibition 'Feel the Rhythm' featuring work by emerging artist Fungai Benhura, winner of the Wolfson Royal Academy Schools Graduate Prize.

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Medical Society Dinner 2025

22/03/2025 at 19.00

As Wolfson celebrates 60 years, we are excited to invite you to a special dinner in honour of this significant milestone.

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Lent Term Concert: Myths and Legends

23/03/2025 at 18.00

As part of Wolfson’s 60th Anniversary celebrations, the College Choir and Alumni Choir, directed by Lyn Alcántara, present an evening of choral works inspired by the fantastical.