Instagram story viewer> @particleclara> Posts

Dr Clara Nellist

@particleclara

289.7K

followers

1359

following

Particle physicist working on the ATLAS experiment at CERN. In a superposition between Geneva and Amsterdam. Views my own. 🏳️‍🌈

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Welcome to my channel! Let's talk particle physics 🎆 #CERN #physics #science taken in ATLAS Experiment at CERN by @particleclara

204k

3k

4 years ago

When we were first told about the CERN Summer Student Programme at uni, I was in a room of 250 undergraduates. They told us it was extremely competitive, a few people in this room might get in, but that you could spend three months in Switzerland 🇨🇭

I looked around and thought to myself: "I'm ok at physics, but I'm not the BEST. Why would they pick someone like me? Plus I have to work in the summer to earn money for university, I can't afford to go to Switzerland"

So I made a mistake.

I didn't apply.

I ruled myself out before anyone else could.

Fortunately, I had more opportunities after that and I got to do my master's project at Fermilab in the US working on a particle physics experiment there. I was then able to apply to do a PhD at the same university, but this time on the ATLAS Experiment at CERN. And they haven't been able to get rid of me since then 😄.

But the lesson I learned was: don't rule yourself out, try as hard as you can and you never know what could happen!

CERN Summer Student applications are open until January 26th 2026 and it's FUNDED!! Give yourself the chance!

#CERN #future #Physics #WomenInSTEM by @particleclara

10k

119

a year ago

The detector is 25 m by 46 m, which is basically the size of a cathedral!

#CERN #ATLASExperiment #physics #science taken in ATLAS Experiment at CERN by @particleclara

39k

318

3 years ago

Throwback to the first time I saw the ATLAS experiment at CERN. It was during my PhD and I volunteered to be one of the cleaning crew with a bunch of other early career folks looking for anything magnetic that had been dropped during the winter shutdown. This allowed us to not only see ATLAS, but get up close from multiple different locations. And it was a fun excuse to get away from my desk for a day 😄

#CERN #physics taken in ATLAS Experiment at CERN by @particleclara

877

15

16 hours ago

We recently took the amazing @particleclara underground to see our incredible @lhcbexperiment detector ✨

Sitting 104m underground, it’s the deepest of the four experiments on CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and it is highly specialised to study a specific type of particle called beauty quarks ⚛️

➡️ Swipe to learn more about all the different parts of our detector.

🔔 And stay tuned to join Clara on her visit, and see LHCb up close!

#CERN #LHCb #particlephysics #physics #stem by @particleclara

520

4

6 days ago

Do you want to do a PhD at CERN?

Here are some tips from someone who's worked at CERN for over 17 years. There are many different paths to get here, so it's worth doing your research (😉☺️).

Ask your questions below and I'll try to answer as many as possible! by @particleclara

2k

33

7 days ago

Where has all the antimatter in our universe gone? That's one of the big questions that the @lhcbexperiment at CERN is trying to answer!

I recently had a tour with Prof Tim Gershon, Spokesperson of the experiment, and Dr Gloria Corti, Senior Physicist at CERN, who took me up close to their detector and explained why the work their collaboration is doing is so important.

I can't wait for you to see it!

Thanks to @lhcb_uk_students for setting it up!

#CERN #physics by @particleclara

490

7

7 days ago

How do you get Higgs bosons from a bottle of hydrogen?

Let's follow the journey of the protons at CERN as they go from an ordinary bottle of hydrogen to the largest accelerator in the world, via several other machines along the way. These accelerators not only increase the energy of the protons at each stage, but also shape the beams as well. And each one has a unique history to learn.

Image credit:
1: ATLAS/CERN
2+8: C.Nellist
3-7: CERN

This post was human-made. Thanks to E.Maclean for the peer-review of the accelerator information. by @particleclara

1k

14

11 days ago

The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded today to Prof. Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”! #physics #NobelPrize #STEM #neutrinos by @particleclara

9k

106

13 days ago

This October, I've signed up to plan(c)k for @cr_uk !

I'll be planking each day and will be sprinkling in as much science as I can! Do you know who Planck was and why the Planck scale is so important in physics? We'll be learning that this month!

Cancer affects everyone at some point in their lives, either directly or indirectly through a loved one. But I've seen the process that's been made through research and it's so inspiring that we have new treatment methods and ways to prevent some cancers. But there's still more to do. That's why I signed up for this challenge with Cancer Research UK.

This is day one and I managed 42 seconds. Check out my story for the link to the give if you can. Thanks! Clara x by @particleclara

1k

21

18 days ago

With the LHC now switched off, what's the future of particle physics studies at CERN? Are we going to find out things that means we’ve got to recycle all our textbooks? That was the focus of one of our panel's at Latitude this summer and it's out now on The Incomplete Shambles Podcast or watch the video version on our Patreon.

The panel was chaired by Prof Helen Czerski and featured Dr Clara Nellist and Prof Jon Butterworth. by @particleclara

917

15

18 days ago

This switch is one way that operators in the control room at CERN for the Large Hadron Collider can remove the proton beam. The system is also designed to remove it automatically if needed. #CERN #physics #collider by @particleclara

2k

48

25 days ago