A Physicist’s Dream: The Summer of Studying Subatomic Particles in Italy

Andrew Witchger is living the life of TV’s popular Big Bang Theory show–with a few twists.

A physics major, he is the University’s first student to be selected for a grant study program with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute for Nuclear Physics-Italy. From all applicants nationwide, he was the single candidate selected to study near Rome this summer, conducting experiments with a particle accelerator.

Like the characters on TV’s Big Bang Theory show, Witchger can discuss experimental and theoretical research in subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics. What makes up the universe? How does gravity work? What is the nature of the invisible world?

Witchger excelled in nuclear physics, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics classes—while completing a computer sciences and mathematics minor. He gained an edge for the position by working with Dr. Fatiha Benmokhtar, visiting assistant professor of physics, in high energy/nuclear research. “This experience at Duquesne gave me the tools I needed to contribute to the experiment at the Italian lab,” he said.

At Italy’s oldest and largest nuclear facility, Witchger worked on The RICH Detector for the CLAS12 Spectrometer. The project involved building a system of light detectors sensitive enough to measure where a single particle of light (a photon) hits. Before another system based on this type of detector is built, it must be tested and refined for accuracy. Software was needed to analyze data and reconstruct how the light traveled.

“That’s where I came in,” said Witchger, who tested electronic systems and wrote code. “Because the light being measured was the result of accelerating a sub-atomic particle to nearly the speed of light, the detectors needed to be very accurate,” explained Witchger, who continues his work with Benmokhtar, a RICH project collaborator.

“Andy is one of my best students and I didn’t hesitate for a second to get him involved in my research projects in particle and nuclear physics during the spring semester of 2012,” said Benmokhtar. “His contribution to detector tests in Italy was of a big importance to the success of the RICH project.”

Subatomic science is only one dimension of Witchger. Sure, he built a computer from credit card-sized components, but he also performed for two years with Duquesne’s ethnic folk ensemble, the Tamburitzans. Since the age of 12, Witchger lived on the road with his troubadour family, playing Irish folk music on stages in China, Europe and the U.S. Witchger gave up touring and “bus schooling” for Duquesne in 2010.

So not all Big Bang Theory stereotypes apply to Witchger. “He’s personable, polite and a great guy to be around,” said Karen Prykull, assistant to the head of the Tamburitzans. “He’s mature—and has a motorcycle.”

Along with a mind for conducting subatomic analysis, writing complex software code and pondering questions of the universe.