Dr. Etienne Dreyer

Etienne Dreyer obtained his doctorate in experimental high energy physics at Simon Fraser University, located in the Canadian Pacific Northwest. His research focused on searching for signs of new fundamental particles using the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland, part of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Etienne spent a year on-site at the LHC, where he played a leading role in the team of researchers performing the first analysis of the entire Run-2 dataset collected by the ATLAS detector. Their results shed valuable new light on theories of how nature works at the most fundamental level, including potential unifications of the fundamental forces and explanations of dark matter.

At the Weizmann Institute, Etienne works on innovative techniques to reconstruct and interpret data from the ATLAS detector which utilize deep learning. He also joins the long-standing effort at Weizmann to probe the Higgs boson’s interactions with quarks, as well as a newer effort to crosscheck recent indications of lepton-flavor violation of the Standard Model of particle physics at the LHC.

As a member of the truly global ATLAS collaboration, Etienne has been privileged to work with a diverse community and also looks forward to experiencing Israel’s unique cultural and scientific environment. Israel has been strongly involved in the ATLAS experiment as a CERN Member State, hosting approximately 60 affiliated physicists and graduate students at its four participating institutions. In line with the Zuckerman vision, Etienne aspires to make the most of this opportunity to pursue high-impact research in a way that fosters cross-cultural collaboration.