TRIUMF graduate researchers Leesa Brown and Callum McCracken have been named recipients of the 2025 ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Awards, a prestigious recognition of excellence in one of the world’s largest particle physics collaborations.
The Achievement Award acknowledges Brown and McCracken’s critical contributions to the ATLAS detector and the deployment of the Phase-I Level-1 Muon Endcap Trigger, including integration of the New Small Wheel (NSW) triggers. The upgrade significantly enhances ATLAS’ ability to operate under high-luminosity conditions and collect more data, enabling deeper insights into fundamental particles, forces, and our Universe.
The award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments in detector operation, upgrades, software, and performance, drew 65 nominations from across the global ATLAS collaboration. After rigorous evaluation, just seven individuals or teams were selected.
“I’m grateful to be part of the team receiving the ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Award for the Phase-1 L1 Muon Endcap Trigger,” said Brown. “The deployment of the New Small Wheel trigger was a huge effort that has allowed ATLAS to gather more data than would be otherwise possible. I am currently working on an analysis examining Run 3 data so the impact of this work means that we have higher statistics for our measurements and can increase our sensitivity to new physics when compared to past LHC Runs.”
The awards were presented during the open session of the ATLAS Collaboration Board at the June 2025 ATLAS Week, which brought together researchers from across the international CERN community.
“Cheers to the whole NSW team!” said McCracken. “There’s still a lot to do, but it’s been an honour to be involved so far.”
The recognition is a testament not only to Brown and McCracken’s expertise and dedication, but also to the strength of Canada’s contributions to global science. As work continues to help ensure the ATLAS detector operates at the frontier of discovery, Canada will continue playing a key role in advancing our understanding of the universe at its most fundamental level.
Congratulations to Leesa and Callum for this well-deserved honour!
