Who’s got TALENT?

As part of a training initiative funded under the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme, 17 new Fellow positions have just been opened with three positions at CERN and the remainder around Europe. The mission is to contribute to the development of key sections of the ATLAS tracker upgrade.

 

As the LHC ramps up towards full capacity, the detectors will need to update their technology to meet the extra demands created by significantly increased levels of both radiation and signals reaching the sensors. This can only be done by ramping up research and development to create the new technologies needed.

To meet this challenge, the Marie Curie Initial Training Network TALENT is currently seeking 17 researchers from the fields of applied physics, mechanical and software engineering, electronics and economics to work in five key areas:

- Radiation-hard precision pixel sensors
- Radiation-hard high-density electronics and interconnection technologies
- New mechanical integration methods for lightweight support and cooling systems
- Detector performance and system integration
- Dissemination, knowledge transfer and external research funding.

As well as 2 and 3-year contracts, TALENT offers interesting training possibilities for Fellows. These range from courses in physics and engineering to languages and business skills as well as case workshops and a dedicated summer school, where best practices can be exchanged and networks created. Fellows will also be able to spend up to 10 months of their contract working in industry if they have a research background, and vice versa for those from industry. This collaboration is made possible by the composition of the project network, which is made up of two research facilities, seven universities and eight industry partners.

TALENT is now accepting applications and it is expected that the first contracts will start before the summer. Applications can be made via the TALENT website and CERN e-RT.

by Joannah Caborn Wengler