By NicoLe TOMLINSON — THE GATEWAY (UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA) The stars in the London Planetarium inspired six-year-old James Pinfold to dedicate himself to physics. Years later and all grown up, the University of Alberta researcher is part of a worldwide team on the path to discovering an elusive particle that could prove or refute a central theory of subatomic physics, the study of par- ticles within the atom. “The essence of the project is to understand the most fundamental nature of matter — at the root, what everything is made up of,” he said. Pinfold, graduate student Andrew Hamilton, CERN, the Centre Européen pour la Recherche Nucleaire, a subatomic physics research centre in Geneva, Switzerland, are working on designing experiments to discover the Higgs boson, the one hypothesized particle in subatomic physical theory whose existence has yet to be confirmed with concrete data. They are working to design and build experiments, which will be exe- cuted in.the spring of 2007 using a larg hadron collider, or LHC, a machine that makes particles run into each other. and his colleagues at: The researchers hope that the prod- uct of the collisions will be the Higgs ‘boson, and if not it, then another pre- viously unobserved particle. While the entire project will total $4 billion US, the LHC itself will be seven stories high and weigh approximately 10,000 tons. “We're going to make a discovery at the LHC because that machine must sce the Higgs boson . . . or else discov- er new physics,” Pinfold said. Pinfold is excited about the project, and emphasized that the outcome of the trials, whatever it may be; will def- initely lead to discovery and further insight into the world of physics. “If we find the standard-model Higgs, that means the traditional view of things holds ground. If we don’t find the Higgs, then the standard model is out. Either way, it’s a discov- ery. We could also find a new Higgs boson that isn’t related to the standard model, but related to a new theory,” he said. The LHC project at CERN is due to the co-operative effort of 144 insti- tutions worldwide, including other Canadian universities like the University of Toronto and Simon Fraser University. “CERN itself is an international agency like the UN or WHO, and it’s one of the most spectacular examples of international co-operation,” Pinfold said. “It’s a place where everyone works together successfully; it’s a great exam- ple of sharing of physics culture across the world,” he said. Pinfold explained although discov- ering the Higgs boson would support current subatomic physics dogma, see- ing something different than the pre- dicted particle would be equally intriguing. “Many theorists and experimental- ists think there’s a deeper underlying theory to the standard model,” he said. Pinfold remarked that research pro- jects like this one could potentially lead to discoveries that would help solve contemporary mysteries like how the Big Bang occurred. “This will help us to answer ques- tions like, “What happened at the birth of the universe?’” he said. He also stressed the importance of recognizing the large scope of pure sciences, like physics, and the impor- tant role that they play in society. “T think physics is like the great art of music or acting, It’s a cultural event that mankind is involved in. It is our attempt to uncover the roots of things,” he said. 4 MARCH 9, 2005 Particle Puoto Br Iris TSE/THE GATEWAY/CUP James Pinfold hopes the University of Alberta’s new equipment can find the Higgs boson — or maybe something else. Pinfold and his team will continue preparations for the experiment with excitement and anticipation. “We feel a bit like we’w like Christopher Columbus and his crew going out there to discover a new world. Except our new world is not out there; our new world lies deep inside this world,” he said. “The big thing here is that at CERN, using the LHC, we are guar- anteed to make a discovery. We're going out there in our ship like Christopher Columbus, and we’re almost certainly going see a new land,” UBC Diploma in Accounting Program lf you are a university graduate seeking a professional accounting designation, you can fast-track your education through the UBC Diploma in Accounting Progam (DAP). UBC DAP's curriculum is recognized by the Chartered Accountants School of Business (CASB) and satisfies most of the CMA and CGA program requirements. 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The results were similar when examined by their costs: university stu- dents spend the most money on birth control. But creeping into the mix at sixth place at UBC and twelfth place at McGill by cost was Valtrex, a herpes medication. Anthony Di Carlo, a student excu- tive at McGill who oversees the drug plan there, said he thought the Valtrex numbers would be switched. “If the opposite was true, I’d say it was because of the weather,” he said. The results may be a telling indica- tor of what university students spend their time doing. Because the plan doesnt follow students thoughout their lives, it’s always a snapshot of a group of people with an average age “Of 22.5. “Tt’s hard to make inferences,” cau- tioned Foster. “We’d like to look at this and say oral contraceptives are up there because students are getting more sex. “But a lot of reasons for prescribing oral contraceptives are because of acne. A lot of them are doing it for skin care.” Ten years ago, the lists would have been almost exclusivdy contracep- tives, she said. But recently, antidepres- sants have begun to climb the ladder. It’s less an indication that students are more depressed, and more that the medical community is less hesitant prescribing them. Both oral contraceptives are long- ° term repeat prescriptions, while antibiotics are often avoided by stu- dents who tough it out. “There are stu- dents who should be using antibiotics, but aren’t,” Foster said. Top 10 Prescription Drugs for the University of British Columbia Rank DIN 02028700 02236974 02042487 02163926 02236975 — 0202942 00997977 10 00582352 Source: UBC/CUP Drug Name TRI-CYCLEN 21 TABLET ALESSE 21 TABLET MARVELON 21 TABLET TYLENOL W/CODEINE NO. 3 TABLET ALESSE 28 TABLET TRI-CYCLEN 28 TABLET EXTEMPORANEOUS MIXTURES TRIPHASIL 21 TABLET — ACCUTANE 40MG CAPSULE COMPILED BY FON WooDWARD, GRAPHIC PROVIDED DRUGS RANKED BY NUMBER OF PRESCRIPTIONS