Prof. David H Saxon OBE, FRSE

Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Glasgow
Glasgow
G12 8QQ
UK

Email: d.saxon@physics.gla.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 141 330 7175
Fax: +44 141 330 5881
Secretary: +44 141 330 4702 (Valerie Flood)
Office: Room 326a, Kelvin Building

updated 8 Jan 2010

Personal Biography

I came to Glasgow as Kelvin Professor of Physics (1990-2008). I was Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences, 2002-8, and Head of Department of Physics and Astronomy, 1996-2001. I am now an Emeritus Professor and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Previously I worked in Oxford University, Columbia University, New York, and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. My research has taken me to work at Saclay (France), Fermilab (USA), DESY (Hamburg) and CERN (Geneva).

Degrees, affiliations and honours: OBE, MA, DPhil, DSc, C Phys, F Inst P, FRSE, FRAS

A SaxonFest was held in May 2008 to mark my retiral.

My after-dinner speech at the DIS2009 conference in Madrid includes a flavour of my career in Physics.

Research interests and PhD students

I work in the Department of Physics and Astronomy on Experimental Particle Physics, principally on high energy electron-proton interactions using the ZEUS Detector at DESY, Hamburg. Recent work focuses on prompt photon emission in deep inelastic scattering, working with my graduate student, Matthew Forrest, (thesis submitted Jan 2010, entitled 'Isolated photon production in deep inelastic scattering at HERA') and with Peter Bussey and Ian Skillicorn.

For the Atlas experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2007, working with Chris Collins-Tooth and myself, my graduate student Christian Shaw completed a thesis entitled Standard Model Higgs boson analysis via associated top production and hadronic decay using the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC.

Earlier graduate students are Jonathan Forbes (1993), Martin Utley A First study of the structure of the virtual photon at HERA (1996), Neil MacDonald Structure of the Virtual Photon at HERA(1999) and Mairi Bell Prompt Photon Production in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA (2003). From my time at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory: Michael Gay Associated Production in the second resonance region(Bristol, 1979) and Kenneth W Bell Baryon Production in e⁺e^- annihilation at Petra (Oxford, 1985).

Publications

Publications list from SPIRES

Citation list from SPIRES

Recent Invited Conference talks

Heavy Quark Production at Frontier Science 2002, Charm, Beauty and CP (L Benussi, R de Sangro, FL Fabbri, P Valente eds, Frascati Physics Series 31, 2003)

Prompt photon production with associated jets at HERA at European Physical Society HEP conference (Aachen, 2003)

Particle Production and Fragmentation at HERA at New Trends in HERA Physics 2005, (G Grindhammer, B Kniel, G. Kramer, W Ochs eds, World Scientific, 2006)

Structure Functions at HERA at IVth International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics (A Dobado, FJ Llanes-estrada, V Vento eds, Madrid, World Scientific, 2006)

Particle Production at HERA at Particle Fragmentation Workshop (Trento, 2008)

Assessment of Scientific Achievements in Large Collaborations in Particle Physics , at National Conference of University Professors (London, 2008)

Organiser and Speaker at The Higgs Boson: what, why, how? conference, Edinburgh, 21 April 2009

Yesterdays sensation: tomorrows calibration ; at DIS2009 (Madrid,2009)

Inclusive K⁰_sK⁰_sresonance production in ep Collisions, at DIS2009 (Madrid,2009) click here for slides and for proceedings

Outside the University

Member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics commission C11 on Particle Physics, 2005-8.

Award selector for the British Council 2006-

Chair of the STFC Oversight Committee for the Calice Project, 2005-8

CERN Scientific Policy Committee annual (September) meeting

MRC Discipline Hopping award panel member 2009

Member, Royal Society of Edinburgh Meetings Committee

Public/outreach activities include: TV interview on ATLAS (July 2007), Radio programme and TV interview on Lord Kelvin (Dec 2007), Organised meeting at the House of Commons with Inst of Physics (Nov 2007), Commemorated Lord Kelvin at Westminster Abbey (Dec 2007), Organised the Higgs-Maxwell workshop on Electroweak Symmetry Breaking - http://www.ippp.dur.ac.uk/Workshops/08/HMW(Feb 2008), Opening speech at Glasgow ScienceCentre Exhibition (May 2008), Organised Public Lecture on Large Hadron Collider - http://www.ippp.dur.ac.uk/Workshops/08/FRSE/gianotti.pdf at Royal Society of Edinburgh (May 2008), Lecture on Lord Kelvin at Instrumentation Conference (Glasgow, Sept 2008.)

Earlier CV information

Education and Previous Employment:

Manchester Grammar School 1956-63. Foundation scholar, Lancasterian Scholar

Balliol College, Oxford 1963-68. Brackenbury Scholar, Jenkyns Prize for Physics (1965), BA (1^st class Hons, Physics, 1966), University (Scott) Prize for Physics (1966), D Sc (1989)

Jesus College, Oxford: Junior Research Fellow, (1968-1970), MA, DPhil (1970)

Nuclear Physics Department, Oxford University: Research Officer (1969-70)

Columbia University, New York: Research Associate, (1970-1973)

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, (SERC):

Research Associate, (1974-75),
Senior Scientific Officer, (1975-1976),
Principal Scientific Officer, (1976-1989),
Research group leader, (1976-1990),
Grade 6 (individual merit), (1989-1990)

Elected Deputy spokesman: ZEUS collaboration, (1987-9) (43 insts, 10 countries)

Undergraduate teaching at Keble College, Oxford, (1985-1990)

External positions:

For Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council: Council Member, 1997-2001 (renewed 1999); Chairman, Panel on Public Understanding of Science 1997-2001; Chairman, Particle Physics Committee. (Apr 1994-Dec 1995). Attended CERN Council and its Committee on behalf of UK; Chairman, PPARC/RSE Enterprise Fellowships Panel 2000-5

For the Office of Science and Technology: Member, UK Committee on CERN (to advise UK delegation to CERN Council (1992-5 and1998-2004)

For Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils: Council Member, 2000-01 and 2005-7; Chairman: Particle Physics Users Advisory Committee 1998-2004.

For Science and Engineering Research Council: Chairman, Particle Physics Committee (Sep 92-Mar 94); Member, Nuclear Physics Board (Sep 92- Aug 93); Member, Particle Space and Astronomy Board (Sep 93-Mar 94); Scientific Adviser, Panel on Quality of UK Particle Physics 1992; Member, Particle Physics Experiment Selection Panel (1989-1992)

For CERN (Geneva), the European Centre for Nuclear Research: Member, External Review Committee 2002; Member (ad personam), Scientific Policy Committee (1993-98); Member, Detector Research and Development Committee (1990-93)

For Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (Hamburg): Member (ad hominem) Physics Research Committee: (1993-99)

For Royal Society of Edinburgh: Research Awards Convener 2002-5; Council member 2001-4; Chairman, Physics Sectional Committee 1999-2001; Member, Meetings Committee 1998-2001; Member, Working Party on Reform of the Fellowship 1999; Organiser. Workshops on Particle Physics 1996-2004

For Institute of Physics: Chairman, Institute of Physics In Scotland 2003-5 (committee member 2001-7); Co-chairman, UK Inst of Physics Conf on Nuclear & Particle Physics 1993; Member, Nuclear Physics Division and High Energy Particle Physics Committees (89-93); Member, Institute of Physics Degree Accreditation Panel 1998-2001

For the European Committee on Future Accelerators (ECFA): Co-Convener, working group on detector subsystems at future electron-positron linear colliders (1996-97); Leader, Working groups: charged particle detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (1986-7 and 1989-90), UK delegate to Plenary ECFA 2003-6.

For the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, Commission 11: Chairman, XXVII International Conference on High Energy Physics, Glasgow, 1994 (1200 persons); Member, International Advisory Committees for International Conferences on High Energy Physics: Warsaw 1996, Vancouver 1998, Osaka 2000; Member, International Advisory Committees for Lepton-Photon Conferences: Hamburg 1997, Stanford USA, 1999, Rome 2001

For Univs of Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lancaster: Organiser, Higgs-Maxwell Workshop 2005-8

For Medical Research Council: Member, Discipline Hopping awards 2000 and 2006-7; Session chair 2002; Member, Scientific Advisory Group on Technology 1999

For the University of Oxford: External Examiner for Physics Finals 2001-2004

For the University of Trento (Italy): Member, Scientific Advisory Panel 2001-2004

For the Royal Society of London: Member, Advisory panel on quinquennial review of Research Councils 2001

For UK Research Councils' Basic Technology Programme: Panel member 2001

For the Quality Assurance Agency: Member, Physics Benchmarking Panel 2001

For the Scottish Universities Summer Schools in Physics (consortium of 10 Universities): Chairman, Governing Committee - 1997-2003; Director, 42nd Scottish Universities Summer School in Physics, 1993

For the University of Pennsylvania: Member, Thouron awards panel 1996\2262001

For the Higher Education Funding Councils: Member, Research Assessment Exercise Panel (Physics, 1996)

For Kings College, London: Chair, Redundancy Committee 2005-7

For the British Council: Member, Mission investigating its Science Programme in Italy, 1998

UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW