Sebastian Grinstein

Sebastian Grinstein

Institut de Física d'Altes Energies

Experimental Sciences & Mathematics

I completed my MSc at the University of Buenos Aires in 1998 working on the measurement of the production cross section of direct photons at the D0 experiment (Fermilab, USA). I worked in Sweden as a member of the Astroparticle Group of the Royal Institute of Technology studying cosmic rays before starting my PhD (2003, University of Buenos Aires) measuring the properties of quarks and gluons in high energy collisions at D0. In 2003 I became a postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University where I worked mainly at the CDF experiment (Fermilab) on top-quark physics and detector operations. In 2008 I joined the IFAE (Institut de Física d'Altes Energies) LHC-ATLAS experiment group as an ICREA Researcher. In 2012 I became an ICREA Research Professor. I am currently leading the ATLAS Detector upgrade effort at IFAE.  

Research interests

My research has been focused on high-energy experimental particle physics: understanding which are the fundamental constituents of nature and how they interact. At the Fermilab Tevatron accelerator I have performed studies of QCD and the properties of the top quark. At the LHC accelerator at CERN I conducted searches for new physics in the top sector. I am now leading a coordinated project to develop semiconductor tracking and timing detectors for the ATLAS experiment. During the first stage of this project, 3D pixel silicon sensors designed and produced at Barcelona were included in the innermost detector layer of ATLAS. Currently, we are fabricating 3D pixel module prototypes for the coming high luminosity LHC era. I am also the deputy Project Leader of the ATLAS High Granularity Timing Detector. My group aims to produce about 10% of the modules for this detector in-house. I am also co-leading a project investigating silicon sensors for medical applications. 

Selected publications

- Grieco C, Castillo Garcia L, Doblas Moreno A, Gkougkousis EL, Grinstein S, Hidalgo S, Moffat N, Pellegrini G, Villegas Dominguez J 2022, 'Overview of CNM LGAD results: boron Si-on-Si and epitaxial wafers', Journal Of Instrumentation, 17, 9, C09021.

- Zhang Y, Wei W, Li Xi, Liang Z, Wu T, Casanova R, Wei, X, Zhang L, Dong J, Wang J, Lu W, Zheng R, Li L, Grinstein S & Guimaraes da Costa J 2022, 'Development of a CMOS pixel sensor prototype for the high hit rate CEPC vertex detector', Nuclear Instruments & Methods In Physics Research Section A-accelerators Spectrometers Detectors And Associated Equipment, 1042, 167442.

- Carlotto JI, Fernandez-Martinez P, Terzo S, Gonzalez JT & Grinstein S 2022, 'Characterization of the first RD53A triplet modules assembled at IFAE', Journal Of Instrumentation, 17, 10, C10018.

- Agapopoulou C et al. 2022, 'Performance in beam tests of irradiated Low Gain Avalanche Detectors for the ATLAS High Granularity Timing Detector', Journal Of Instrumentation, 17, 9, P09026.

- Castillo L, Gkougkousis E, Grieco C & Grinstein S, 2022, 'Characterization of Irradiated Boron, Carbon-Enriched and Gallium Si-on-Si Wafer Low Gain Avalanche Detectors', Instruments, 6(1), 2. 

Selected research activities

* Principal investigator of the ATLAS-Upgrade group at IFAE (MICINN, Spain).

* Coordinator of the AIDAInnova activities at IFAE and WP5 co-coordinator (H2020, EU).

* Deputy Project Leader of the  ATLAS High Granularity Timing Detector.

* Directed two MSc. theses in 2022: G. Petrogiannis and F. Rahmouni, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. 

* Directed two PhD theses which were defended in 2022: T. Wu, "Design and Characterization of a MAPS for the CEPC Vertex Detector", China Central Normal University and Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, and C. Grieco, "Low Gain Avalanche Detectors for the ATLAS High Granularity Timing Detector", Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Four PhD theses are currently underway.