Dr. Niki Saoulidou is an Associate Professor at the Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens specializing in Experimental High-Energy Physics.
The field of research of Prof. Saoulidou is Experimental High Energy Physics. She studies the properties and interactions of elementary particles in neutrino experiments at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in the US, and since 2009 in collider experiments (pp) at the LHC accelerator at CERN. She focuses on searches for new physics in multi-jet topologies, exploring a variety of new physics models from Extra Dimensions to Dark Matter.
Professor Saoulidou received her Bachelors degree (1996) and PhD (2003) from the Physics Department of the University Athens, Greece working on the DONUT (Direct Observation of the tau Neutrino) experiment at Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory), USA. This experiment directly observed the tau neutrino, the last one of the known elementary particles of the Standard Model. In 2003 she moved to Fermilab, USA to work as a postdoctoral research associate in the MINOS (Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search) experiment, which confirmed neutrino oscillations with accelerator neutrinos. In 2006 she became a Fermilab Wilson Fellow (fast tenure track position equivalent to an Assist. Prof.) and continued her research in MINOS, NOvA (Numi Off-axis nue Appearance) as well as in the planning of future long baseline neutrino experiments in the USA, most noticeably on what is now called the DUNE experiment. In 2009 she joined the CMS experiment as a Fermilab Wilson Fellow, and relocated at CERN (Geneva, Switzerland). In spring of 2011 she returned in Greece as an Assistant Professor in the Nuclear Physics and Elementary Particles Section of the Physics Department at the University of Athens. Since June 2018 she is an Associate Prof. at NKUA, Greece.
At CMS Prof. Saoulidou initially worked in the analysis of the first experimental data studying the characteristics of jets. She developed the Particle Flow (PF) jet identification criteria now used by all CMS physics analyses. [2010-2012 co-Convener of the "Jet Algorithms" group of CMS (Physics Object Group) in charge of the study and monitoring of jet characteristics, and the determination of the jet energy resolution]. She then used jets to perform key measurements of Quantum Chromodynamics [2012-2014 co-Convener of the CMS Physics Analysis Group (PAG) "Standard Model Physics with Jets"]. Since 2014 Prof. Saoulidou, together with her group, mainly focuses on new physics searches with jets in the final state: they utilize multi-jet events to search for Dark Matter, extra dimensions, W', Z' etc hunting for resonances (wide and narrow) in the dijet mass distribution [2014-2017 co-Convener of the CMS PAG "Exotica searches with Jes+X", 2018-current Contact Author of the CMS Dijet Resonance Search]. Since 2017 Prof. Saoulidou with her group are also key members of the CMS JETMET group working towards providing PF jet energy corrections and PF jet identification criteria for all CMS analyses. Recently Prof. Saoulidou has been appointed the co-Convener of one of the two largest Physics Analysis Groups in CMS searching for new physics, EXOTICA, for the period of September of 2019, to September of 2021.