The Experimental High Energy Physics group studies the fundamental constituents of matter through experiments at the world's highest-energy particle accelerator laboratories. The group participates in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is operated by CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Nebraska researchers participated in the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, and are preparing for future discoveries as the LHC resumes operations in 2015 with the highest-energy proton beams ever created. Activities include the operation of a large computing cluster that serves CMS researchers from all over the world and the construction of new components for the CMS detector that will be installed in 2016. The group also manages the Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP), an education and outreach experiment that is establishing a network of cosmic-ray research stations at high schools across the state of Nebraska. There is also a small effort on the Askaryan Radio Array, an experiment searching for high-energy cosmic ray neutrinos at the South Pole.
