Strengthening international excellence in particle physics
When Katerina Lipka joins Lund University, she does so with a clear ambition: to deepen collaboration between some of Europe’s most prominent research environments in particle physics.
Her decision to come to Lund is far from coincidental. She highlights the university’s strong expertise in collider phenomenology, precision measurements, and searches for new physics, combined with its active involvement in the LHC programme — a combination she describes as an ideal setting for both research and training initiatives.
Lipka’s own research is centred on the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, where she works with the highest possible precision to determine Standard Model parameters, probe the structure of the proton, and search for signs of new physics through Effective Field Theory. It is meticulous and long‑term scientific detective work at the smallest scales of the universe.
During her time in Lund, she aims to take another significant step: renewing and expanding the long‑standing collaboration between DESY and Lund. By integrating experimental results into a global, experiment‑agnostic interpretation of LHC data, she hopes to advance both precision measurements and the search for physics phenomena that still lie beyond the reach of current scientific understanding.
Her recruitment is part of the Lund University Programme for Global Excellence, an initiative designed to support world‑leading research in strategically prioritised areas. The programme includes assistant professorships and visiting professorships, with the aim of strengthening Lund’s international research environment over the long term. The Global Visiting Professors’ Programme brings in senior academics holding full professorships outside Sweden to contribute part‑time for at least two years — a framework that now also brings Lipka to Lund.