The BU SK-T2K-EMPHATIC Neutrino Group finally got off Zoom and met in person.

We are ready for a supernova, at BU or at home.

January 2019: the SK tank is almost filled with water. This month we remove our ropes and boats and other tools, close up the top reflective Tyvek, place the PMTs back in place over the hatch opening (shown here) and close up the detector for final filling.

Water filling begins. First we stomp around making sure the floor Tyvek is secure. The electric lights in the OD bottom have been removed (obviously).

Congratulations to Chris for having his dark matter search featured in Physical Review Letters as an Editor’s Suggestion. On March 30, Chris defended his thesis. He was accompanied by enthusiastic friends and family. On the other side of the shirt it says “Oh Neutrino He Didn’t”. Well, yes he did. Chris will take a position with the Broad Institute, doing data science studies of genomes. So he may be responsible for curing cancer or the zombie apocalypse- time will tell!

And as a reminder of Chris’ graduate research trajectory, here is a picture of him assembling PMTs for the MiniCLEAN detector, more than a mile underground at SNOLab in Sudbury, Canada. (circa 2013).

The green frame is a “gondola” that will be used to move workers up and down into the tank. It is suspended by steel cables, and operates much like a window washing platform outside a building. In fact, collaborators who wish to operate the gondola get the same training and pass the same test as window washers.

During the summer of 2017 we completed testing of an FPGA based TDC married to a board carrying the QBEE custom ASIC. Here is our final meeting and a picture of the setup. Jin-Yuan Wu, Y. Hayato, Ed K., Angie Chen, Dan Smith, Sara Sussman, Y. Kataoka.

Wei, Mark, Ed, Alec, Chris K., Flor, Jim, Chris W., Kate, Jen were all there. For more photos go to…

The anticupcake was annihilated by eating, not by interaction with another cupcake.