Professor Monica D’Onofrio, Head of Research in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Physics, has been appointed Deputy Spokesperson of CERN’s ATLAS experiment, one of the world’s largest scientific collaborations. She will take up the role on 1st March 2027 for two years, based at CERN, where she will provide scientific and strategic leadership alongside the ATLAS spokesperson, fellow Deputy Spokesperson and management team.
ATLAS is one of the main experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, bringing together more than 6000 researchers from over 170 institutions in 40 countries to study the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces that govern the universe. Professor D’Onofrio’s appointment comes as ATLAS exploits the full Run 3 dataset whilst undertaking its most ambitious upgrade for the High-Luminosity LHC, due to start operating in 2030. The upgrade will allow scientists to study significantly more particle collisions than before, in turn enabling more precise investigations of the Higgs boson and searches for new particles and phenomena beyond the Standard Model.
As Deputy Spokesperson, Professor D’Onofrio will help oversee the collaboration’s scientific programme, strategic priorities, detector readiness and preparations for data-taking at the High Luminosity LHC, conference participation and public engagement activities. She will represent ATLAS within CERN and the international particle physics community.
The UK plays a major role in ATLAS with around 500 members across 15 institutions, who contribute scientific leadership, data analysis, computing and advanced detector technologies. Professor D’Onofrio is currently the UK ATLAS Principal Investigator, having previously served as UK ATLAS Deputy. She will step down from this role when she begins her appointment.
Liverpool’s ATLAS contribution forms a key part of the University’s Particle Physics Research Frontier, with activities spanning physics analysis, detector operations and construction of the new Inner Tracker. Professor D’Onofrio led Liverpool’s ATLAS group from 2017 to 2024, overseeing the work of around 30 academics, researchers, engineers, technicians and PhD students.
Her ATLAS leadership has included coordinating collaboration-wide supersymmetry and physics modelling groups and preparations for beyond Standard Model physics searches. Her research spans searches for new particles, including those predicted by supersymmetry and candidates for dark matter, and the application of artificial intelligence to particle reconstruction and analysis. Her detector work ranges from research and development for the original ATLAS silicon tracker to oversight of Liverpool’s contribution to construction of its replacement. She has also held leadership roles in CERN’s FASER experiment and serves on STFC’s Science Board PPAN panel.
Her appointment as Deputy Spokesperson reflects both her individual scientific and leadership achievements and the international standing of Liverpool and the wider UK ATLAS community.
Professor D’Onofrio said:
“It is a great honour to be endorsed Deputy Spokesperson of the ATLAS Collaboration. This is an exciting and demanding period for ATLAS as we exploit the full Run 3 dataset, deliver a major detector upgrade and prepare for the High-Luminosity LHC. I look forward to working with colleagues across the collaboration to realise the scientific potential of this extraordinary international endeavour.”
Professor Laura Harkness, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, said:
“Monica’s appointment to this major international leadership role is a tremendous personal achievement and a powerful recognition of Liverpool’s longstanding contribution to ATLAS. Her experience combines pioneering research, detector development and leadership at institutional, national and international levels. She will play an important role in guiding the collaboration through a defining period for both ATLAS and particle physics.”