Raju Symposium

Raju images

Robeson Hall (Room 210), Virginia Tech

Saturday, October 20, 2012

From 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, Banquet starts at 6:30 pm

Raju Raghavan had long been a leading figure in experimental neutrino physics, before his death on October 20th 2011. From his contributions to the study of solar neutrinos, and his seminal work on metal loaded scintillator, to his proposals to study geoneutrinos and of 51Cr as a low energy neutrino source, Raju's creativity, energy and intellect have helped to define the field as we know it today. On October 20, 2012 we will gather in Raju's honor to examine his extraordinary life and life in science.

This one day Symposium will attempt to cover the full breadth of Raju's life in science, but also focus on Raju the man: his creativity, his infectious enthusiasm, his kindness and humanity . Anyone interested in making remarks should contact Jon Link via email at jmlink@vt.edu.

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Sandip Pakvasa, on Raju as a graduate student and neutrino co-conspirator
  • Franz von Feilitzsch, on Raju's time in Munich and the early years of Borex/Borexino
  • Atsuto Suzuki, on Raju's contributions to KamLAND
  • Minfang Yeh, on Raju's contributions to metal loaded scintillator
  • Bruce Vogelaar, on LENS, Borexino and Raju at Virginia Tech
  • Derek Rountree, on Raju as a mentor
  • Nimala Cherukupalle-Boughey, on Raju's multifareous talents and loyalty as a friend
  • Daniel Murnick, on Raju's work on hyperfine interactions at Bell Labs
  • Loren Pfeiffer, on Raju at Bell Labs
  • Itaru Shimizu, on results of geo neutrino and xenon experiments with KamLAND
  • Djordje Minic, on one of Raju's last works "Using neutrinos to test the Energy-Time relation in an extreme Regime"
  • Patrick Huber, on Raju's guidance in calculating reactor neutrino fluxes

Due to a generous contribution from the Japanese High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), lunch and diner will be provided for Symposium participants. The banquet will be catered by the India Garden Resturaunt, one of Raju's favorite local lunch spots, and lunch will be catered by the sandwich resturant, Jimmy John's.

If you plan to attend please let us know by filling out the registration form. The symposium will be held on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, but because October 20th is also Family Day on campus there is a shortage of hotel rooms in Blacksburg. So we recommend that participants stay in Roanoke (for a list of recommended hotels see the lodging page). A bus will pick-up Symposium participants on the morning of October 20th at the four recommended hotels and return participants at the end of the day.

Center for Neutrino Physics, Physics Department
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Robeson Hall (0435), Blacksburg, VA 24061;
Phone: (540) 231-8743; Fax: (540) 231-7511