Michele Brambilla

Michele Brambilla finished his PhD in theoretical physics of high energies in Parma, and afterwards he spent a few years as a postdoc in Trento, Parma and Milano. His main activity revolved around lattice QCD and the development of code for High Performance Computing. He took part to different projects aimed to explore efficient strategies for upcoming computer architectures. He is currently member of the Laboratory for Scientific Developments and Novel Materials at PSI where he contributes to the development of the instrument control for SINQ. Michele is participating in WP5.3, the development of a software to aggregate and make available the neutron event data.

- When, after a few years as a post-doc I decided to leave academia, I had been looking for a position that lay in between scientific research and a private company. Therefore, I found the position at PSI with the BrightnESS project very interesting: I still work in an environment that revolves around science, but we also have a large infrastructure project to finish.

I work in WP5, Real-Time Management of ESS Data, where our goal is to collect data from the instruments, process, manage and make them available for consuming stakeholders as well as the ESS users. We started by evaluating the tools that were already available and found a small set of tools, which we are working with to develop the backbone of data management at ESS. We often deal with questions such as what information do the users need to know (and what do they not need to know) and how do we make it as easy as possible for them to use the tools. We are the interface to both the users and the other groups in BrightnESS, working with detector development.  

One of our main challenges in WP5 will be to create a reliable system for the users, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We need to have the capacity to handle the large amount of data from the ESS to avoid data management being the bottleneck of the project.

I am a trained physicist and I enjoy working with the combination of physics and informatics, which BrightnESS allows me to do. Working for BrightnESS is stimulating: I enjoy working with people from all the countries and have many challenges to accomplish.

Part of the work we are doing in BrightnESS will be useful for PSI and will be used as a starting point for new facilities. Furthermore, within BrightnESS we are training people to achieve a higher level of skills, which is useful learnings for both research facilities and companies.