A local professor who is part of a team of scientists performing experiments at the Large Hadron Collider will discuss his work at an upcoming Nebraska Wesleyan University lecture.

Ken Bloom, associate professor of physics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will deliver the lecture, “Discovering the Quantum Universe at the Large Hadron Collider” on Thursday, March 3. The free lecture begins at 1 p.m. in Olin B Lecture Hall, located one block east of 50th Street and St. Paul Ave.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected that it will address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing humanity's understanding of the deepest laws of nature. The LHC lies in a tunnel beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva Switzerland.

Bloom is a member of a team of more than 2,000 scientists from around the world who perform experiments at the LHC. He has conducted research in experimental particle physics for more than 20 years, starting out as an undergraduate assistant. He is also a leader in the development and operation of high-throughput computing facilities used to process and analyze data from the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment, where he is a co-manager of a $17 million program of work spread across 12 universities.

He earned his AB degree in physics from the University of Chicago, and a master’s and Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University.