Alexandru Marin
Encyclopedia
Alexandru Adalbert "Alex" Marin (1945 – November 14, 2005) was an experimental particle physicist, a professor of physics
at MIT, Boston University
and Harvard University
, and a researcher at CERN
and JINR
.
Marin was born in France
and arrived in Romania
at 3 months, with his father Gaston Marin.
He received his Ph.D. in physics from the Central Institute for Physics in Bucharest
in 1977. Before moving to the United States
in 1983, he worked on high energy physics and astrophysics experiments in Romania, the Soviet Union
and CERN. He was Principal Investigator for experiments carried out at CERN and at Dubna
from 1974–1979, and from 1974–1983 was Principal Investigator for the Transition Radiation Experiment on the Intercosmos
17 satellite, and for the ASTRO1 and ASTRO2 experiments on the Romanian Astronaut flight.
After moving to the United States, Marin played leading roles in several large international experiments. He designed and built a laser calibration system for MACRO
, a search for magnetic monopoles and other exotic hypothetical particles. He worked on the PBAR and EXAM anti-matter balloon experiments, which contributed to the design of the AMS magnetic spectrometer that was later flown on the Space Shuttle
. For LIGO
, the sensitive gravity wave experiment, Marin designed and built environmental monitoring
systems.
At CERN, Marin designed and built the radiation monitor for the silicon tracker of the L3 experiment on LEP
. In 1991, he proposed and developed a muon system concept for the Superconducting Super Collider
that was virtually identical to the one later chosen for the ATLAS experiment
. Marin was a long-term member of the ATLAS Muon Collaboration, and helped construct and install 81 end-cap muon
chambers.
Marin was co-author on 266 publications during his career. He died suddenly in 2005 after contracting necrotizing fasciitis
, a rare and rapidly progressing infection.
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at MIT, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and a researcher at CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
and JINR
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow Oblast , Russia, is an international research centre for nuclear sciences, with 5500 staff members, 1200 researchers including 1000 Ph.D.s from eighteen member states The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow...
.
Marin was born in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and arrived in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
at 3 months, with his father Gaston Marin.
He received his Ph.D. in physics from the Central Institute for Physics in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
in 1977. Before moving to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1983, he worked on high energy physics and astrophysics experiments in Romania, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and CERN. He was Principal Investigator for experiments carried out at CERN and at Dubna
Dubna
Dubna is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of naukograd , being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research centre and one of the largest scientific foundations in the country. It is also home to MKB Raduga, a defence aerospace company...
from 1974–1979, and from 1974–1983 was Principal Investigator for the Transition Radiation Experiment on the Intercosmos
Intercosmos
Interkosmos was a space program of the Soviet Union designed to include members of military forces of allied Warsaw Pact countries in manned and unmanned missions...
17 satellite, and for the ASTRO1 and ASTRO2 experiments on the Romanian Astronaut flight.
After moving to the United States, Marin played leading roles in several large international experiments. He designed and built a laser calibration system for MACRO
Macro
A macro in computer science is a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence should be mapped to an output sequence according to a defined procedure...
, a search for magnetic monopoles and other exotic hypothetical particles. He worked on the PBAR and EXAM anti-matter balloon experiments, which contributed to the design of the AMS magnetic spectrometer that was later flown on the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
. For LIGO
LIGO
LIGO, which stands for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, is a large-scale physics experiment aiming to directly detect gravitational waves. Cofounded in 1992 by Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever of Caltech and Rainer Weiss of MIT, LIGO is a joint project between scientists at MIT,...
, the sensitive gravity wave experiment, Marin designed and built environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterise and monitor the quality of the environment...
systems.
At CERN, Marin designed and built the radiation monitor for the silicon tracker of the L3 experiment on LEP
Large Electron-Positron Collider
The Large Electron–Positron Collider was one of the largest particle accelerators ever constructed.It was built at CERN, a multi-national centre for research in nuclear and particle physics near Geneva, Switzerland. LEP was a circular collider with a circumference of 27 kilometres built in a...
. In 1991, he proposed and developed a muon system concept for the Superconducting Super Collider
Superconducting Super Collider
The Superconducting Super Collider was a particle accelerator complex under construction in the vicinity of Waxahachie, Texas that was set to be world's largest and most energetic, surpassing the current record held by the Large Hadron Collider. Its planned ring circumference was with an energy...
that was virtually identical to the one later chosen for the ATLAS experiment
ATLAS experiment
ATLAS is one of the six particle detector experiments constructed at the Large Hadron Collider , a new particle accelerator at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland...
. Marin was a long-term member of the ATLAS Muon Collaboration, and helped construct and install 81 end-cap muon
Muon
The muon |mu]] used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with a unitary negative electric charge and a spin of ½. Together with the electron, the tau, and the three neutrinos, it is classified as a lepton...
chambers.
Marin was co-author on 266 publications during his career. He died suddenly in 2005 after contracting necrotizing fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis , commonly known as flesh-eating disease or Flesh-eating bacteria syndrome, is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues, easily spreading across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous tissue.Necrotizing fasciitis is a quickly progressing and...
, a rare and rapidly progressing infection.