Buried deep beneath the surface in the town of Meyrin sits the Large Hadron Collider. Contained within a 27-kilometer-long tunnel that crisscrosses between France and Switzerland, this marvel of engineering allows nuclear physicists to put their theories to the test by smashing subatomic particles together inside a high energy vacuum. With limited space and resources, only a handful of the most talented scientists have the privilege of spending their working day interacting with this billion-dollar piece of equipment—save for Thomas Hepworth, a fourth year UWinnipeg physics major and one of only six Canadian students selected by the national Institute for Particle Physics to join the groundbreaking research taking place at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
“For the two months I was in Europe, I worked in the ‘Antimatter Factory’ for the Baryon Antibaryon Symmetry Experiment. The goal of our research is to analyze the magnetic moment of both protons and antiprotons to search for differences exhibited in matter and antimatter,” says Thomas. “It was an amazing opportunity for me to have been selected for this research, and I enjoyed being able to travel in my off-hours to Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and finally France where I was able to see the Olympic opening ceremony on the Seine.”
Thomas is also one of the two students to be awarded the prestigious Sir William Stephenson Scholarship in 2025. Established in 1984 in memory of Sir William Stephenson, the legendary aviator, spy, and businessman, two scholarships are awarded annually to students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, superior leadership qualities on or off campus, with the potential to make valuable contributions to Canada in the future.
“I’ve wanted to win this award since I first started at UWinnipeg,” says Thomas. “When I was younger I also read Camp X, which is a novel based on Sir William Stephenson’s work as part of Allied intelligence during the Second World War. To finally receive this scholarship in my final year of study makes me truly proud of the work I’ve put into my academic career this far.”
His time spent at UWinnipeg was pivotal to pointing Thomas towards bigger goals than even he imagined.
“Over the last few years I’ve had the chance to take part in some incredible research at UWinnipeg. I was hired after just the first year of my undergrad, which was a pivotal moment that turned my trajectory towards physics—thanks largely to being encouraged by my first year physics professor Dr. Melanie Martin.” says Thomas. “I was encouraged to apply for the PhD Fellowship in Germany by my longtime UWinnipeg supervisors Dr. Russ Mammei and Dr. Jeff Martin, and now I have the chance to contribute to some the most exciting experiments taking place in the field.”
As part of his four-year doctorate, Thomas will be dividing his time between Heidelberg University and the nuclear reactor at the Institut Laue–Langevin in Grenoble, France.
“I know that I’ll miss my family and late-night hockey games with my buddies after moving abroad,” says Thomas. “I hope to return to Manitoba after completing my fellowship to teach as a physics professor one day.”
As President of the Physics Student Association, Thomas has taken a leading role in planning socials, trivia nights, and managing new fundraising initiatives. With help from faculty and staff members in the department, Thomas and his student colleagues worked to establish the Physics Student Association Award.
“We wanted to create an award that would directly support members of our association who are also in need of financial assistance,” says Thomas. “All the funding we receive from the events we organize will go into building this award up. Our goal is to reach endowment status and have the award support students in perpetuity.”
After graduating this summer, Thomas will head over to the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics at Heidelberg University in Germany.
