A thesis defence across three countries
A student in Argentina, an examining committee in Caracas, and her supervisor in Geneva.
A concrete connection
Iskya Garcia carried out her master’s work at Universidad Central de Venezuela under my supervision, using ATLAS Open Data to study dark-matter searches. Before the defence, she moved to Argentina. The examination brought together her location, the committee in Caracas and mine in Geneva.
I described this episode in a 2018 article for ATLAS. It gives a very concrete meaning to international research: people in different places working on the same scientific question.
Exhibit 1DiagramRead left to right
One thesis, three places
The student in Argentina, her examining committee in Caracas, her supervisor in Geneva. What connected them was ordinary: a video call, and data anyone could download.
The community around the work
CEVALE2VE, which I co-founded with other Venezuelan researchers, connected universities and students with colleagues working abroad. Its activities included a particle-physics course, public lectures, virtual visits and research supervision. The materials and conversations could travel across institutions.
A connection becomes useful when it supports sustained work: a question discussed, an analysis revised, a result examined. Those ordinary steps are what turn an invitation to participate into an actual research experience.
Exhibit 2PeopleCredit where the work was shared
The people in this story
- Iskya GarcíaMaster’s student at Universidad Central de Venezuela; later co-speaker at a 2019 talk in Lima.
- María Di DomenicoThesis student at Universidad Central de Venezuela, under my supervision.
- Oscar AltuveUndergraduate thesis student under my supervision; today part of the CoAfina 2026 team.
What this episode shows
The thesis was Iskya’s work. My role was to supervise it and help create the conditions for it to move forward. Open data and communication tools supplied part of that environment; the student, teachers and university supplied the research and academic commitment.
Exhibit 3ResourcesOpen the thing itself, not a description of it
Where to go from here
- ArticleMy ATLAS article on physics education in Venezuela, 2018atlas.cern
- TalkCEVALE2VE presentation at ICHEP, 2016indico.cern.ch
- ProfileATLAS author biographyatlas.cern
- TalkLima, 2019: a talk with Iskya García on particle physics, the LHC and careersindico.cern.ch
- ArticleATLAS Open Data and Venezuela: two cases on how open access boosts outreach in HEP, Medium, June 2018artfisica.medium.comAuthor