Letter for Pritam Palit Summer 2026

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to recommend Pritam Palit for the Staff Scientist position in the AI and ML in Physics group at Nikhef. I have worked closely with Pritam on an HL-LHC hardware construction project for the past three years.

I am an experimental particle physicist working on the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. At CMU, we are constructing an upgrade to the CMS detector, the High-Granularity Calorimeter, which involves assembling 5,000 8-inch silicon modules – essentially radiation-hard digital cameras. Each module consists of a silicon sensor attached to a printed circuit board containing readout electronics and a base plate that provides cooling and structural stability. Module construction is performed using automated robotic systems to assemble components and to make approximately 200 electrical connections per module. To facilitate this, we have established a small manufacturing center on campus capable of producing up to 24 modules per day, with production set to begin in early 2025.

Module production is currently limited by our ability to test modules. A multi-module test system (or "MMTS") was planned to be designed, built, and shipped to our module assembly center by international collaborators. The system would test 24 modules simultaneously, thermal cycling them and verifying their electrical properties at the designed operating temperature of -30 C. It was supposed to be "plug and play". Unfortunately, this did not work as advertised. What we received was little more than an incomplete parts list. This all came late and with little to no instructions on what was to be done.

Pritam quickly took charge of what could have been a major disaster. He has been responsible for coordinating all our efforts to get the MMTS operational. This required him to quickly become an expert in a wide range of areas: an industrial chiller and thermal unit, various air drying systems, custom hardware interlocks, and HV/LV distribution systems. He picked all of this up on the fly without any specific prior knowledge.

Given the importance of the test system to our assembly center, Pritam was given a large team to manage. He has successfully coordinated scientists with various levels of expertise, working closely with undergraduate physics majors, CMS graduate students, and senior laboratory technicians.

Pritam has turned a potential show stopper into a success story. Our MMTS is now operational and we are starting to clear the backlog of modules to be tested.

In summary, Pritam is a strong candidate for this position. I will let the other writers speak to his proposed research program and his various AI/ML projects within CMS. I will just say that he delivers what he promises; he is determined and has been a natural leader within my group.

John Alison, Associate Professor Physics Carnegie Mellon University