Vedant Basu is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Utah where he is working on the development of algorithms for the calibration of the IceCube Upgrade camera modules and on the analysis and modeling of the South Pole ice for improved neutrino event reconstruction. Vedant was “always interested in building and tinkering with things,” so that pushed him closer towards doing instrumentation work with IceCube.
As a graduate student, he worked under Prof. Albrecht Karle at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on a diffuse neutrino analysis, or “looking at an aggregate of all the neutrinos from the entire sky together.” While there, he also helped develop a new light sensor, called the long optical module (LOM), for the planned extension of IceCube, IceCube-Gen2.
“Anything that I can make or build, I think I really enjoy that.”
Vedant Basu
In his free time, he loves to spend time outdoors sailing, skiing, distance biking, and rock climbing. He also loves playing board games and has been “trying to get back into cooking and baking,” which he said he did a lot more of during the pandemic.
“Anything that I can make or build, I think I really enjoy that,” says Vedant.
His advice to students is to “explore different opportunities and get involved in the science community early.”
“Looking back, I want to tell students to be more dialed in on what other people are doing and to look at the bigger picture,” says Vedant.
For more from Vedant, you can follow him on Instagram at @v3dant8.