Mitesh Patel
Nationality: British
Mitesh Patel first came to CERN seven years ago, while studying for a PhD at Cambridge University. “I typically visited once a month to work on the NA48 experiment, ” he explains. “Before LHCb, NA48 was one of the CERN experiments looking at the asymmetries between matter and antimatter.”
After finishing his PhD, Mitesh moved to CERN on a permanent basis. Originally joining LHCb as a CERN fellow, he is now employed as a research physicist . “It was a natural transition from studying for a PhD on NA48 to working as researcher on LHCb ,” he says.
Growing up in Croydon, South London, Mitesh was fascinated by science from an early age. “I can’t remember a time when I haven’t been interested in physics,” he says. “I guess I like fundamental stuff – working out why things work.”
After spending seven years in Cambridge, where he was an undergraduate and then a postgraduate student, Mitesh is enjoying life at CERN. “I live just over the border in France – it’s beautiful, close to work, and I can cycle in every day. In the summer I like walking in the Alps, but the winter’s a bit tricky, I don’t like skiing very much; so the winter's are wasted on me!”