Contact
    
    Pietro Vischia
Position
    Former member
Member from July 2018 to October 2023
                        
        
    Member from July 2018 to October 2023
Personal homepage
Teaching
    
                In Bachelor and Master courses at UCLouvain:
- LPHYS1201 (2021-2022) v2, programming course (python)
- LPHYS2233 (2021/2022) v1, statistics and clustering algorithms
- LPHYS2233 (2020/2021) v1 (chargé de cours), statistics and clustering algorithms
- LPHYS1201 (2020/2021) v2, programming course (python)
- LPHY2233 (2019/2020), medical simulation with GEANT4
- LPHYS1201 (2019/2020) v2, programming course (python)
- LPHYS1201 (2018/2019) v2, programming course (C++)
                    - LPHYS1201 (2021-2022) v2, programming course (python)
- LPHYS2233 (2021/2022) v1, statistics and clustering algorithms
- LPHYS2233 (2020/2021) v1 (chargé de cours), statistics and clustering algorithms
- LPHYS1201 (2020/2021) v2, programming course (python)
- LPHY2233 (2019/2020), medical simulation with GEANT4
- LPHYS1201 (2019/2020) v2, programming course (python)
- LPHYS1201 (2018/2019) v2, programming course (C++)
Research statement
    
                My main research interest is in statistics and machine learning; I am currently working on developing algorithms that employ resampling techniques to the problem of anomaly detection, and on the problem of expressing the expected statistical significance in an approximate way in searches for new signals.
I am a founding member, as well as member of the Steering Board, of the MODE Collaboration, where we aim at building a differentiable pipeline to do machine-learning informed optimization of detector and experiment design.
I am also a member of the CMS Collaboration, where I work as a statistics advisor (CMS Statistics Committee) and to experimental measurements in top-Higgs physics (ttH observation and top-Higgs coupling constraints in an EFT framework) and in Standard Model precision measurements (WZ, also constraining the triboson coupling in an EFT framework).
                    I am a founding member, as well as member of the Steering Board, of the MODE Collaboration, where we aim at building a differentiable pipeline to do machine-learning informed optimization of detector and experiment design.
I am also a member of the CMS Collaboration, where I work as a statistics advisor (CMS Statistics Committee) and to experimental measurements in top-Higgs physics (ttH observation and top-Higgs coupling constraints in an EFT framework) and in Standard Model precision measurements (WZ, also constraining the triboson coupling in an EFT framework).
Projects
    
                                                                                                        Research directions:
                    
Experiments and collaborations:
Active projects
        
            
                
                                                                                                                            
            
            
                                
        
    
            
        
            
                
                                                                                
            
            
                                
        
    
                                
Non-active projects
                                                                                                                        Data analysis in HEP, astroparticle and GW experiments
Particle Physics
Research and development of new detectors
Technology Transfer
                                                                                                        
                                                                                     Particle Physics
Research and development of new detectors
Technology Transfer
Experiments and collaborations:
Active projects
                        Machine-learning Optimized Design of Experiments
                    
                                            
                                                        
                                            Luigi Favaro, Andrea Giammanco, Maxime Lagrange, Zahraa Zaher
                                                                                            
We are among the founders of MODE (Machine-learning Optimized Design of Experiments, https://mode-collaboration.github.io/), a multi-disciplinary consortium of European and American physicists and computer scientists who target the use of differentiable programming in design optimization of detectors for particle physics applications, extending from fundamental research at accelerators, in space, and in nuclear physics and neutrino facilities, to industrial applications employing the technology of radiation detection.
We also participate to the very closely related activities of the "Codesign" work package in the EUCAIF network.
We aim to develop a modular, customizable, and scalable, fully differentiable pipeline for the end-to-end optimization of articulated objective functions that model in full the true goals of experimental particle physics endeavours, to ensure optimal detector performance, analysis potential, and cost-effectiveness.
The main goal of our activities is to develop an architecture that can be adapted to the above use cases but will also be customizable to any other experimental endeavour employing particle detection at its core. We welcome suggestions, as well as interest in joining our effort, by researchers focusing on use cases for which this technology can be of benefit.
                            
External collaborators: See updated list here: https://mode-collaboration.github.io/ For EUCAIF, see: https://eucaif.org/.
                            We are among the founders of MODE (Machine-learning Optimized Design of Experiments, https://mode-collaboration.github.io/), a multi-disciplinary consortium of European and American physicists and computer scientists who target the use of differentiable programming in design optimization of detectors for particle physics applications, extending from fundamental research at accelerators, in space, and in nuclear physics and neutrino facilities, to industrial applications employing the technology of radiation detection.
We also participate to the very closely related activities of the "Codesign" work package in the EUCAIF network.
We aim to develop a modular, customizable, and scalable, fully differentiable pipeline for the end-to-end optimization of articulated objective functions that model in full the true goals of experimental particle physics endeavours, to ensure optimal detector performance, analysis potential, and cost-effectiveness.
The main goal of our activities is to develop an architecture that can be adapted to the above use cases but will also be customizable to any other experimental endeavour employing particle detection at its core. We welcome suggestions, as well as interest in joining our effort, by researchers focusing on use cases for which this technology can be of benefit.
External collaborators: See updated list here: https://mode-collaboration.github.io/ For EUCAIF, see: https://eucaif.org/.
                        Properties of ttW and ttH production
                    
                                                        
                                            Anna Benecke, Andrea Giammanco, Oguz Guzel, Zak Lawrence, Jindrich Lidrych
                                                                                            
We take advantage of the large statistics already recorded in Run 2 and being recorded in Run 3 by the CMS experiment to launch a systematic study of cross section, angular asymmetries and other properties in the ttW and ttH processes, which have a potentially large sensitivity to non-SM effects.
In synergy with the CP3 phenomenology group, we aim at reporting our results in a form that can be easily translated in EFT constraints.
                            
External collaborators: CMS collaboration.
                            We take advantage of the large statistics already recorded in Run 2 and being recorded in Run 3 by the CMS experiment to launch a systematic study of cross section, angular asymmetries and other properties in the ttW and ttH processes, which have a potentially large sensitivity to non-SM effects.
In synergy with the CP3 phenomenology group, we aim at reporting our results in a form that can be easily translated in EFT constraints.
External collaborators: CMS collaboration.
Non-active projects
Publications in IRMP
    
                All my publications on Inspire
                    
Number of publications as IRMP member: 19
Last 5 publications
                    
                            
    
        
            
                                
        
        
        
            
                            
    
        
            
                                
        
        
        
            
                            
    
        
            
                                
        
        
        
            
                        
    
        
            
                                
        
        
    
        
            
    
            
More publications
Number of publications as IRMP member: 19
Last 5 publications
2025
                    IRMP-CP3-25-16: Optimisation of Muon  Tomography Scanners for Border Control Using TomOpt
                
                            
            Z. Daher, S. Alvarez, T. Dorigo, A. Giammanco, M. Lagrange, G. C. Strong, P. Vischia, H. Zaraket
            
[Full text]
Proceedings of the MODE workshop.
Published in Particles 2025, 8(2), 53
Contribution to proceedings. May 2.
    [Full text]
Proceedings of the MODE workshop.
Published in Particles 2025, 8(2), 53
Contribution to proceedings. May 2.
2024
                    IRMP-CP3-24-37: Optimisation of muon portals for border controls using TomOpt
                
                            
            Z. Daher, M. Lagrange, S. Alvarez, G. C. Strong, F. Bury, T. Dorigo, A. Giammanco, A. Orio, P. Vischia, H. Zaraket
            
[Full text]
Proceedings of the MARESEC workshop. Public on Zenodo.
Contribution to proceedings. November 25.
    [Full text]
Proceedings of the MARESEC workshop. Public on Zenodo.
Contribution to proceedings. November 25.
2023
                    IRMP-CP3-23-57: Progress in End-to-End Optimization of Detectors for Fundamental Physics with Differentiable Programming
                
                            
            Max Aehle, Lorenzo Arsini, R. Belén Barreiro, Anastasios Belias, Florian Bury, Susana Cebrian, Alexander Demin, Jennet Dickinson, Julien Donini, Tommaso Dorigo, Michele Doro, Nicolas R. Gauger, Andrea Giammanco, Lindsey Gray, Borja S. González, Verena Kain, Jan Kieseler, Lisa Kusch, Marcus Liwicki, Gernot Maier, Federico Nardi, Fedor Ratnikov, Ryan Roussel, Roberto Ruiz de Austri, Fredrik Sandin, Michael Schenk, Bruno Scarpa, Pedro Silva, Giles C. Strong, Pietro Vischia
            
[Abstract] [PDF] [Journal]
Refereed paper. October 11.
    [Abstract] [PDF] [Journal]
Refereed paper. October 11.
                    IRMP-CP3-23-51: TomOpt: Differential optimisation for task- and constraint-aware design of particle detectors in the context of muon tomography
                
                            More publications