Last week, Queen Mary Centre for Undergraduate Research (QMCUR) member and second-year mechanical engineering undergraduate Dhyey Joshi presented at the 2nd General VTX Workshop, hosted at the DESY campus in Hamburg, Germany. This prestigious three-day event gathered researchers from around the globe to discuss the upgrading plans of the Belle II iVTX detector.

As part of a collaborative, multi-partners research project involving an international team, Dhyey’s research focuses on refining a fallback active liquid cooling solution for the iVTX, ensuring a robust backup should any issues arise with the primary Thermal Pyrolytic Graphite (TPG) system. Based on ANSYS thermal simulations, his work optimises critical parameters such as fluid flow rate and glue conductivity. Condensing six months of rigorous work into a compelling 15-minute presentation, during his talk, Dhyey shared key findings on the comparison of coolants like liquid water and paraffin, identifying the latter as a limiting factor for cooling. He also provided structural insights for the cooling system design, demonstrating that a single curved pipe results in uneven cooling on one side. By improving these variables through iterations, his work culminates in a significantly more efficient cooling system.

Building on his previous experience presenting at Posters in Parliament and joint conferences with the University of Westminster, Dhyey's presentation was met with widespread acclaim, testifying to his outstanding achievements and the invaluable research activities conducted at QMCUR. Furthermore, the collaborative environment of the workshop sparked new cross-disciplinary insights that Dhyey is eager to implement to push his research even further.

Reflecting on the experience, Dhyey commented:

"Attending the Belle II VTX workshop at DESY was a significant milestone for this project. Presenting my work to the wider Belle II team was a fantastic opportunity to discuss progress, receive valuable feedback, and better understand how my work connects with the broader particle detector development effort. I am incredibly grateful to Professor Oliver Fenwick and Professor Adrian Bevan for enabling this opportunity through their continued support and encouragement throughout this project."

QMCUR extends its warmest congratulations to Dhyey for this tremendous achievement on the international stage. Special thanks also to Professor Oliver Fenwick and Professor Adrian Bevan for their excellent supervision and continued support of undergraduate research.