A sea wave can be perceived as a ripple that propagates between the atmosphere and the surface of the oceans. As it approaches the shore, it becomes not only something to jump over, but a phenomenon to study: a seesaw with a vertical and a longitudinal component.
A sea wave can be a beautiful thing to measure for those who, like Rogelio, a physicist working at CERN, find beauty in equations, mathematical properties and in drawings that display symmetries or uncover patterns.
Rogelio was born in Cuenca, in central Spain, but when he was a small child his family moved to the shores of the Mediterranean. It was in Valencia where many years later he would study the formation and the movements of the sea waves.
After his degree in physics, Rogelio did a PhD at CERN which, for him, was a fantasy. “CERN is the dream place for every physicist. I really wanted to be part of it since I started university”, he confesses. He has worked here ever since and, even during his first steps as a CERNie, nothing has disappointed him.
The dream goes on. Rogelio, who is the section leader of the Hadron Synchrotron Section, is now excited about Hilumi, the upgrade of the LHC in which he collaborates. “It is a pleasure to participate in this project, even with very small contributions”. He is delighted to be a CERNie, and he is already dreaming of CERN’s future plans: a 100-kilometre collider? A linear collider of up to 40 kilometres? Who knows.
Peaceful is a key feeling for Rogelio. When he was a child, his mother used to tell him many times that before doing anything he had doubts about, he should think if in one year or in 20 years, he would have some remorse and regret. Perhaps, in that situation, do not do it. Rogelio has always tried to apply this, which has led him to a certain sense of peace.
María Ibars, a 19th century writer and teacher from Valencia, whose verses rest on the seafront of Les Rotes, wrote that “el llenguatge de les ones és d’entendre universal”. Rogelio, to whom sea waves are very well defined mathematical objects, believes that this worldwide language of sea waves belongs to mathematics.
It is pleasant to think that the Mediterranean that saw him grow up is also universally understood.