Alberto Santoro 80th Tribute
Hugh Montgomery
June 30, 2021
In 1983 I arrived at Fermilab, perhaps 6 months ahead of Alberto Santoro. During the ‘80s I was
aware of Alberto’s leadership of the Rio group in E691, in advanced computing, and in
networking.
In the ‘90s, we each joined the DZero Experiment and enjoyed the top quark observation in
March 1995. In fact, Alberto hosted several key members of our team in Rio during February,
just a month before the announcements. They included Paul Grannis who was co-spokesperson
at the time. But, it all went well and top was discovered.
I was able to visit Brazil in 1996 for a conference in Caxambu, and to give a course of lectures at
LAFEX. For me it was important to be able to watch a football game in Brazil. There was no
game at the Maracanã, but I did manage to watch Vasco de Gama play.
Setting his own course was always part of Alberto’s plan, and within DZero he pushed the
program of diffractive measurements. These relied on the construction of the Rio (not Roman)
pots, by the Brazilian group.
“Alberto, its been a pleasure to know you for these nearly 40 years, and to have had the privilege
of working with you. I look forward to continued meetings in the CERN cafeteria!”
My Dear Alberto:
Marjorie and I wish you a very happy 80th birthday and many happy
returns of the day!
As I reflect on our collaborations and friendship over the last four
decades or so, I cannot but be impressed by all you have accomplished
and how lucky I have been to share in some of them.
You must be able to count a couple hundred young people, proteges of
yours and your students, who have been positively influenced by your
guidance.
You and I met in July of 1983 in Rio for the first time. It was at
the 2nd Pan American Symposium on Perspectives for Pan American
Collaboration in Experimental Physics, organized by Leon Lederman. It
was there that the collaboration between Fermilab and CBPF took
concrete form. You were joined by Joao dos Anjos, Moacyr Souza, and
Carlos Escobar in coming to Fermilab to collaborate with a group of
young researchers trying to study charm quarks produced in a photon
beam. That began a collaboration on a series of charm experiments
(E516, E691, E769, and E791) which had an enviable record of
measurements, discoveries, and publication. Many of your students
received their PhDs based on data taken in these experiments.
You also expanded your efforts into computing and other technologies
which were central to the success of our experiments, as well as
motivating and involving engineers and additional students. You did
that by developing facilities at CBPF and in Brazil more generally.
The farms of parallel single-board computers which your group helped
develop at Fermilab and then established at CBPF contributed to the
analysis of E791 data, then the world’s largest sample of recorded
particle-physics data.
I also remember with great enthusiasm participating in LISHEP
conferences in Rio. What began as typical topical physics
conferences, you expanded into teaching opportunities for students and
teachers in Brazil.
These are just some of the highlights of your activities in which I
was lucky enough to participate. It has been my good fortune to share
in them. But I also especially appreciate the friendship which
developed between us and the hospitality you and Bettie showed me and
Marjorie.
Again, happy birthday, and thank you for our shared memories and friendship.
Jeffrey
It has been a great pleasure for me to work with, and be a friend of, Alberto Santoro for over 3
decades. He was a pioneering leader in experimental particle physics in Latin America in the early
1980s, when he led a small team of former Brazilian theorists to collaborate on experiments at
Fermilab. All Brazilian, and much of Latin American, particle physics are direct descendants of his
visionary young leadership of that period.
Over the years, Alberto and I have met many times, in Brazil, in the US, and at physics conferences;
I have learned much from Alberto and have had many enjoyable conversations with him. It is hard
to believe that the young leader I met more than 3 decades ago is now celebrating his 80th birthday,
but it is an honor to congratulate him on this milestone in life, and to wish him many more happy
and well-earned years.
Roy Rubinstein