Choice of Institution: 

University College London (UCL) is my preferred institution for
several reasons. 

% exclui:
%I have known the activities of the high energy physics group at UCL
%since moving to the UK, to do a PhD at Imperial College. I have also
%collaborated extensively with several UCL group members both in the
%ZEUS experiment, where I did my PhD work, and in ATLAS.

Firstly, this is a young and active research group, with an inspiring
atmosphere where I believe I would integrate well. The group has an
excellent research programme, with both experimental and
phenomenological areas being pursued. There is an emphasis on Standard
Model physics, which I believe is the most worthwhile approach during the
initial phase of LHC exploitation.

The ATLAS group within UCL has a strong presence in the ATLAS trigger.
Nikos Konstantinidis being the ATLAS-UK high-level trigger project
manager and a leading developer of the level-2 trigger tracking
software. In addition to the level-2 tracking, which will be a central
ingredient of the ATLAS trigger, there is local expertise in the
trigger core software and on operational aspects of running a trigger
system in running experiments. This makes UCL an ideal place to
develop my own trigger-related activity.

The group's expertise in such subjects as QCD, proton structure, jet
reconstruction and Monte Carlo simulation, will be hugely beneficial
to the analyses I propose of top-antitop pair production and of the
associated Higgs production with a pair of top-antitop quarks. In particular,
Jon Butterworth has pioneered the jet substructure analysis technique
which I intend to use in my analysis of ttH events. Also, Nikos
Konstantinidis and has led the UCL effort on the ttH channel, which I
intend to complement with the proposed analysis. 

Finally, the group's interest in the ATLAS upgrade, including the fast
tracking trigger, are timely and essential for the good operation of
the experiment at high LHC luminosities.

For all the above reasons, I believe that UCL would be the ideal place
for me to pursue the research for which I am requesting support.