CERN

From CERN, Dec. 3, 2019: Large-scale scientific facilities, such as those for conducting particle physics research, are financed by society. A team of economists recently performed a cost-benefit analysis of upgrading the Large Hadron Collider. They concluded that the socioeconomic and cultural benefits gained from the project — not including potential scientific discoveries — exceed the total pecuniary investment.

From Gizmodo, Nov. 25, 2019: The oldest particle accelerator at CERN, home to the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, is celebrating its 60th birthday. It’s still running. The Proton Synchrotron accelerated its first protons on Nov. 24, 1959. It was the world’s highest-energy accelerator when it first began running.

From CERN, Nov. 6, 2019: The CERN Council has selected Fabiola Gianotti as the organization’s next director-general, her second term of office. The appointment will be formalized at the December session of the Council, and Gianotti’s new five-year term of office will begin on Jan. 1, 2021. This is the first time in CERN’s history that a director-general has been appointed for a full second term.

Test beams generally sit to the side of full-on accelerators, sipping beam and passing it to the reconfigurable spaces housing temporary experiments. Scientists bring pieces of their detectors — sensors, chips, electronics or other material — and blast them with the well-understood beam to see if things work how they expect, and if their software performs as expected. Before a detector component can head to its forever home, it has to pass the test.

Maria Teresa Dova has been instrumental in bringing scientists in Argentina new opportunities to participate in particle physics and astrophysics experiments, including one that co-discovered the Higgs boson.

A series of short physics schools organized in collaboration with CERN has had an outsized impact on the careers of scientists from Latin America.

Advances in subatomic physics heavily depend on ingenuity and technology. And when it comes to discovering the nature of some of the most elusive particles in the universe, neutrinos, scientists need the best and most sensitive detector technology possible. Scientists working at CERN have started tests of a new neutrino detector prototype, using a very promising technology called “dual phase.”

From CERN, Oct. 9, 2019: Scientists working at CERN have started tests of a prototype for a new neutrino detector, using novel and very promising technology called “dual phase.” If successful, this technology will be used at a much larger scale for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted at Fermilab in the U.S.

Scientists working at CERN have started tests of a new neutrino detector prototype using a promising technology called “dual phase.” If successful, this new technology will be used at a much larger scale for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted by Fermilab. Scientists began operating the dual-phase prototype detector at CERN at the end of August and have observed first tracks. The new technology may be game-changing, as it would significantly amplify the faint signals that particles create when moving through the detector.

Researchers at CERN are investigating how very high-energy electrons could help target tumors. The possibility of using high-energy electrons for cancer treatment combined with new experimental dose-delivery techniques poises the medical field for a revolution in cancer treatment.