CERN

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.

The Big Bang Science Fair brings science communication and outreach to an arts festival in Rhode Island. The event is filled with presentations, workshops and hands-on activities covering a wide range of scientific disciplines. It makes its second appearance later this month.

From DOE, Sept. 10, 2019: Fermilab scientist Bo Jayatilaka is quoted in this article on ESnet, which has expanded to connect more than 40 major research institutions at speeds 15,000 times faster than a home network.

Working on hardware doesn’t come easily to all physicists, but Francesca Ricci-Tam has learned that what matters most is a willingness to put in the practice.

From Washington Post, Aug. 31, 2019: The social media network is packed with great science photos, and the grand­daddy of all labs, CERN, also runs a behemoth of an Insta feed. The world’s largest particle physics lab, CERN is home to the Large Hadron Collider, a mammoth particle accelerator that is surprisingly photogenic.

From Physics World, June 12, 2019: Physics World posts a video recorded inside the ProtoDUNE neutrino detector by the particle physicist and vocalist Anastasia Basharina-Freshville, who sing-explains why the noble gas is used to detect the elusive particles.

A lot of people say they would like to travel to Mars, but Zoe Townsend doesn’t just talk the talk. As a mechanical engineer at CERN, she knows the importance of putting ideas to the test. To see if she could actually handle the unique challenges posed by living and doing science on another planet, Townsend spent 12 days on a simulated Mars mission in the deserts of Utah.

From Exascale Computing Project, May 28, 2019: Fermilab scientist Andreas Kronfeld is featured in this piece on the Excascale Computing Project, quantum chromodynamics and lattice QCD. Kronfeld, the principal investigator of ECP’s LatticeQCD project, explains how exascale computing will be essential to extending the work of precision calculations in particle physics to nuclear physics. The calculations are central for interpreting all experiments in particle physics and nuclear physics.

A dynamic duo at CERN is planting seeds to foster physics research in Nepal. Like many students in Nepal, they moved abroad to pursue the best higher education opportunities. Now, they are using their unique experiences working at CERN to bring some of these opportunities back to his home country.