Cern News

Take part in the new seminar series on future colliders

The Future Colliders unit, within CERN’s Research and Computing sector, is launching a new seminar series dedicated to future collider projects. The aim of this new series is to create an information and discussion forum in which to present the various activities related to the different projects being studied: the Future Circular Collider (FCC), the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) / International Linear Collider (ILC) and the Muon Collider.

“A lot of work is taking place to prepare for a future accelerator facility beyond the LHC,” says Michelangelo Mangano, leader of the Future Colliders unit. “And while the basic motivations for future colliders, and their physics potential, are usually well known, more detailed information about technological challenges and progress, achievements, timelines, etc., is typically confined to internal meetings, and thus less easily available to the CERN community.”

This new seminar series intends to inform the broader CERN community – personnel from different departments as well as users and visitors – about the progress on these projects. The presentations will cover aspects ranging from accelerator and detector design and technology R&D, to civil engineering and environmental issues, to physics targets.

The seminars will take place in CERN’s Main Auditorium approximately once a month, on Tuesdays from 11.00 a.m., with Zoom and webcast transmission.

The first episode of the series will take place on Tuesday, 14 March. It will provide a general overview of the status of the three main projects, as an introduction to the whole series:

“Status of CERN’s future collider projects”
by Daniel Schulte, Steinar Stapnes and Frank Zimmermann

Come and join us!

____

More information on Indico: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1260648/.

anschaef Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:53 Publication Date Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:51

Take part in the new seminar series on future colliders

The Future Colliders unit, within CERN’s Research and Computing sector, is launching a new seminar series dedicated to future collider projects. The aim of this new series is to create an information and discussion forum in which to present the various activities related to the different projects being studied: the Future Circular Collider (FCC), the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) / International Linear Collider (ILC) and the Muon Collider.

“A lot of work is taking place to prepare for a future accelerator facility beyond the LHC,” says Michelangelo Mangano, leader of the Future Colliders unit. “And while the basic motivations for future colliders, and their physics potential, are usually well known, more detailed information about technological challenges and progress, achievements, timelines, etc., is typically confined to internal meetings, and thus less easily available to the CERN community.”

This new seminar series intends to inform the broader CERN community – personnel from different departments as well as users and visitors – about the progress on these projects. The presentations will cover aspects ranging from accelerator and detector design and technology R&D, to civil engineering and environmental issues, to physics targets.

The seminars will take place in CERN’s Main Auditorium approximately once a month, on Tuesdays from 11.00 a.m., with Zoom and webcast transmission.

The first episode of the series will take place on Tuesday, 14 March. It will provide a general overview of the status of the three main projects, as an introduction to the whole series:

“Status of CERN’s future collider projects”
by Daniel Schulte, Steinar Stapnes and Frank Zimmermann

Come and join us!

____

More information on Indico: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1260648/.

anschaef Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:53 Publication Date Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:51

The CERN Medical Service: an essential partner for our occupational health

In the event of an emergency or an injury, or if you need immediate assistance, call the Fire and Rescue Service directly on +41 22 767 4444.

The CERN Medical Service was founded on 1 June 1965. It supports the Organization in its duty to monitor the health, in a work-related context, of just over 3400 employed members of the personnel (MPEs) and students, to ensure that they are fit for the work assigned to them and that any adverse effects of their professional activities on their health are minimised. The Medical Service provides occupational medicine support to MPEs and students throughout their career, carrying out entry, periodic and end-of-contract medical visits. The Medical Service also receives several thousand people a year regardless of their status, whether at the infirmary or for psychological support.

2023 is a pivotal year for the Medical Service, whose resources have been adapted and reinforced. An immediate and ambitious occupational health initiative will be to carry out periodic consultations for some 1700 MPEs who have not been seen following the slowdown in pace since 2016 owing to medical staff shortages due to illness, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prevention being at the heart of its mandate, the Medical Service offers not only occupational health visits but a wide range of other services. It carries out awareness and prevention campaigns on diverse medical topics of relevance to the CERN community, including an annual flu vaccination campaign. It also arranges occupational workplace visits on request.

Mental health and well-being are among its priorities, and the Medical Service hosts two psychologists, who offer initial psychological consultations on work-related issues to all members of the personnel.

“Collaboration with our Host States is another facet of the Medical Service’s activities, notably for the blood donation campaigns, which resumed in 2022 with two successful events in May and September,” says Raphael Otzenberger, Head of the Medical Service. In addition, CERN receives support to provide emergency care for everyone on site through an agreement with the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG).

A dedicated infirmary provides primary care for anyone present on the CERN site and refers those requiring medical treatment to appropriate healthcare providers where applicable. In the event of an emergency, call the Fire and Rescue Service for assistance on +41 22 7674444. If you haven’t done so yet, please make sure that you add this number to your contacts list.

Furthermore, as part of its insurance medicine remit to support people who are on long-term leave from work for various reasons, the Medical Service, in collaboration with the HR department, follows up on members of the personnel on long-term sick leave, always with a view to facilitating a return to work, where possible.

The Medical Service is constantly striving to do a better job of taking into account the nature of people’s work and the risks to which they are exposed.

The roles and responsibilities under the current occupational health follow-up model and its potential evolution are being further refined through the work of a dedicated working group, which includes representatives of HR and the Staff Association. This working group was set up in the context of a wide-reaching project launched in 2022 by the HSE unit: the HSE Operational Response (HOR) project, as explained by Benoît Delille, Head of the HSE unit: “The HOR project has its origins in the difference of understanding and perception by the CERN community of the scope of activities of the various HSE services, and fits within the context of communicating CERN’s safety governance and promoting CERN safety culture. It comprises several work packages, one of which is dedicated to HSE medical and personal assistance. This aims to analyse the current situation in order to propose a framework that clarifies the operational response that the Medical Service offers to the CERN community, with three main topics of focus: occupational health, insurance medicine, and personal and emergency assistance. I am very much looking forward to recommendations provided and peer-reviewed by professionals in the field, paving the way for a well-defined and clear framework that integrates the lessons learned and new practices in the Host States and at CERN.”

The Medical Service has a clear work-related remit and cannot provide the equivalent of community medicine, owing to legal limitations. The Medical Service doctors thus complement the care provided by general practitioners, who look after people’s specific health needs in a holistic and personalised way and act as point of contact with the national healthcare system.

As an intergovernmental organisation, CERN has its own health insurance, the CHIS, whose main purpose is to safeguard its members against the financial consequences of illness, accidents and maternity by reimbursing expenses arising from medical treatment. The CHIS covers both active and retired employed members of the personnel, students and members of their families. Associated members of the personnel, who are not employed by CERN but affiliated with collaborating institutes, arrive at CERN with their own health insurance. They can benefit from the support of the Users Office and have the option of a preferential private plan with Allianz healthcare.

The Medical Service is thus part of a comprehensive network of support structures at CERN, working hand in hand to further well-being at work and, more generally, support the CERN community in their health-related concerns. The Medical Service collaborates closely with CHIS and other services, such as the HR department, the Social Affairs service and the Users Office, where required.

Find out more on the Medical Service’s website: https://medical-service.web.cern.ch/

thortala Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:30 Publication Date Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:26

The CERN Medical Service: an essential partner for our occupational health

In the event of an emergency or an injury, or if you need immediate assistance, call the Fire and Rescue Service directly on +41 22 767 4444.

The CERN Medical Service was founded on 1 June 1965. It supports the Organization in its duty to monitor the health, in a work-related context, of just over 3400 employed members of the personnel (MPEs) and students, to ensure that they are fit for the work assigned to them and that any adverse effects of their professional activities on their health are minimised. The Medical Service provides occupational medicine support to MPEs and students throughout their career, carrying out entry, periodic and end-of-contract medical visits. The Medical Service also receives several thousand people a year regardless of their status, whether at the infirmary or for psychological support.

2023 is a pivotal year for the Medical Service, whose resources have been adapted and reinforced. An immediate and ambitious occupational health initiative will be to carry out periodic consultations for some 1700 MPEs who have not been seen following the slowdown in pace since 2016 owing to medical staff shortages due to illness, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prevention being at the heart of its mandate, the Medical Service offers not only occupational health visits but a wide range of other services. It carries out awareness and prevention campaigns on diverse medical topics of relevance to the CERN community, including an annual flu vaccination campaign. It also arranges occupational workplace visits on request.

Mental health and well-being are among its priorities, and the Medical Service hosts two psychologists, who offer initial psychological consultations on work-related issues to all members of the personnel.

“Collaboration with our Host States is another facet of the Medical Service’s activities, notably for the blood donation campaigns, which resumed in 2022 with two successful events in May and September,” says Raphael Otzenberger, Head of the Medical Service. In addition, CERN receives support to provide emergency care for everyone on site through an agreement with the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG).

A dedicated infirmary provides primary care for anyone present on the CERN site and refers those requiring medical treatment to appropriate healthcare providers where applicable. In the event of an emergency, call the Fire and Rescue Service for assistance on +41 22 7674444. If you haven’t done so yet, please make sure that you add this number to your contacts list.

Furthermore, as part of its insurance medicine remit to support people who are on long-term leave from work for various reasons, the Medical Service, in collaboration with the HR department, follows up on members of the personnel on long-term sick leave, always with a view to facilitating a return to work, where possible.

The Medical Service is constantly striving to do a better job of taking into account the nature of people’s work and the risks to which they are exposed.

The roles and responsibilities under the current occupational health follow-up model and its potential evolution are being further refined through the work of a dedicated working group, which includes representatives of HR and the Staff Association. This working group was set up in the context of a wide-reaching project launched in 2022 by the HSE unit: the HSE Operational Response (HOR) project, as explained by Benoît Delille, Head of the HSE unit: “The HOR project has its origins in the difference of understanding and perception by the CERN community of the scope of activities of the various HSE services, and fits within the context of communicating CERN’s safety governance and promoting CERN safety culture. It comprises several work packages, one of which is dedicated to HSE medical and personal assistance. This aims to analyse the current situation in order to propose a framework that clarifies the operational response that the Medical Service offers to the CERN community, with three main topics of focus: occupational health, insurance medicine, and personal and emergency assistance. I am very much looking forward to recommendations provided and peer-reviewed by professionals in the field, paving the way for a well-defined and clear framework that integrates the lessons learned and new practices in the Host States and at CERN.”

The Medical Service has a clear work-related remit and cannot provide the equivalent of community medicine, owing to legal limitations. The Medical Service doctors thus complement the care provided by general practitioners, who look after people’s specific health needs in a holistic and personalised way and act as point of contact with the national healthcare system.

As an intergovernmental organisation, CERN has its own health insurance, the CHIS, whose main purpose is to safeguard its members against the financial consequences of illness, accidents and maternity by reimbursing expenses arising from medical treatment. The CHIS covers both active and retired employed members of the personnel, students and members of their families. Associated members of the personnel, who are not employed by CERN but affiliated with collaborating institutes, arrive at CERN with their own health insurance. They can benefit from the support of the Users Office and have the option of a preferential private plan with Allianz healthcare.

The Medical Service is thus part of a comprehensive network of support structures at CERN, working hand in hand to further well-being at work and, more generally, support the CERN community in their health-related concerns. The Medical Service collaborates closely with CHIS and other services, such as the HR department, the Social Affairs service and the Users Office, where required.

Find out more on the Medical Service’s website: https://medical-service.web.cern.ch/

thortala Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:30 Publication Date Tue, 03/07/2023 - 10:26

Computer Security: Protective intelligence

There are lots of different types of intelligence out there. Human intelligence measured in IQ points; social intelligence aka social competence; artificial intelligence (discussed in the last Bulletin) and its many variations, including “big data”, “machine learning”, “neural networks”, etc. The focus this time is on “signals intelligence” (SIGINT) or, to be more precise, “threat intelligence” (ThreatINT) – the intelligence usually provided by clandestine secret agencies, obtained by observation and espionage, through dubious channels or clever infiltration.

While this sounds a bit dodgy, there’s nothing wrong with being interested in whether there are some burglars operating in your village, some thieves interested in your make of car, or some criminals on the prowl to steal your credit card details. It’s best to be alert and find out about their wrong-doings before any malicious act occurs. In order to improve your defences. In order to increase your protection level. In order to be prepared.

The same holds true for the digital world. For the most efficient protection of CERN – to detect an attack as effectively as possible, to be alert, prepared and ready – it’s essential to gather as much information as possible about the intentions of the malicious evil. Intentions that are discussed via hidden channels. Attack vectors that are advertised on the dark web. Stolen credentials and vulnerabilities that are sold on underground markets. ThreatINT about CERN, CERN’s domains (cern.ch, .cern, but also zenodo.org, etc.), CERN’s networks, CERN accounts or other digital resources owned by the Organization. ThreatINT aimed against CERN, WLCG and its affiliated institutes and universities.

After a one-off data gathering and analysis of dark web ThreatINT about CERN in 2020, the CERN Computer Security team has started a proof of concept with another ThreatINT provider and expert in dark-web information gathering. Their first round of analysis threw up more than 1000 passwords of CERN primary (31%) and application-specific accounts (69%) used to log in to, for example, CERN’s Single Sign-on, LHC@BOINC or Zenodo. While the majority of the CERN primary account passwords turned out to be false positives or came from old password dumps already handled long ago, more than 60 of the application-specific account* passwords were valid. The passwords had been obtained from different password stealers installed via malware infections on the (most probably home) PCs of the corresponding account owners. A malware infection implies that every password typed on that PC should be deemed compromised and must be changed (AFTER reinstalling the PC in order to avoid the new passwords being compromised again, of course). Too bad for those who haven’t enabled their two-factor authentication protection yet.

CERN is also now receiving, almost on a daily basis, immensely important ThreatINT regarding large research and education (R&E) institutions. Since the beginning of 2023, SAFER – the global trust group of security experts, including from CERN – has helped ransomware attack victims in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Kenya, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US ─ many affiliated with CERN or part of our academic community. The data indicated that these organisations had been compromised by high-profile threat actors, but that the final payload (ransomware deployment) had not been activated… yet! The high quality and precision of that intelligence allowed the institutions to act, monitor, detect and finally contain and stop any attack before it was too late.

Thus, building strong trust relationships and sharing sensitive ThreatINT is essential. Even if it’s not being shared in public, this is what’s going on constantly behind the scenes to the benefit of the community (see here, here, or here).  Our favourite R&E security experts are never far away!

Building strong trust relationships and sharing sensitive ThreatINT is essential to protect CERN. It is not a question of “if” the Organization will be subjected to an attack, but “when”. It’s best to learn about it sooner than not at all. Thanks to SIGINT. Thanks to protective intelligence.

* Application-specific accounts are those providing access to public resources like Zenodo.org or LHC@BOINC. The operational impact on CERN due to the exposure of such passwords is zero.

_____

Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

anschaef Mon, 03/06/2023 - 21:53 Byline Computer Security team Publication Date Mon, 03/06/2023 - 21:49

Computer Security: Protective intelligence

There are lots of different types of intelligence out there. Human intelligence measured in IQ points; social intelligence aka social competence; artificial intelligence (discussed in the last Bulletin) and its many variations, including “big data”, “machine learning”, “neural networks”, etc. The focus this time is on “signals intelligence” (SIGINT) or, to be more precise, “threat intelligence” (ThreatINT) – the intelligence usually provided by clandestine secret agencies, obtained by observation and espionage, through dubious channels or clever infiltration.

While this sounds a bit dodgy, there’s nothing wrong with being interested in whether there are some burglars operating in your village, some thieves interested in your make of car, or some criminals on the prowl to steal your credit card details. It’s best to be alert and find out about their wrong-doings before any malicious act occurs. In order to improve your defences. In order to increase your protection level. In order to be prepared.

The same holds true for the digital world. For the most efficient protection of CERN – to detect an attack as effectively as possible, to be alert, prepared and ready – it’s essential to gather as much information as possible about the intentions of the malicious evil. Intentions that are discussed via hidden channels. Attack vectors that are advertised on the dark web. Stolen credentials and vulnerabilities that are sold on underground markets. ThreatINT about CERN, CERN’s domains (cern.ch, .cern, but also zenodo.org, etc.), CERN’s networks, CERN accounts or other digital resources owned by the Organization. ThreatINT aimed against CERN, WLCG and its affiliated institutes and universities.

After a one-off data gathering and analysis of dark web ThreatINT about CERN in 2020, the CERN Computer Security team has started a proof of concept with another ThreatINT provider and expert in dark-web information gathering. Their first round of analysis threw up more than 1000 passwords of CERN primary (31%) and lightweight accounts (69%) used to log in to, for example, CERN’s Single Sign-on, LHC@BOINC or Zenodo. While the majority of the CERN primary account passwords turned out to be false positives or came from old password dumps already handled long ago, more than 60 of the lightweight* account passwords were valid. The passwords had been obtained from different password stealers installed via malware infections on the (most probably home) PCs of the corresponding account owners. A malware infection implies that every password typed on that PC should be deemed compromised and must be changed (AFTER reinstalling the PC in order to avoid the new passwords being compromised again, of course). Too bad for those who haven’t enabled their two-factor authentication protection yet.

CERN is also now receiving, almost on a daily basis, immensely important ThreatINT regarding large research and education (R&E) institutions. Since the beginning of 2023, SAFER – the global trust group of security experts, including from CERN – has helped ransomware attack victims in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Kenya, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US ─ many affiliated with CERN or part of our academic community. The data indicated that these organisations had been compromised by high-profile threat actors, but that the final payload (ransomware deployment) had not been activated… yet! The high quality and precision of that intelligence allowed the institutions to act, monitor, detect and finally contain and stop any attack before it was too late.

Thus, building strong trust relationships and sharing sensitive ThreatINT is essential. Even if it’s not being shared in public, this is what’s going on constantly behind the scenes to the benefit of the community (see here, here, or here).  Our favourite R&E security experts are never far away!

Building strong trust relationships and sharing sensitive ThreatINT is essential to protect CERN. It is not a question of “if” the Organization will be subjected to an attack, but “when”. It’s best to learn about it sooner than not at all. Thanks to SIGINT. Thanks to protective intelligence.

* Lightweight accounts are those providing access to public resources like Zenodo.org or LHC@BOINC. The operational impact on CERN due to the exposure of such passwords is zero.

_____

Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

anschaef Mon, 03/06/2023 - 21:53 Byline Computer Security team Publication Date Mon, 03/06/2023 - 21:49

Superconductivity for sustainability: a new superconducting link for the High-Luminosity LHC

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, is also the largest single machine operating in the world today that uses superconductivity. The proton beams inside the LHC are bent and focused around the accelerator ring using superconducting electromagnets. These electromagnets are built from coils, made of niobium–titanium (Nb–Ti) cables, that have to operate at a temperature colder than that of outer space in order to be superconducting. This allows the current to flow without any resistance or loss of energy. The High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), an upgrade of the LHC, will for the first time feature innovative electrical transfer lines known as the “Superconducting Links”.

Recently, CERN’s SM18 magnet test facility witnessed the successful integration of the first series of magnesium diboride superconducting cables into a novel, flexible cryostat. Together with high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnesium diboride (MgB2) cables, they will form a unique superconducting transfer line to power the HL-LHC triplets. The triplets are the focusing magnets that focus the beam, right before collisions, to a diameter as narrow as 5 micrometres.

Colloquially known as the “python”, the flexible, double-wall, corrugated cryostat comprises 19 MgB2 superconducting cables in a single assembly, twisted together to form a compact bundle. Each MgB2 cable is about 140 metres long, with the diameter of the bundle measuring about 90 mm. Together, these 19 superconducting cables can transfer a DC current of about 120 kA at 25 K (-248 °C) – a temperature higher than that at which conventional superconductors operate. In the LHC, niobium–titanium (Nb–Ti) and niobium–tin (Nb3Sn) cables are operated in superfluid helium at 1.9 K (‑271.3 °C) – a temperature colder than the 2.7 K (-270.5 °C) of outer space. The MgB2 cables of the Superconducting Link are cooled by a forced flow of helium gas. “The R&D done in the initial phase of the LHC project has made the ongoing production reliable and repeatable,” says HL-LHC project leader Oliver Brüning.

This new type of superconducting transmission line also has potential outside accelerator technology. These lines can transfer vast amounts of current within a small diameter and could therefore be used to deliver electricity in big cities or to connect renewable energy sources to populated areas. Recently, CERN and Airbus UpNext signed a collaboration agreement to assess the use of superconducting transmission for future low-emission aeroplanes.

But the novelty of this superconducting material is not the only secret component for a sustainable, superconducting transfer line.

“One of the beauties of this new system is that the cryogenic operation of the Superconducting Link is done at zero cost because it transfers the helium gas that in any case is needed to cool the current leads,” says Amalia Ballarino, the deputy leader of CERN’s Magnets, Superconductors and Cryostat group. “So, the Superconducting Links act as both helium and electrical transfer line.”

CERN’s SM18 facility will continue to host the assembly and testing of the Superconducting Links – ten, in total, for the HL-LHC – until they are installed in the LHC tunnel during Long Shutdown 3, scheduled to start in 2026. The first HL-LHC Superconducting Link will come into operation this year, when it will be connected to the cryostat with the REBCO (rare-earth barium copper oxide) HTS current leads on one side and to the Nb–Ti connections on the other. Integrating these key new technologies (novel superconducting cables made of MgB2, long and low static heat load flexible cryostats, and REBCO HTS current leads) marks the beginning of a sustainable approach to electrical transmission for the future of CERN’s accelerators, starting with the HL-LHC.

ckrishna Thu, 03/02/2023 - 15:31 Byline Chetna Krishna Publication Date Fri, 03/03/2023 - 15:14

Superconductivity for sustainability: a new superconducting link for the High-Luminosity LHC

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, is also the largest single machine operating in the world today that uses superconductivity. The proton beams inside the LHC are bent and focused around the accelerator ring using superconducting electromagnets. These electromagnets are built from coils, made of niobium–titanium (Nb–Ti) cables, that have to operate at a temperature colder than that of outer space in order to be superconducting. This allows the current to flow without any resistance or loss of energy. The High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), an upgrade of the LHC, will for the first time feature innovative electrical transfer lines known as the “Superconducting Links”.

Recently, CERN’s SM18 magnet test facility witnessed the successful integration of the first series of magnesium diboride superconducting cables into a novel, flexible cryostat. Together with high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnesium diboride (MgB2) cables, they will form a unique superconducting transfer line to power the HL-LHC triplets. The triplets are the focusing magnets that focus the beam, right before collisions, to a diameter as narrow as 5 micrometres.

Colloquially known as the “python”, the flexible, double-wall, corrugated cryostat comprises 19 MgB2 superconducting cables in a single assembly, twisted together to form a compact bundle. Each MgB2 cable is about 140 metres long, with the diameter of the bundle measuring about 90 mm. Together, these 19 superconducting cables can transfer a DC current of about 120 kA at 25 K (-248 °C) – a temperature higher than that at which conventional superconductors operate. In the LHC, niobium–titanium (Nb–Ti) and niobium–tin (Nb3Sn) cables are operated in superfluid helium at 1.9 K (‑271.3 °C) – a temperature colder than the 2.7 K (-270.5 °C) of outer space. The MgB2 cables of the Superconducting Link are cooled by a forced flow of helium gas. “The R&D done in the initial phase of the LHC project has made the ongoing production reliable and repeatable,” says HL-LHC project leader Oliver Brüning.

This new type of superconducting transmission line also has potential outside accelerator technology. These lines can transfer vast amounts of current within a small diameter and could therefore be used to deliver electricity in big cities or to connect renewable energy sources to populated areas. Recently, CERN and Airbus UpNext signed a collaboration agreement to assess the use of superconducting transmission for future low-emission aeroplanes.

But the novelty of this superconducting material is not the only secret component for a sustainable, superconducting transfer line.

“One of the beauties of this new system is that the cryogenic operation of the Superconducting Link is done at zero cost because it transfers the helium gas that in any case is needed to cool the current leads,” says Amalia Ballarino, the deputy leader of CERN’s Magnets, Superconductors and Cryostat group. “So, the Superconducting Links act as both helium and electrical transfer line.”

CERN’s SM18 facility will continue to host the assembly and testing of the Superconducting Links – ten, in total, for the HL-LHC – until they are installed in the LHC tunnel during Long Shutdown 3, scheduled to start in 2026. The first HL-LHC Superconducting Link will come into operation this year, when it will be connected to the cryostat with the REBCO (rare-earth barium copper oxide) HTS current leads on one side and to the Nb–Ti connections on the other. Integrating these key new technologies (novel superconducting cables made of MgB2, long and low static heat load flexible cryostats, and REBCO HTS current leads) marks the beginning of a sustainable approach to electrical transmission for the future of CERN’s accelerators, starting with the HL-LHC.

ckrishna Thu, 03/02/2023 - 15:31 Byline Chetna Krishna Publication Date Tue, 03/07/2023 - 15:14

LHCb begins using unique approach to process collision data in real-time

Current technology does not allow all Large Hadron Collider (LHC) proton–proton collision data to be stored and analysed. It is therefore necessary to filter out the data according to the scientific goals of each experiment. Physicists call this selection process the “trigger”. Thus, data taking and analysis at the LHC has traditionally been performed in two steps. In the first, which physicists call “online”, the detector records the data, which is then read out by fast electronics and computers, and a selected fraction of the events is stored on disks and magnetic tapes. Later, the stored events are analysed “offline”. In offline analysis, important data taken from the online process is used to determine the parameters with which to adjust and calibrate LHCb’s subdetectors. This whole process takes a long time and uses a large amount of human and computing resources.

In order to speed up and simplify this process, the LHCb collaboration has made a revolutionary improvement to data taking and analysis. With a new technique named real-time analysis, the process of adjusting the subdetectors takes place online automatically and the stored data is immediately available offline for physics analysis.

In LHC Run 2, LHCb’s trigger was a combination of fast electronics (“hardware trigger”) and computer algorithms (“software trigger”) and consisted of multiple stages. From the 30 million proton collisions per second (30 MHz) happening in the LHCb detector, the trigger system selected the more interesting collision events, eventually reducing the amount of data to around 150 kHz. Then, a variety of automatic processes used this data to calculate new parameters to adjust and calibrate the detector.

For Run 3 and beyond, the whole trigger system has changed radically: the hardware trigger has been removed and the whole detector is read out at the full LHC bunch-crossing rate of 40 MHz. This allows LHCb to use real-time analysis for the full selection of data, making it much more precise and flexible.

The real-time reconstruction allows LHCb to not only cherry-pick interesting events but also compress the raw detector data in real time. This means there is tremendous flexibility to select both the most interesting events and the most interesting pieces of each event, thus making the best use of LHCb’s computing resources. In the end, around 10 gigabytes of data are permanently recorded each second and made available to physics analysts.

The event display images shown were taken during the first Run 3 proton–proton collisions on 5 July (left) and the first lead–argon collisions on 18 November (right). The event display program used real-time analysis.

The success of real-time analysis was only possible thanks to the extraordinary work of the online and subdetector teams during the construction and commissioning of this brand new version of the LHCb detector. More information about LHCb’s new trigger system and the team behind it can be found on the collaboration’s website.

ndinmore Wed, 03/01/2023 - 14:54 Byline LHCb collaboration Publication Date Wed, 03/01/2023 - 14:26

LHCb begins using unique approach to process collision data in real-time

Current technology does not allow all Large Hadron Collider (LHC) proton–proton collision data to be stored and analysed. It is therefore necessary to filter out the data according to the scientific goals of each experiment. Physicists call this selection process the “trigger”. Thus, data taking and analysis at the LHC has traditionally been performed in two steps. In the first, which physicists call “online”, the detector records the data, which is then read out by fast electronics and computers, and a selected fraction of the events is stored on disks and magnetic tapes. Later, the stored events are analysed “offline”. In offline analysis, important data taken from the online process is used to determine the parameters with which to adjust and calibrate LHCb’s subdetectors. This whole process takes a long time and uses a large amount of human and computing resources.

In order to speed up and simplify this process, the LHCb collaboration has made a revolutionary improvement to data taking and analysis. With a new technique named real-time analysis, the process of adjusting the subdetectors takes place online automatically and the stored data is immediately available offline for physics analysis.

In LHC Run 2, LHCb’s trigger was a combination of fast electronics (“hardware trigger”) and computer algorithms (“software trigger”) and consisted of multiple stages. From the 30 million proton collisions per second (30 MHz) happening in the LHCb detector, the trigger system selected the more interesting collision events, eventually reducing the amount of data to around 150 kHz. Then, a variety of automatic processes used this data to calculate new parameters to adjust and calibrate the detector.

For Run 3 and beyond, the whole trigger system has changed radically: the hardware trigger has been removed and the whole detector is read out at the full LHC bunch-crossing rate of 40 MHz. This allows LHCb to use real-time analysis for the full selection of data, making it much more precise and flexible.

The real-time reconstruction allows LHCb to not only cherry-pick interesting events but also compress the raw detector data in real time. This means there is tremendous flexibility to select both the most interesting events and the most interesting pieces of each event, thus making the best use of LHCb’s computing resources. In the end, around 10 gigabytes of data are permanently recorded each second and made available to physics analysts.

The event display images shown were taken during the first Run 3 proton–proton collisions on 5 July (left) and the first lead–argon collisions on 18 November (right). The event display program used real-time analysis.

The success of real-time analysis was only possible thanks to the extraordinary work of the online and subdetector teams during the construction and commissioning of this brand new version of the LHCb detector. More information about LHCb’s new trigger system and the team behind it can be found on the collaboration’s website.

ndinmore Wed, 03/01/2023 - 14:54 Byline LHCb collaboration Publication Date Wed, 03/01/2023 - 14:26

The Russian invasion of Ukraine: one year on

On the first anniversary of the military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, CERN reiterates its condemnation of this unlawful act and deplores the untold suffering of the Ukrainian population. Over the past year, the Organization has put several measures in place to support Ukraine, and in particular the Ukrainian CERN community. Despite the dramatic consequences of the war, Ukraine continues to contribute to CERN’s scientific programme with strong motivation and commitment. As the war enters its second year, we’ll be looking at new ways in which we can support our Ukrainian scientific community and Ukrainian people more broadly. CERN remains resolutely behind Ukraine and reaffirms its core value of peaceful collaboration across borders.

A message from CERN Director-General, Fabiola Gianotti

anschaef Thu, 02/23/2023 - 15:40 Publication Date Fri, 02/24/2023 - 15:30

Feasibility Study for a possible FCC gets under way on the ground

Geneva, 21 February 2023. The Feasibility Study for a possible Future Circular Collider (FCC), which will continue until 2025, is now entering its field phase, involving a major geographical, geological and environmental data-gathering effort.

Starting in February 2023, CERN will conduct additional assessments on the ground in order to refine the existing geological and seismic data as well as the data on fauna and flora for conservation purposes.

The first phase of these assessments will involve a visual inspection of the areas of land concerned, and will be followed in 2024 by seismic studies and drilling.

The project’s environmental aspects, namely the geological characteristics of the tunnel and surface sites and the effects on the landscape, will also be studied.

The results will feed into the Feasibility Study and indicate which placement scenarios should be prioritised if the project is approved, taking into account both the environmental objectives for the areas on the surface and the underground constraints.

This work is being carried out in conjunction with local stakeholders to ensure that future activities will take all the relevant aspects and different interests into consideration. CERN is making a concerted effort to communicate with the local communities, with the support of its two Host States, France and Switzerland, and has already made contact with local councillors in the areas concerned.

CERN, France and Switzerland are working together closely to identify and resolve any issues that might arise from the FCC’s planning and construction, which must respect sustainable development principles. Together, the three partners are endeavouring to define the conditions and procedures for the project’s implementation. As well as paying particular attention to compliance with the specific legislative frameworks of the Host States, the FCC Study will address public policies and local issues. In this regard, CERN has already made environmental commitments in all its areas of activity, based on the “avoid–reduce–compensate” principle. It is working with local stakeholders to ensure that the project is adapted to the local area and its priorities and fosters cooperation, along the lines of the initiative that is already in place to recover waste heat from CERN’s accelerators to heat a nearby residential complex.

CERN and its two Host States have set up a tripartite committee to guide the Feasibility Study being conducted by the Organization. This committee, known as the Comité tripartite sur l’implantation territoriale du FCC, is composed of CERN’s Director-General as well as, on the Swiss side, the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the international organisations in Geneva and Geneva’s State Councillor for regional planning and, on the French side, the Prefect for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with delegated authority from the Prime Minister, and the Permanent Representative of France to the international organisations in Geneva.

CERN has created a new website where the public can find out more about the project and communicate with the Organization: https://fcc-faisabilite.eu

 

About the FCC

CERN’s main facility, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), will complete its mission around 2040. The international particle physics community is exploring various options for the design of an accelerator to succeed the LHC.

The scientific value of studying the feasibility of the FCC was confirmed by the European Strategy for Particle Physics, which was updated by the CERN Member States in 2020, with the FCC standing out as the most suitable option to take over from existing facilities. CERN was therefore tasked that year by its Member States with initiating the Feasibility Study.

Building a large-scale particle collider connected to CERN’s other scientific facilities would bring many benefits for Europe and its scientific community. Making use of the existing infrastructure – including connection to CERN’s other particle accelerators – would be a definite advantage. Ever since it was founded, CERN has upheld an “open science” approach, based on the sharing of scientific knowledge and data and on dialogue between more than 12 000 scientists of some 100 different nationalities.

Operating as part of one of the most sophisticated scientific complexes in the world, the FCC, if it goes ahead, would optimise and extend the life of the existing infrastructure until the end of the twenty-first century, while helping to further our understanding of the Universe.

The future accelerator would be installed in a tunnel measuring some 91 kilometres in circumference at a depth of between 100 and 400 metres on French and Swiss territory, passing under Lake Geneva. In 2028, depending on the results of the Study, a decision will be made about the project as a whole and about the prospects for commissioning the collider in the 2040s.

 

About CERN

Straddling the French–Swiss border, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is a world-renowned particle physics laboratory. This international organisation founded in 1954 has 23 Member States, which include France and Switzerland. Since its creation, CERN has also forged partnerships with many other countries and welcomes researchers from all over the world who are seeking to better understand what the Universe is made of and how it works. CERN provides these scientists with a particle accelerator complex and shares the results of its research with the scientific community worldwide. The development of the cutting-edge technologies required for this work helps drive technological progress in many domains other than particle physics, such as healthcare, energy, safety, research and environmental protection.

tkomanyt Mon, 03/06/2023 - 16:25 Publication Date Tue, 02/21/2023 - 11:45

CERN celebrates Data Protection Day with ESA, EMBL and ESO  

On 30 January, CERN joined forces with the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to host the 2023 edition of Data Protection Day, which was held online.

This year’s discussions focused on the theme of artificial intelligence. More than 400 attendees listened to the various talks on this new technology that has changed our daily lives.

All speakers emphasised the need to regulate the use of artificial intelligence so that it remains ethical and respectful of the privacy of all those involved with it.

Lively question and answer sessions, as well as the results of a survey distributed to participants, attested to the growing concerns surrounding artificial intelligence in society, in particular regarding data protection. But the event also highlighted the interest and excitement sparked by AI – participants were keen to learn more about its concrete implications in everyday life.

If you want to discover or rediscover the webinar, you can watch the recordings on the Indico page of the event.  

We would like to thank all of the organisations involved for their work and contribution to making this webinar interesting and informative.

If you are interested in learning more about data protection at CERN, sign up for the data privacy training course. Additional information is also available on the website of the Data Protection Office (DPO).

thortala Wed, 02/22/2023 - 09:21 Byline Office of Data Privacy Publication Date Wed, 02/22/2023 - 09:19

Winners of the 2022 ATLAS Thesis Awards announced

The ATLAS collaboration celebrated some of its best and brightest PhD students at the recent Thesis Awards. Since 2010, these awards have recognised the outstanding contributions made to the ATLAS collaboration in the context of PhD theses.

The winners of the 2022 ATLAS Thesis Awards were announced at an awards ceremony held in CERN’s Main Auditorium on 16 February 2023. The recipients are Daniel Camarero Muñoz (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Giuseppe Carratta (Università di Bologna & INFN), Guglielmo Frattari (Sapienza Università di Roma & INFN), Maria Mironova (University of Oxford), Brian Moser (Universiteit van Amsterdam & NIKHEF), Giulia Ripellino (Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm), Bastian Schlag (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz & CERN) and Emily Anne Thompson (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg & DESY).

For the first time since 2020, ATLAS members were able to applaud the winners in person as they received their awards. All of these new graduates faced the extra challenge of a pandemic while undertaking their PhD. The scientific excellence of their results, despite countless COVID-related complications, is especially remarkable.

Explore the winning theses:

• Daniel Camarero Muñoz: Measurements of the inclusive isolated-photon and photon-plus-jet production in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
• Giuseppe Carratta: Search for type-III seesaw heavy leptons in leptonic final states using proton–proton collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
• Guglielmo Frattari: Investigating the nature of dark matter and of the Higgs boson with jets and missing transverse momentum at the LHC
• Maria Mironova: Search for Higgs boson decays to charm quarks with the ATLAS experiment and development of novel silicon pixel detectors
• Brian Moser: Boson production at high energy in decays to bottom quarks and their interpretations with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC
• Giulia Ripellino: Haystacks and needles – Measuring the number of proton collisions in ATLAS and probing them for the production of new exotic particles
• Bastian Schlag: Advanced algorithms and software for primary vertex reconstruction and search for flavor-violating supersymmetry with the ATLAS experiment
• Emily Anne Thompson: Search for long-lived supersymmetric particles using displaced vertices with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Read the full story on the ATLAS website.

thortala Wed, 02/22/2023 - 09:18 Publication Date Wed, 02/22/2023 - 09:08

Computer Security: Winter season, virus time – one free pill for your device

The winter season – a time for runny noses, coughs and colds, headaches and malaises, viruses and infections. And a time for boosting your immune system. Hot teas and warm baths. Early nights and long sleeps. As you take measures to protect your physical well-being, maybe it’s also a good moment to think about your digital well-being? In other words, protecting your digital devices against viruses and infections.

Remember that many aspects of your digital life revolve around your laptop. The one that stores the photos and videos of your friends and family, your personal documents, passport copies, official papers, emails. The one you use for social media, for private and professional video calls, for chats, for gaming. The one you use for online banking and shopping. The one that’s always within reach – in your office, in your living room, on your nightstand. 

Imagine what would happen if a third party got access to your laptop. A malicious attacker – pure evil – that steals your data, encrypts it, deletes it or publishes it on some obscure dark net webpage and forces you to pay a ransom (so-called “ransomware”). That sniffs out your passwords or goes shopping with your money (plain and simple theft). That enables your webcam and microphone without you noticing. Spying on you, recording your conversations, videoing your home life, stalking you. And threatening to publish those videos on some obscure dark net webpage unless you pay up (so-called “doxware”).

Such malicious access happens more quickly than you might think. One wrong click on a malicious webpage. One wrong snapshot of a malicious QR code. One wrong opening of a malicious attachment. One wrong mod of your favourite game. One wrong password entry on a malicious log-in page. Click. And boom. Enter the evil attacker. See your digital life shattered.

Anti-virus to the rescue! To better protect your digital life, CERN offers you free anti-virus/anti-malware software. Download it from the CERN app store for Windows (“ESET Endpoint Security”) or via the Mac Self-Service (“ESET Endpoint Antivirus”). Installation* is free on any Windows or Mac computer you own, including those used for teleworking. The only conditions are that you must be affiliated with CERN as a member of the personnel and hold an eligible CERN computing account. With that account, just enrol your device(s) with the CERN/Microsoft Windows app store or the Mac Self-Service, respectively, and install the corresponding installation package (“ESET…”). Its licence is valid for 12 months and must be renewed for each subsequent year (again using the CERN app store or Mac Self-Service, respectively).

So, for the sake of your physical and digital well-being, give it a go to avoid this winter season’s viruses and infections!

*Note that the installation includes a “CERN software” agent that keeps track of licence usage (as someone still has to pay for that anti-malware software).

_____

Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

anschaef Mon, 02/20/2023 - 17:08 Byline Computer Security team Publication Date Mon, 02/20/2023 - 17:05

How can citizens contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

Join us on 17 March to celebrate the achievements of the EU-funded Crowd4SDG project and to find out more about how citizen science and crowdsourcing tools can be used to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action. The timetable is brimming with presentations, panel discussions and hackathons, relevant for all.

Prior to the final conference on 17 March, a series of events will bring together a dynamic mix of youth innovators, decision makers involved in the SDGs and members of the Crowd4SDG consortium at CERN to celebrate the achievements of the three-year-long project.

The first two days will see project participants getting involved in coaching sessions at IdeaSquare, the innovation space at CERN. The results of these sessions will be showcased during the final conference on 17 March.

In addition, projects developed for Crowd4SDG will be featured during the Geneva Trialogue, organised and hosted by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), to be held on 16 March at CERN. The event will bring together academia, international organisations and the private sector. Beyond crowdsourcing, it will also promote open innovation and education. More information about the Geneva Trialogue, which is attendance by invitation only, can be found here.

The Crowd4SDG final conference on 17 March will bring the series of events to a close, showcasing the projects, papers and other results of Crowd4SDG and outlining how ideas and initiatives could continue beyond the project’s end.

Presentations will explore a range of topics, from using citizen science tools to monitor extreme climate events, to mobilising youth involvement in citizen science climate action projects, and more. Teams that have participated in the project will present their ideas and prototypes. In the afternoon, three hackathons will be held at IdeaSquare, centred around the use of citizen science tools and how Crowd4SDG methodologies can be used to collect data concerning the SDGs.

Crowd4SDG is a collaboration between CERN, the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Spanish National Research Council (IIIA-CSIC), the Polytechnic University of Milan (POLIMI), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Paris Cité University.

The full agenda of the final conference on 17 March at the Globe of Science and Innovation and at IdeaSquare can be found on the Indico page. The event is open to all, but registration is required and will be confirmed subject to availability of places.

ndinmore Mon, 02/20/2023 - 12:17 Byline Alexia Yiannouli Publication Date Mon, 02/20/2023 - 12:07

CERN openlab CTO co-founds Swiss chapter of Women in High-Performance Computing advocacy group The four founders of the new chapter of Women in HPC, photographed during a special networking session at last year’s Platform for Advanced Scientific Computing (PASC22) Conference in Basel, Switzerland. (Image: CERN)

CERN openlab’s Chief Technology Officer, Maria Girone, is one of four founding members of a new Swiss chapter of the Women in HPC (WHPC) advocacy group. The announcement comes on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which is dedicated to reducing gender disparity in all research fields and at all levels of scientific endeavour.

Women in HPC works to reduce this gender gap in high-performance computing, or “HPC”. Founded in 2014 at the University of Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre, Women in HPC organises awareness-raising workshops and provides support and mentorship for women working in this field.

Maria Girone’s fellow co-founders of the new Swiss chapter of the organisation are Florina Ciorba of the University of Basel in Switzerland, Sadaf Alam of the University of Bristol in the UK and formerly of the Swiss National Computing Centre (CSCS), and Marie-Christine Sawley of the International Centre for Earth Simulation and formerly of both the CMS experiment and Intel (a long-standing CERN openlab partner company). They have since been joined by Cerlane Leong of CSCS, too.

This chapter is underpinned by a Swiss association called ideas4HPC, which was also created by the leading female computer scientists listed above, with Marie-Christine Sawley as President. The team members have seven main goals:

1. Building a diverse and inclusive HPC workforce
2. Promoting the benefits of inclusivity
3. Raising awareness of the under-representation of women in HPC
4. Highlighting diversity and inclusivity initiatives
5. Raising the visibility of women role models in HPC
6. Helping members of under-represented groups in HPC to build their professional networks
7. Inspiring key stakeholders in the HPC community to embrace diversity and inclusivity initiatives.

Over the next three years, the founders of this new chapter and association will create targeted scholarships, provide financial support for participation in top conferences, run training sessions for mentors, and organise events promoting inclusivity and diversity in HPC. One of the first events organised under this new chapter will be a workshop at the Platform for Advanced Scientific Computing Conference (PASC23) in Davos, Switzerland, in June.

“We are very excited to welcome a new Swiss chapter to the WHPC family,” says Cristin Merritt, Business Management Executive for WHPC. “WHPC chapters provide a very accessible option for women and allies to find support and engage with the under-representation of women in scientific computing.” She continues: “The Swiss team has a fantastic track record in supporting Women in HPC and promoting opportunities for women in computational science. We look forward to working with the Swiss chapter and all of the other WHPC chapters over the coming years towards the WHPC mission.”

“I have always been passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion,” says Maria Girone, who is Vice-President of the new association and was also recently appointed as one of the two diversity and inclusion officers for the CERN IT department. “We’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot to be done. The creation of this chapter and association is an important concrete action for supporting women and under-represented minorities in HPC, particularly in the key early stages of their careers.”

You can find out more about work at CERN to reduce the gender gap in science on the website of the CERN Diversity and Inclusion programme. There you will also find information on the Organization’s efforts to improve other aspects of diversity.

thortala Fri, 02/17/2023 - 08:58 Byline Andrew Purcell Publication Date Fri, 02/17/2023 - 08:46

Managing energy responsibly: CERN is awarded ISO 50001 certification

CERN’s accelerators are responsible for most of its energy consumption. As powerful research instruments, these machines make a unique scientific programme possible and support a global community of scientists. CERN makes every effort to run them in the most energy-efficient way possible. Powering CERN’s unique array of accelerators, detectors and infrastructure primarily needs electricity, which accounts for about 95% of CERN’s energy use. In addition, the Laboratory uses gas for heating, as well as fuel for transport and for backup diesel generators. 

CERN is committed to improving its energy performance as part of its commitment to environmentally responsible research. In this context, the Organization began the ISO 50001 certification process in 2022.

This reference international standard provides a practical way to improve energy performance and allows organisations to integrate energy management into their overall efforts to improve quality and environmental management. As part of the associated continual improvement process, CERN submitted its energy performance plan for 2022–2026 to the French authorities in June 2022. The ISO 50001 certification audit, carried out by the French national organisation for standardisation (AFNOR), took place at the end of the year. CERN provided AFNOR with all relevant documentation and information on its processes, including, but not limited to, a new energy management manual, a new procedure for procurement in view of assessing energy performance, a communications plan dedicated to energy, and the updated energy management governance and structure. A range of technical assessments were performed, involving the Laboratory’s largest energy consumers, to ensure that we conform to the standard.

Further, the Organization’s Energy Policy was published in October 2022. The policy is designed to continuously improve CERN’s energy performance and minimise the impact of its activities on the environment. Its objectives are to keep the energy required for its activities to a minimum, improve energy efficiency and recover waste energy. The continuous improvement of CERN’s energy performance will be achieved by defining, monitoring and updating guidelines, objectives and indicators based on energy use measurements, best practices and feedback; training and raising awareness among the CERN community; monitoring trends, regulatory developments and best practices in energy performance; and maintaining an energy management system compliant with the ISO 50001 standard.

The ISO 50001 certification was officially awarded on 2 February 2023 for a period of three years, i.e. until 1 February 2026, and covers all of the Organization’s sites, activities and energies.

During those three years, surveillance audits will be carried out on a yearly basis by AFNOR to confirm compliancy and continuous improvement. The first one is expected to be scheduled for early 2024.

For more information about energy management at CERN, see https://hse.cern/content/energy-management.

thortala Thu, 02/16/2023 - 15:39 Publication Date Thu, 02/16/2023 - 15:37

Celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

On 11 February, we celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. To celebrate diversity and representation in STEM-related fields, we asked six female scientists from CERN to share their stories. They shared what a typical day looks like, what they enjoy most in their profession and what is interesting in their careers.

Cristina Sequeiro, vacuum engineer

Cristina is a Spanish vacuum engineer in the vacuum, surfaces and coatings group at CERN. She is working on the design and integration of different vacuum systems designed for the upcoming upgrade of CERN’s flagship project, the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). 

"My daily work consists mainly of vacuum simulations. Currently, I'm also following the commissioning of the beam gas curtain monitor into the LHC. I like the fact that I am participating in different stages of these projects, from simulations to integration, and working with people from different teams, which gives me a nice overview of all the work involved.”

Dalila Salamani, data scientist

Dalila is a data scientist from Algeria working in the software development for experiments group, which develops and maintains the common scientific software for CERN's physics experiments. Her specialty is to develop machine-learning approaches for fast simulation in Geant4. 

“I am deeply passionate about my work, which involves taking data that describes how high-energy physics detectors work and building machine-learning models that mimic their functioning. I find it fascinating to work on unique problems that involve big and complex data sets, where the doors to creativity and innovation are always open!”

Dalila’s passion for science started when she received her first telescope from her parents, as well as “when I realised the infinite possibilities offered by the binary world”.

Chilufya Mwewa, particle physicist

Chilufya is a Zambian particle physicist. She studied physics and obtained a postgraduate diploma in mathematical sciences. In 2017, she received a PhD grant that allowed her to study two same-charge W bosons using data collected by the ATLAS experiment.

Between family and physics, Chilufya’s days start with caring for her two children and the daily operation of the ATLAS detector’s liquid argon calorimeter (LAr). Chilufya is also working on maintaining and developing LAr software.

“When I get to my office, it’s to write/debug code to analyse data collected by the ATLAS detector. From this data, I look for events with two same-charge W bosons. These events are very rare in the Standard Model, so being able to observe them and measure their cross-section helps to further validate it. In addition, I write and debug codes to simulate data from a potential next-generation collider.”

Stefania Maria Beolè, particle physicist

Stefania is an Italian professor of experimental physics at Università degli Studi di Torino. She has been at CERN since 1995, involved in the development and construction of silicon detectors for both the NA50 and ALICE experiments. Since 2020, she has also been the project leader of the Inner Tracking System (ITS) of the ALICE experiment.  

Between CERN and Torino, Stefania says, “In all workplaces, I try to spend some time in the laboratory each day. I appreciate doing some technical work, especially with my students. We have test set-ups to characterise detectors with laser beams and radioactive sources… working with them makes me feel as young and enthusiastic as a PhD student.”

For Stefania, the most fun happens in the control room, waiting for the beam to arrive, while "spending time with colleagues and sharing the excitement of potential achievements". 

Reham Aly, particle physicist

Reham Aly is an Egyptian post-doc fellow at CERN and INFN, as well as a lecturer at Helwan University in Egypt. Working in data analysis, Reham’s research is focused on dark matter particles and uses data from the CMS experiment. She is also responsible for the irradiation tests for fast gaseous detectors that certifies their operation for the next 15 years.

A typical day at CERN for Reham is spent in three places: her office, the  lab and the gamma irradiation facility. 

Reham’s passion for science started “when I was in kindergarten, I planted beans on a cotton pad and took care to water it everyday until it grew. I was so happy when the plant grew, after being patient, waiting for its growth and watching it everyday.”

Jenny Lunde, early-career physicist

Jenny is an early-career physicist from Norway, pursuing an integrated Master’s degree in physics. She is currently working on software development for the CMS experiment, and she spends most of her days programming in Python.

For Jenny, CERN is a “great place [to work] for an early-career scientist, as you get to interact with scientists from universities from all over the world and explore many opportunities for your future studies. People at CERN have very varied backgrounds, and they are all needed to make the experiments work.” 

“It is exciting to be part of one of the largest international science experiments. Everyone does a different job and together we can discover new things about the fundamental structure of the Universe.”

katebrad Fri, 02/10/2023 - 11:38 Byline Bianca Moisa Publication Date Fri, 02/10/2023 - 17:12

CERN is awarded the ISO 50001 energy certification

As part of CERN’s commitment to responsible energy management, the Organization began the ISO 50001 certification process in 2022. The certification was officially awarded on 2 February 2023 for a period of three years, i.e. until 1 February 2026.

ISO 50001 is the benchmark international standard for implementing systems and processes to continually improve energy performance. It entails setting up, monitoring and improving an energy management system – which is aligned with CERN’s Energy Policy – and with relevant legislation. 

For more information about energy management at CERN, see https://hse.cern/content/energy-management.

A longer article will be published in the next issue of the Bulletin – stay tuned! 

thortala Wed, 02/08/2023 - 08:40 Publication Date Wed, 02/08/2023 - 08:38