A grand finale for DESY's 50th anniversary
On 19 May the DESY laboratory brought the celebrations for its 50th-anniversary year to a close with a major event in Hamburg, which saw an impressive 2500 guests in attendance from all around the world.
The guest list read like the crème de la crème of particle physics and photon science, including current and former directors of fellow laboratories, such as CERN, KEK and SPring8 and SLAC. There were also numerous representatives from other laboratories, institutions and committees connected with DESY, including Argonne National Laboratory, the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Jefferson Laboratory and the Laboratoire de l'Accélérateur Linéaire to name but a few.
The celebrations featured various speeches, a round-table discussion and different tours of DESY, as well as a banquet, stage shows and a much acclaimed band. The evening's – indeed, the year's – festivities came to an end way after midnight, with frenetic applause from DESY staff and guests alike.
CERN shows particle physics in a new light
"Universe of particles" – CERN's new permanent exhibition in the Globe of Science and Technology – provides a hi-tech experience to intrigue the general public about some of the world's most sophisticated physics tools and experiments.
Among the first attractions to catch the eye are large projections that fill the walls and a 6 m diameter circular screen in the middle of the ground that swirls with stars, planets and particle collisions from the LHC experiments. Visitors are invited to explore spherical, interactive consoles spread around the exhibit focusing on four main themes: Why does CERN collide particles?; How do we accelerate particles?; How do we detect particles?; and The diversity of CERN. Touch-screen balls allow visitors to explore ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb through virtual tours that give a sense of scale for each and explain how they work. Object balls contain exhibits related to each theme, such as a hydrogen bottle – the proton source for all of the particle accelerators at CERN.
Following the formal inauguration on 28 June, CERN staff and users had the chance to experience the new exhibition on 29–30 June before it was officially opened to the general public on 1 July. Entry is free and opening hours are between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m., from Monday to Saturday.
The exhibition was made possible thanks to the generous support of Rolex SA. Atelier Brueckner provided the inspiration for the futuristic, hi-tech design, with programming for the interactive features supplied by IART. Bernard Pellequer, manager of the Globe, and Rolf Landua, head of CERN's Education, Visits and Exhibitions Group, have co-ordinated the project.