Over the past 60 years, GTT has established itself as the technology expert in membrane containment systems for the transport and storage of liquefied gases. In 2023, 511 of the world’s 629 liquefied natural gas carriers with a capacity over 100,000 m³ were equipped with GTT technology. Innovation is at the heart of GTT’s strategy, as demonstrated by its 3295 registered patents and its position as the leading medium-sized company for patent filings in 2023. Today, GTT is applying its expertise to the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), adapting its advanced solutions to support this groundbreaking scientific research.
The project
DUNE is an international research initiative aimed at enhancing the understanding of neutrinos. It is a dual-site experiment for both neutrino science and proton decay studies. The project utilises neutrinos generated by Fermilab’s Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF). Once completed, the LBNF will feature the world’s highest intensity neutrino beam. The infrastructure necessary to support the massive cryogenic far detectors will be installed at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) 1300 km downstream, in Lead, South Dakota, US. These detectors are housed in large instrumented cryostats filled with liquid argon.
The challenge
The experimental facilities will include several individual cryogenic detectors, each housed inside a large, instrumented cryostat filled with 17,500 tonnes of liquid argon. In this context, the liquid argon must be maintained at a stable temperature of –186°C, requiring perfect tightness, material purity and high thermal insulation. To ensure the proper functioning of the projection chamber and allow electrons to drift over long distances, the impurity of the liquid argon must not exceed 0.1 parts per billion.
The solution
GTT provided a solution based on its technology, which is typically used in cargo ships transporting liquefied natural gas stored at –163°C. GTT’s patented membrane containment system uses two cryogenic envelopes to contain and isolate the liquefied gas. This modular system can be assembled to accommodate large volumes. GTT has offered its services to CERN to provide a solution to the LBNF/DUNE challenge. Each DUNE cryostat is a membrane cryostat constructed with an adapted Mark III membrane containment system developed by GTT.
The Mark III membrane system is a containment and insulation system directly supported by the ship’s hull structure. The containment system consists of a corrugated stainless-steel primary membrane, in contact with the fluid, placed on a prefabricated insulating panel made of reinforced polyurethane foam, incorporating a composite secondary membrane made of Triplex (aluminium foil between two glass cloths). This modular system integrates standard prefabricated components designed to be produced on a large scale and easily assembled –and that can be adapted to any tank shape and capacity.
GTT’s technologies are constantly optimised to meet the expectations of ship-owners and shipyards, its usual market, while complying with changes in maritime regulations. Since 2008, GTT has been working on developments of the Mark III concept, dedicated to improving the thermal and structural efficiency of the technology. In 2011, GTT launched the Mark III Flex technology, an improved version of Mark III, which offers a guaranteed boil-off rate of 0.07% volume/day, thanks to an increased thickness of 480 mm.
Why not extend this technology to another field? GTT and CERN have collaborated since 2013 to tailor GTT’s technology to CERN’s requirements, focusing on thermal performance and the containment of ultra-pure liquid argon for the time projection chambers required for DUNE. Leveraging the adaptability of the Mark III system, GTT has designed six tanks with CERN, resulting in a fully tested technology that meets CERN’s requirements. The collaboration began with a 17m³ initial prototype commissioned in 2017, followed by two 600m³ tanks, ProtoDUNE, commissioned in 2018 and 2019. The design showed areas for further improvement and required specific upgrades.
Following this initial set of prototypes, CERN and GTT worked together to propose an improved design. This design, optimised for cryogenic conditions, offers excellent containment tightness and thermal insulation, which helps maintain argon purity. The adapted technology includes:
• approximately 800 mm of insulation thickness;
• specific panel arrangements;
• double containment;
• tightness ensured by a combination of stainless steel (1.2 mm) for the primary barrier, a composite material (0.7 mm) for the secondary barrier and a reinforced polyurethane foam for insulation.
This optimised design has been tested and commissioned for two tanks so far. The first, a 200m³ short-baseline near detector sitting in the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab, was commissioned in January 2023, and the second, a 600m³ dark side tank at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Assergi, Italy, was commissioned in June 2024.
The future
In the coming years, CERN and GTT will continue their collaboration with future targets already identified. The construction of two tanks, each with a capacity of 12,500 m³, for the DUNE far detector cryostats, to be installed at SURF in Lead, 1300 km downstream, will be the pinnacle of this collaboration. The design of the containment system has been completed by GTT, and the start of construction is planned for 2025.
Slovakia has established itself as a significant player in the nuclear energy sector, primarily due to its nuclear capacities and a strategy focused on sustainability and energy security. Moreover, Slovakia’s commitment to nuclear energy is also evident in its strategic partnerships and collaborations with international organisations, including CERN.
PPA ENERGO, the largest member of the PPA CONTROLL group, specialises in delivering comprehensive solutions in automated control systems, field instrumentation and electrical systems. Our services encompass every stage of the project, ensuring seamless integration and performance across the entire lifecycle. This includes engineering, procurement, installation, testing and commissioning, service and maintenance, and, of course, the manufacturing of LV panels. Our extensive experience in manufacturing low-voltage panels, including their qualification for seismic resistance, EMC, vibration, aging, magnetic field resistance and more, combined with our deep expertise in the nuclear industry, has paved the way for prestigious opportunities, such as collaboration with CERN.
PPA ENERGO has demonstrated its ability to apply extensive expertise and experience in the execution of complex infrastructure projects to support CERN’s initiatives. With a wealth of experience in significant nuclear power plant construction projects, such as Mochovce Units 3 and 4 (Slovakia), Hinkley Point C (UK) and others, we have refined our ability to deliver top-tier solutions in challenging environments. Proven capabilities in managing large-scale, critical projects are expected to bring substantial value to CERN.
From technical design to Switzerland
CERN’s requirement was to design, manufacture and test the control and power distribution cabinets for the ATLAS and CMS 2PACL CO2 detector cooling systems. The cooling modules will circulate liquid CO2 through evaporators specifically designed in the detectors in a “two-phase pumped loop scheme”. Each cooling module will be equipped with a dedicated diaphragm pump for liquid CO2. Our control and power distribution cabinets will be part of this cooling system. After the successful qualification of our distribution panels approved by CERN, the first series was successfully delivered to Switzerland. Based on the positive feedback and personal visits of CERN’s technical team to our production hall, we were then commissioned to manufacture the second batch of distribution panels.
As Michal Cunik (pictured with the distribution panels prepared for transport to CERN), the designer responsible for the production of the cabinets, stated:“The major challenge was that we also had to prepare detailed 3D models, a digital twin of the panel to ensure precise replication and future facility maintenance and upgrades.” At this stage, intensive production of the distribution panels is underway, with planned completion in December 2025.
The successful delivery and ongoing production of the distribution panels has elevated our collaboration with CERN to the highest level.
In the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), counter-rotating beams of protons travel in separate chambers under high vacuum to avoid scattering with gas molecules. At four places around the 27-km ring, the beams enter a single chamber, where they collide. To ensure that particles emerging from the high-energy collisions pass into the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb detectors with minimal disturbance, the experiments’ vacuum chambers must be as transparent as possible to radiation, placing high demands on materials and production.
The sole material suitable for the beam pipes at the heart of the LHC experiments is beryllium — a substance used in only few other domains, such as the aerospace industry. Its low atomic number (Z = 4) leads to minimal interaction with high-energy particles, reducing scattering and energy loss. The only solid element with a lower atomic number is lithium (Z = 3), but it cannot be used as it oxidizes rapidly and reacts violently with moisture, producing flammable hydrogen gas. Despite being less dense than aluminium, beryllium is six times stronger than steel, and can withstand the mechanical stresses and thermal loads encountered during collider operations. Beryllium also has good thermal conductivity, which helps dissipate the heat generated during beam collisions, preventing the beam pipe from overheating.
But beryllium also has drawbacks. It is expensive to procure as it comes in the form of a powder that must be compressed at very high pressure to obtain metal rods, and as beryllium is toxic, all manufacturing steps require strict safety procedures.
By bringing beam-pipe production in-house, CERN will acquire unique expertise
The last supplier worldwide able to machine and weld beryllium beam pipes within the strict tolerances required by the LHC experiments decided to discontinue their production in 2023. Given the need for multiple new beam pipes as part of the forthcoming high-luminosity upgrade to the LHC (HL-LHC), CERN has decided to build a new facility to manufacture vacuum pipes on site, including parts made of beryllium. A 650 m2 workshop is scheduled to begin operations on CERN’s Prévessin site next year.
By insourcing beryllium beam-pipe production, CERN will gain direct control of the manufacturing process, allowing stricter quality assurance and greater flexibility to meet changing experimental requirements. The new facility will include several spaces to perform metallurgical analysis, machining of components, surface treatments, final assembly by electron-beam welding, and quality control steps such as metrology and non-destructive tests. As soon as beryllium beampipes are fabricated, they will follow the usual steps for ultra-high vacuum conditioning that are already available in CERN’s facilities. These include helium leak tests, non-evaporable-getter thin-film coatings, the installation of bakeout equipment, and final vacuum assessments.
Once the new workshop is operational, the validation of the different manufacturing processes will continue until mid-2026. Production will then begin for new beam pipes for the ALICE, ATLAS and CMS experiments in time for the HL-LHC, as each experiment will replace their pixel tracker – the sub-detector closest to the beam – and therefore require a new vacuum chamber. With stricter manufacturing requirements, never accomplishment before now, and a conical section designed to maximise transparency in the forward regions where particles pass through at smaller angles, ALICE’s vacuum chamber will pose a particular challenge. Together totalling 21 m in length, the first three beam pipes to be constructed at CERN will be installed in the detectors during the LHC’s Long Shutdown 3 from 2027 to 2028.
By bringing beam-pipe production in-house, CERN will acquire unique expertise that will be useful not only for the HL-LHC experiments, but also for future projects and other accelerators around the world, and preserve a fundamental technology for experimental beam pipes.
Since its inception in the mid-1980s, the Strings conference has sought to summarise the latest developments in the interconnected fields of quantum gravity and quantum field theory, all under the overarching framework of string theory. As one of the most anticipated gatherings in theoretical physics, the conference serves as a platform for exchanging knowledge, fostering new collaborations and pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the fundamental aspects of the physical laws of nature. The most recent edition, Strings 2024, attracted about 400 in-person participants to CERN in June, with several hundred more scientists following on-line.
One way to view string theory is as a model of fundamental interactions that provides a unification of particle physics with gravity. While generic features of the Standard Model and gravity arise naturally in string theory, it has lacked concrete experimental predictions so far. In recent years, the strategy has shifted from concrete model building to more systematically understanding the universal features that models of particle physics must satisfy when coupled to quantum gravity.
Into the swamp
Remarkably, there are very subtle consistency conditions that are invisible in ordinary particle physics, as they involve indirect arguments such as whether black holes can evaporate in a consistent manner. This has led to the notion of the “Swampland”, which encompasses the set of otherwise well-behaved quantum field theories that fail these subtle quantum-gravity consistency conditions. This may lead to concrete implications for particle physics and cosmology.
An important question addressed during the conference was whether these low-energy consistency conditions always point back to string theory as the only consistent “UV completion” (fundamental realisation at distance scales shorter than can be probed at low energies) of quantum gravity, as suggested by numerous investigations. Whether there is any other possible UV completion involving a version of quantum gravity unrelated to string theory remains an important open question, so it is no surprise that significant research efforts are focused in this direction.
Attempts at explicit model construction were also discussed, together with a joint discussion on cosmology, particle physics and their connections to string theory. Among other topics, recent progress on realising accelerating cosmologies in string theory was reported, as well as a stringy model for dark energy.
A different viewpoint, shared by many researchers, is to employ string theory rather as a framework or tool to study quantum gravity, without any special emphasis on its unification with particle physics. It has long been known that there is a fundamental tension when trying to combine gravity with quantum mechanics, which many regard as one of the most important, open conceptual problems in theoretical physics. This becomes most evident when one zooms in on quantum black holes. It was in this context that the holographic nature of quantum gravity was discovered – the idea that all the information contained within a volume of space can be described by data on its boundary, suggesting that the universe’s fundamental degrees of freedom can be thought of as living on a holographic screen. This may not only hold the key for understanding the decay of black holes via Hawking radiation, but can also teach us important lessons about quantum cosmology.
Strings serves as a platform for pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the fundamental aspects of the physical laws of nature
Thousands of papers have been written on this subject within the last decades, and indeed holographic quantum gravity continues to be one of string theory’s most active subfields. Recent breakthroughs include the exact or approximate solution of quantum gravity in low-dimensional toy models in anti-de Sitter space, the extension to de-Sitter space, an improved understanding of the nature of microstates of black holes, the precise way they decay, discovering connections between emergent geometry and quantum information theory, and developing powerful tools for investigating these phenomena, such as bootstrap methods.
Other developments that were reviewed include the use of novel kinds of generalised symmetries and string field theory. Strings 2024 also gave a voice to more tangentially related areas such as scattering amplitudes, non-perturbative quantum field theory, particle phenomenology and cosmology. Many of these topics are interconnected to the core areas mentioned in this article and with each other, both technically and/or conceptually. It is this intricate web of highly non-trivial consistent interconnections between subfields that generates meaning beyond the sum of its parts, and forms the unifying umbrella called string theory.
The conference concluded with a novel “future vision” session, which considered 100 crowd-sourced open questions in string theory that might plausibly be answered in the next 10 years. These 100 questions provide a glimpse of where string theory may head in the near future.
The third update of the European strategy for particle physics, launched by the CERN Council on 21 March, is getting into its stride. At its June session, the Council elected former ATLAS spokesperson Karl Jakobs (University of Freiburg) as strategy secretary and established a European Strategy Group (ESG), which is responsible for submitting final recommendations to Council for approval in early 2026. The aim of the strategy update, states the ESG remit, is to develop “a visionary and concrete plan that greatly advances human knowledge in fundamental physics through the realisation of the next flagship project at CERN”.
“Given the long timescales involved in building large colliders, it is vital that the community reaches a consensus to enable Council to take a decision on the next collider at CERN in 2027/2028,” Jakobs told the Courier. To reach that consensus it is important that the whole community is involved, he says, emphasising that, compared to previous strategy updates, there will be more opportunities to provide input at different stages. “There is excellent progress with the LHC and no new indication that would change our physics priorities: understanding the Higgs boson much better and exploring further the energy frontier are key to the next project.”
The European strategy for particle physics is the cornerstone of Europe’s decision-making process for the long-term future of the field. It was initiated by the CERN Council in 2005, when completing the LHC was listed as the top scientific priority, and has been updated twice. The first strategy update, adopted in 2013, continued to prioritise the LHC and its high-luminosity upgrade, and stated that Europe needed to be in a position to propose an ambitious post-LHC accelerator project at CERN by the time of the next strategy update. The second strategy update, completed in 2020, recommended an electron–positron Higgs factory as the highest priority, and that a technical and financial feasibility study for a next-generation hadron collider should be pursued in parallel.
Significant progress has been made since then. A feasibility study for the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC) at CERN presented a mid-term report in March 2024, with a final report expected in spring 2025 (CERN Courier March/April 2024 pp25–38). There is also a clearer view of the international landscape. In December 2023 the US “P5” prioritisation process stated that the US would support a Higgs factory in the form of an FCC-ee at CERN or an International Linear Collider (ILC) in Japan, while also exploring the feasibility of a high-energy muon collider at Fermilab (CERN Courier January/February 2024 p7). Shortly afterwards, a technical design report for the proposed Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) in China was released (CERN Courier March/April 2024 p39). The ILC project has meanwhile established an international technology network in a bid to increase global support.
Alternative scenarios
In addition to identifying the preferred option for the next collider at CERN, the strategy update is expected to prioritise alternative options to be pursued if the chosen preferred plan turns out not to be feasible or competitive. “That we should discuss alternatives to the chosen baseline is important to this strategy update,” says Jakobs. “If the FCC were chosen, for example, a lower-energy hadron collider, a linear collider and a muon collider are among the options that would likely be considered. However, in addition to differences in the physics potential we have to understand the technical feasibility and the timelines. Some of these alternatives may also require an extension of the physics exploitation at the HL-LHC.”
Given the long timescales involved in building large colliders, it is vital that the community reaches a consensus
The third strategy update will also indicate physics areas of priority for exploration complementary to colliders and add other relevant items, including accelerator, detector and computing R&D, theory developments, actions to minimise environmental impact and improve the sustainability of accelerator-based particle physics, initiatives to attract, train and retain early-career researchers, and public engagement.
The particle-physics community is invited to submit written inputs by 31 March 2025 via an online portal that will appear on the strategy secretariat’s web page. This will be followed by a scientific open symposium from 23 to 27 June 2025, where researchers will be invited to debate the future orientation of European particle physics. A “briefing book” based on the input and discussions will then be prepared by the physics preparatory group, the makeup of which was to be established by the Council in September before the Courier went to press. The briefing book will be submitted to the ESG by the end of September 2025 for consideration during a five-day-long drafting session, which is scheduled to take place from 1 to 5 December 2025. To allow the national communities to react to the submissions collected by March 2025 and to the content of the briefing book, they are offered further opportunities for input both ahead of the open symposium (with a deadline of 26 May 2025) and ahead of the drafting session (with a deadline of 14 November 2025). The ESG is expected to submit the proposed strategy update to the CERN Council by the end of January 2026.
“The timing is well chosen because at the end of 2025 we will have a lot of the relevant information, namely the final outcome of the FCC feasibility study plus, on the international scale, an update about what is going to happen in China,” says Jakobs. “The national inputs, whereby national communities are also invited to discuss their priorities, are considered very important and ECFA has produced guidelines to make the input more coherent. Early-career researchers are encouraged to contribute to all submissions, and we have restructured the physics preparatory group such that each working group has a scientific secretary who is an early-career researcher. We look forward to a very fruitful process over the forthcoming one and a half years.”
Radio frequency (RF) systems are central to particle accelerators, and they require a wide variety of test and measurement equipment in both their developmental and operational stages. Precise, dependable instrumentation is essential for monitoring and controlling different aspects of RF systems.
RF systems generate, control and manage the electric fields used for particle acceleration. Central to these systems are RF cavities, which are evacuated metallic structures that support an electric field at a specific (radio) frequency. RF pulses are used to generate electric fields within these cavities, and the cavities have specific resonant frequencies that match the frequency of the pulses. Charged particles gain energy from these fields as they pass through the cavities at precise moments.
Monitoring RF signals in the time domain
Monitoring RF signals in the time domain is crucial for detecting and analysing transients, phase shifts and other dynamic behaviours that can affect system performance. For such time domain analyses, oscilloscopes are essential.
The MXO 5 oscilloscope from Rohde & Schwarz is a true pioneer in test and measurement technology. As the world’s first eight-channel oscilloscope that offers 4.5 million acquisitions/s, the MXO 5 sets a new standard in real time signal capture. The fast Fourier transform (FFT) technology of the MXO 5 is unique: the oscilloscope can show four FFTs in parallel with a maximum update rate of 45,000 FFT/s per channel.
For the same capabilities in a compact form factor, check out the MXO 5C. It is a screenless oscilloscope that occupies significantly lower vertical space compared to the MXO 5. This is great for space efficiency on the rack as well as for connecting with an MXO 5C oscilloscope to increase available channels (figure 1).
Master oscillator in storage ring
The master oscillator is at the heart of the storage ring and serves as the primary source of timing and synchronisation for the entire accelerator system. It generates a stable and precise reference frequency, which is used to ensure that RF cavities operate at a frequency that matches the revolution frequency of the particles.
The R&S®SMA100B RF and microwave signal generator is ideal for this purpose (figure 2). As the world’s leading signal generator, it can handle the most demanding test and measurement tasks on both module and system levels. With the R&S®SMA100B, it is no longer necessary to choose between signal purity and high output power: it is the only signal generator on the market that can supply signals with ultra high output power in combination with extremely low harmonic signal components. It is also capable of generating microwave signals with extremely low close in SSB phase noise, which improves operation efficiency by helping to prevent large energy spreads within particle beams.
Amplifying RF pulses
Broadband amplifiers are used to amplify RF pulses to the required power levels. In a typical setup, an amplifier might be connected to an RF source generating the base signal. The amplifier boosts this base signal to a specified power level before it is fed into the RF cavities of the accelerator.
The Rohde & Schwarz high power transmitter and broadband amplifiers address customer demands for the highest amplitude and phase stability, lowest phase noise, top energy efficiency, small footprint and modular design. The R&S®BBA150 and R&S®BBA300 are robust solid state power amplifiers and cover ultra broad frequency ranges. They have high availability, and their modular designs allow for experimental flexibility that enables quick reconfiguration to support different setups and eliminates the need for multiple dedicated amplifiers.
Minimising phase noise
The phase of the RF cavity electric field must be extremely stable; phase noise can cause particles to experience different levels of acceleration, leading to the energy spread of particles.
An important aspect of minimising phase noise is introducing advanced feedback systems. Accelerators should be equipped with real time monitoring and feedback systems that continuously adjust the phase of the RF pulses to counteract any phase noise that does arise. The R&S®FSWP phase-noise analyser and voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) tester is the optimum solution for precise phase-noise measurement. It is ideal for pulsed signals and has an internal source for measuring additive phase noise.
Rohde & Schwarz – partner to the global research community
Rohde & Schwarz has 90 years of experience in high-energy RF signal generation, signal amplification and state-of-the-art test and measurement solutions. We have built up long-lasting relationships within the global research community, offering our expertise and market-leading solutions to labs and institutions worldwide. From beam testing to safe particle storage, we have the background to help you address the highly sophisticated requirements of accelerator testing.
This relationship, initiated in 2000, has not only endured but also set a benchmark for managing and evolving complex control systems.
Rigorous selection process
In the late 1990s, CERN undertook an extensive evaluation to choose a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system for its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) detectors. The process spanned two years and involved 10 person-years of testing and evaluation. Six products were rigorously assessed for functionality, performance, scalability and openness. WinCC OA emerged as the top choice, primarily due to its robust architecture and potential for future development, even though it did not fully meet CERN’s requirements at the time.
Strategic partnership formation
Recognising the need for significant enhancements to WinCC OA, CERN sought more than just a transactional relationship. A symbiotic partnership was formed, focused on mutual growth and adaptation. This collaboration was crucial in ensuring the timely deployment of the LHC detectors in 2009. From the outset, both parties worked closely to evolve WinCC OA to meet the unique demands of the LHC.
Collaboration examples
The first contract for WinCC OA (then known as PVSS2) was signed in 1999, initiating work on scaling the product to meet CERN’s unprecedented requirements. One key area of collaboration was the development of a new UI manager based on Qt, funded by CERN, ensuring compatibility across Linux and Windows while enhancing customisation options. This partnership was vital for the product’s evolution.
Another significant collaboration focused on the archiving system of WinCC OA. CERN required a system capable of storing data from large distributed systems in a central, high-performance database. Over the years, this system evolved through numerous workshops and large-scale tests, ultimately resulting in a substantial performance boost in the Oracle RDB archiver system, delivered on time for the LHC’s launch.
ETM’s (ETM professional control, a Siemens company) sponsorship of the CERN openlab project in 2009 furthered this collaboration, leading to the development of the Next Generation Archiver. This new feature, co-designed with CERN, became a cornerstone of WinCC OA, offering modularity, extendability and support for multiple database technologies. This flexibility allowed CERN to integrate the system into the “O2” physics data flow for the ALICE experiment, providing crucial data for analyses. Ongoing collaboration focuses on advancing the NextGen Archiver’s performance, with promising developments like the TimeScaleDB backend.
CERN’s input has also led to numerous enhancements in WinCC OA, such as improvements to the alarm-summarising engine and the modernisation of the CTRL scripting language. Additionally, the TSPP extension of the S7+ driver was implemented, maximising throughput and enabling precise time-stamped events.
CERN’s innovations, like the WebView widget, have influenced the product’s development, allowing the integration of web technologies within WinCC OA panels. The ongoing collaboration between CERN and ETM is set to continue, with plans to explore web-based interfaces, alternative scripting languages and container orchestration.
Widespread adoption and homogeneity
The success of WinCC OA in managing LHC detectors resulted in its adoption across other CERN systems, including cryogenics, electricity distribution and ventilation. Over time, WinCC OA became the standard SCADA solution at CERN, supporting more than 850 mission-critical applications across its experiments and infrastructure. These applications range from small systems to vast control systems managing millions of hardware IO channels across multiple computers, demonstrating WinCC OA’s scalability and adaptability.
CERN’s development of frameworks like JCOP and UNICOS, based on WinCC OA, has enabled the integration of diverse systems into a vast, homogeneous control environment. These frameworks, centrally maintained by CERN, provide guidelines, conventions and tools for engineering complex control systems, reducing redundancy and maximising the reuse of commonly maintained technologies. This approach has proven efficient, minimising development and maintenance costs while ensuring the integrity of a critical software project despite personnel turnover. The open sourcing of the JCOP and UNICOS frameworks has further strengthened this model, offering a blueprint for other large, complex projects.
A blueprint for future collaborations
WinCC OA’s adoption is growing beyond CERN’s LHC, with other laboratories and experiments, such as GSI and the Neutrino Platform, choosing it as their SCADA solution. Looking ahead, CERN may use WinCC OA for the Future Circular Collider (FCC) project, with feasibility studies already underway. The ongoing CERN ETM partnership demonstrates the power of collaboration in driving technological innovation. By working together, CERN and ETM have not only met the extraordinary demands of the LHC but also continuously evolved WinCC OA to support CERN’s mission-critical applications.
This partnership serves as a model for organisations aiming to implement large-scale, complex systems, underscoring the importance of selecting the right technology and the right partners committed to a shared vision of success.
“We congratulate CERN on 70 years of excellence in particle-physics research and are proud to partner with such an extraordinary organisation. This collaboration continually inspires us to maximise our capabilities and redefine technological boundaries,” Bernhard Reichl, CEO ETM professional control, a Siemens Company.
Klystron modulators are key elements in free electron lasers. They provide high-voltage pulses to bias klystron tubes with energies of several hundred joules. Amplitude variations directly affect the gain and phase of amplified RF pulses and therefore the accelerating fields created by RF cavities. A huge effort is put into minimising these variations with both klystron modulators and RF pulse regulation.
For machines such as the SwissFEL (Swiss Free Electron Laser), the required HV pulse stability is 15 ppm (parts per million). Stability is calculated from measurements of 100 consecutive pulses taken at a repetition rate of 100 Hz as the relative standard deviation of gated averages with respect to a mean pulse amplitude. The measurement gate is located around the maximum plateau of the pulse, the so-called flat-top region, during which the RF pulse is fired.
A common technique for measuring such small variations involves pulse offsetting and magnification of the flat-top region in order to achieve a sufficient quantisation resolution. However, signal conditioning requires low-noise analogue electronics in the form of summing amplifiers and clippers with sufficient bandwidth and settling time. Such a set-up has so far involved the use of an external differential amplifier for signal conditioning and a high-end scope with statistical analysis functionality. The resolution of this set-up makes it possible to measure stability down to around 7 ppm, and it is mounted on a trolley so that it can be shared between RF stations.
Starting as an apprentice project, the aim was to consolidate such a bulky and extensive set-up into an embedded unit that could be integrated into any pulse modulator cabinet, allowing permanent live monitoring of pulse stability. As a versatile data-acquisition system with open source firmware / software and small size, the Red Pitaya device is a perfect fit for this application. Figure 1 shows the block diagram of how a Red Pitaya STEMlab 125-14 4-input board, connected to a signal conditioning board developed at PSI, is used to measure the pulse stability of klystron modulators.
Pulse current and voltage are measured simultaneously, while only the voltage signal is used for the stability statistics. The required pulse offset voltage is automatically set by a precision 16-bit DAC before the statistics are calculated. There is a gain factor of 20 (26 dB) between the full range pulse voltage on channel 3 and the flat-top voltage on channel 4, giving a theoretical increase in resolution of 4.3 bits. In principle, this gain can be increased further to give an even higher resolution, but in practice the pulse is not purely rectangular but has a dynamic range due to pulse droop and non-flatness. Figure 2 shows how real waveforms might look in operation. The yellow trace shows the pulse current, while the red and blue traces show the full-range and magnified flat-top pulse voltages, respectively.
The set-up presented here was able to measure pulse stability of 7–8 ppm in operation, with a resolution limit of 5–6 ppm at a 1 µs gate length and 67% of ADC full scale.
The software running on the Red Pitaya is built around the standard C API and includes the OPC-UA stack from open62541.org to allow communication and data transfer via the server and client approach. The integration into our control system environment (EPICS) is currently on-going.
The complete assembly is called a Pulse Measurement Unit (PMU), and it offers many additional features such as the regulation of a high-voltage charging power supply, interfacing with opto-isolated IOs and a low-jitter PLL in order to lock external synchronisation frequencies to generate a synchronised ADC clock. With an overall size of 160 x 100 mm, the unit fits easily in a Eurocard rack or can be mounted on a DIN rail, as shown in Figure 3.
In January 1962, CERN was for the first time moving from machine construction to scientific research with the machines. Director-General Victor Weisskopf took up the pen in the first CERN Courier after a brief hiatus. “This institution is remarkable in two ways,” he wrote. “It is a place where the most fantastic experiments are carried out. It is a place where international co-operation actually exists.”
A new generation of early-career researchers (ECRs) shares his convictions. Now, as then, they do much of the heavy lifting that builds the future of the field. Now, as then, they need resilience and vision. As Weisskopf wrote in these pages, the everyday work of high-energy physics (HEP) can hide its real importance – its romantic glory, as the renowned theorist put it. “All our work is for an idealistic aim, for pure science without commercial or any other interests. Our effort is a symbol of what science really means.”
As CERN turns 70, the Courier now hands the pen to the field’s next generation of leaders. All are new post-docs. Each has already made a tangible contribution and earned recognition from their colleagues. All, in short, are among the most recent winners of the four big LHC collaborations’ thesis prizes. Each was offered carte blanche to write about a subject of their choosing, which they believe will be strategically crucial to the future of the field. Almost all responded. These are their viewpoints.
I come from Dallas, Texas, so the Superconducting Super Collider should have been in my backyard as I was growing up. By the late 1990s, its 87 km ring could have delivered 20 TeV per proton beam. The Future Circular Collider could deliver 50 TeV per proton beam in a 91 km ring by the 2070s. I’d be retired before first collisions. Clearly, we need an intermediate-term project to keep expertise in our community. Among the options proposed so far, I’m most excited by linear electron–positron colliders, as they would offer sufficient energy to study the Higgs self-coupling via di-Higgs production. This could be decisive in understanding electroweak symmetry breaking and unveiling possible Higgs portals.
A paradigm shift for accelerators might achieve our physics goals without a collider’s cost scaling with its energy. A strong investment in collider R&D could therefore offer hope for my generation of scientists to push back the energy frontier. Muon colliders avoid synchrotron radiation. Plasma wakefields offer a 100-fold increase in electric field gradient. Though both represent enormous challenges, psychologists have noted an “end of history” phenomenon, whereby as humans we appreciate how much we have changed in the past, but underestimate how much we will change in the future. Reflecting on the past physics breakthroughs galvanises me to optimism: unlocking the next chapter of physics has always been within the reach of technological innovation. CERN has been a mecca for accelerator applications in the last 70 years. I’d argue that a strong increase in support for novel collider R&D is the best way to carry this legacy forwards.
Nicole Hartmanis a post-doc at the Technical University of Munich and Origins Data Science Lab. She was awarded a PhD by Stanford University for her thesis “A search for non-resonant HH → 4b at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector – or – 2b, and then another 2b… now that’s the thesis question”.
This job is a passion and a privilege, and ECRs devote nights and weekends to our research. But this energy should be handled in a more productive way. In particular, technical work on hardware and software is not valued and rewarded as it should be. ECRs who focus on technical aspects are often forced to divide their focus with theoretical work and data analysis, or suffer reduced opportunities to pursue an academic career. Is this correct? Why shouldn’t technical and scientific work be valued in the same way?
I am very hopeful for the future. In recent years, I have seen improvements in this direction, with many supervisors increasingly pushing their students towards technical work. I expect senior leadership to make organisational adjustments to reward and value these two aspects of research in exactly the same way. This cultural shift would greatly benefit our physics community by more efficiently transforming the enthusiasm and hard work of ECRs into skilled contributions to the field that are sustained over the decades.
Alessandro Scarabottois a postdoctoral researcher at Technische Universität Dortmund. He was awarded a PhD by Sorbonne Université, Paris, for his thesis “Search for rare four-body charm decays with electrons in the final state and long track reconstruction for the LHCb trigger”.
Big companies’ energy usage is currently skyrocketing to fuel their artificial intelligence (AI) systems. There is a clear business adaptation of my research on fast, energy-saving AI triggers, but I feel completely unable to make this happen. Why, as a field, are we unable to transfer our research to industry in an effective way?
While there are obvious milestones for taking data to publication, there is no equivalent for starting a business or getting our research into major industry players. Our collaborations are incubators for ideas and people. They should implement dedicated strategies to help ECRs obtain the funding, professional connections and business skills they need to get their ideas into the wider world. We should be presenting at industry conferences – both to offer solutions to industry and to obtain them for our own research – and industry sessions within our own conferences could bring links to every part of our field.
Most importantly, the field should encourage a revolving door between academia and industry to optimise the transfer of knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, when physicists leave for industry, slow, single-track physics career progressions and our focus on publication count rather than skills make a return unrealistic. There also needs to be a way of attracting talent from industry into physics without the requirement of a PhD so that experienced people can start or return to research in high-profile positions suitable for their level of work and life experience.
Christopher Brown is a CERN fellow working on next-generation triggers. He was awarded a PhD by Imperial College London for his thesis “Fast machine learning in the CMS Level-1 trigger for the High-Luminosity LHC”.
I feel a strong sense of agency regarding the future of our field. The upcoming High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) will provide a wealth of data beyond what the LHC has offered, and we should be extremely excited about the increased discovery potential. Looking further ahead, I share the vision of a future Higgs factory as the next logical step for the field. The proposed Future Circular Collider is currently the most feasible option. However, the high cost and evolving geopolitical landscape are causes for concern. One of the greatest challenges we face is retaining talent and expertise. In the US, it has become increasingly difficult for researchers to find permanent positions after completing postdocs, leading to a loss of valuable technical and operational expertise. On a positive note, our field has made significant strides in providing opportunities for students from underrepresented nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds – I am a beneficiary of these efforts. Still, I believe we should intensify our focus on supporting individuals as they transition through different career stages to ensure a vibrant and diverse future workforce.
Prajita Bhattarai is a research associate at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US. She was awarded her PhD by Brandeis University in the US for her thesis “Standard Model electroweak precision measurements with two Z bosons and two jets in ATLAS”.
Particle physics and cosmology capture the attention of nearly every inquisitive child. Though large collaborations and expensive machines have produced some of humankind’s most spectacular achievements, they have also made the field inaccessible to many young students. Making a meaningful contribution is contingent upon being associated with an institution or university that is a member of an experimental collaboration. One typically also has to study in a country that has a cooperation agreement with an international organisation like CERN.
If future experiments want to attract diverse talent, they should consider new collaborative models that allow participation irrespective of a person’s institution or country of origin. Scientific and financial responsibilities could be defined based on expertise and the research grants of individual research groups. Remote operations centres across the globe, such as those trialled by CERN experiments, could enable participants to fulfil their responsibilities without being constrained by international borders and travel budgets; the worldwide revolution in connectivity infrastructure could provide an opportunity to make this the norm rather than the exception. These measures could provide equitable opportunities to everyone while simultaneously maximising the scientific output of our field.
Spandan Mondal is a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University in the US. He was awarded a PhD by RWTH Aachen in Germany for his thesis on the CMS experiment “Charming decays of the Higgs, Z, and W bosons: development and deployment of a new calibration method for charm jet identification”.
Young scientists often navigate complex career paths, where the pressure to produce consistent publishable results can stifle creativity and discourage risk taking. Traditionally, young researchers are evaluated almost solely on achieved results, often leading to a culture of risk aversion. To foster a culture of innovation we must shift our approach to research and evaluation. To encourage bold and innovative thinking among ECRs, the fuel of scientific progress, we need to broaden our definition of success. European funding and grants have made strides in recognising innovative ideas, but more is needed. Mentorship and peer-review systems must also evolve, creating an environment open to innovative thinking, with a calculated approach to risk, guided by experienced scientists. Concrete actions include establishing mentorship programmes during scientific events, such as workshops and conferences. To maximise the impact, these programmes should prioritise diversity among mentors and mentees, ensuring that a wide range of perspectives and experiences are shared. Equally important is recognising and rewarding innovation. This can be achieved by dedicated awards that value originality and potential impact over guaranteed success. Celebrating attempts, even failed ones, can shift the focus from the outcome to the process of discovery, inspiring a new generation of scientists to push the boundaries of knowledge.
Francesca Ercolessi is a post-doc at the University of Bologna. She was awarded a PhD by the University of Bologna for her thesis “The interplay of multiplicity and effective energy for (multi) strange hadron production in pp collisions at the LHC”.
ECR colleagues are deeply passionate about the science they do and wish to pursue a career in our field – “if possible”. Is there anything one can do to better support this new generation of physicists? In my opinion, we have to address the scarcity of permanent positions in our field. Short-term contracts lead to risk aversion, and short-term projects with a high chance of publication increase your employment prospects. This is in direct contrast to what is needed to successfully complete ambitious future projects this century – projects that require innovation and out-of-the-box thinking by bright young minds.
In addition, employment in fundamental science is more than ever in direct competition with permanent jobs in industry. For example, machine learning and computing experts innovate our field with novel analysis techniques, but end up ultimately leaving our field to apply their skills in permanent employment elsewhere. If we want to keep talent in our field we must create a funding structure that allows realistic prospects for long-term employment and commitment to future projects.
Florian Jonas is a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley and LBNL. He was awarded a PhD by the University of Münster for his thesis on the ALICE experiment “Probing the initial state of heavy-ion collisions with isolated prompt photons”.
The two great challenges of our time are data taking and data analysis. Rare processes like the production of Higgs-boson pairs have cross sections 10 orders of magnitude smaller than their backgrounds – and during HL-LHC operation the CMS trigger will have to analyse about 50 TB/s and take decisions with a latency of 12.5 μs. In recent years, we have made big steps forward with machine learning, but our techniques are not always up to speed with the current state-of-the-art in the private sector.
To sustain and accelerate our progress, the HEP community must be more open to new sources of funding, particularly from private investments. Collaborations with tech companies and private investors can provide not only financial support but also access to advanced technologies and expertise. Encouraging CERN–private partnerships can lead to the development of innovative tools and infrastructure, driving the field forward.
The recent establishment of the Next Generation Trigger Project, funded by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, represents the first step toward this kind of collaboration. Thanks to overlapping R&D interests, this could be scaled up to direct partnerships with companies to introduce large and sustained streams of funds. This would not only push the boundaries of our knowledge but also inspire and support the next generation of physicists, opening new tenured positions thanks to private funding.
Jona Motta is a post-doc at Universität Zürich. He was awarded a PhD by Institut Polytechnique de Paris for his thesis “Development of machine learning based τ trigger algorithms and search for Higgs boson pair production in the bbττ decay channel with the CMS detector at the LHC”.
The proposed Future Circular Collider presents a formidable challenge. Every aspect of its design, construction, commissioning and operations would require extensive R&D to achieve the needed performance and stability, and fully exploit the machine’s potential. The vast experience acquired at the LHC will play a significant role. Knowledge must be preserved and transmitted between generations. But the loss of expertise is already a significant problem at the LHC.
The main reason for young scientists to leave the field is the lack of institutional support: it’s hard to count on a stable working environment, regardless of our expertise and performance. The difficulty in finding permanent academic or research positions and the lack of recognition and advancement are all viewed as serious obstacles to pursuing a career in HEP. In these conditions, a young physicist might find competitive sectors such as industry or finance more appealing given the highly stable future they offer.
It is crucial to address this problem now for the HL-LHC. Large HEP collaborations should be more supportive to ensure better recognition and career advancement towards permanent positions. This kind of policy could help to retain young physicists and ensure they continue to be involved in the current HEP projects that would then define the success of the FCC.
Hassnae El Jarrari is a CERN research fellow in experimental physics. She was awarded a PhD by Université Mohammed-V De Rabat for her thesis “Dark photon searches from Higgs boson and heavy boson decays using pp collisions recorded at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC and performance evaluation of the low gain avalanche detectors for the HL-LHC ATLAS high-granularity timing detector”.
The main challenge for the future of large-scale HEP experiments is reducing our environmental impact, and raising awareness is key to this. For example, before running a job, the ALICE computing grid provides an estimate of its CO2-equivalent carbon footprint, to encourage code optimisation and save power.
I believe that if we want to thrive in the future, we should adopt a new way of doing physics where we think critically about the environment. We should participate in more collaboration meetings and conferences remotely, and promote local conferences that are reachable by train.
I’m not saying that we should ban air travel tout court. It’s especially important for early-career scientists to get their name out there and to establish connections. But by attending just one major international conference in person every two years, and publicising alternative means of communication, we can save resources and travel time, which can be invested in our home institutions. This would also enable scientists from smaller groups with reduced travel budgets to attend more conferences and disseminate their findings.
Luca Quaglia is a postdoctoral fellow at the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Torino for his thesis “Development of eco-friendly gas mixtures for resistive plate chambers”.
With both computing and human resources in short supply, funds must be invested wisely. While scaling up infrastructure is critical and often seems like the simplest remedy, the human factor is often overlooked. Innovative ideas and efficient software solutions require investment in training and the recruitment of skilled researchers.
This investment must start with a stronger integration of software education into physics degrees. As the boundaries between physics and computer science blur, universities must provide a solid foundation, raise awareness of the importance of software in HEP and physics in general, and promote best practices to equip the next generation for the challenges of the future. Continuous learning must be actively supported, and young researchers must be provided with sufficient resources and appropriate mentoring from experienced colleagues.
Software skills remain in high demand in industry, where financial incentives and better prospects often attract skilled people from academia. It is in the interest of the community to retain top talent by creating more attractive and secure career paths. After all, a continuous drain of talent and knowledge is detrimental to the field, hinders the development of efficient software and computing solutions, and is likely to prove more costly in the long run.
Joshua Beirer is a CERN research fellow in the offline software group of the ATLAS experiment and part of the lab’s strategic R&D programme on technologies for future experiments. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Göttingen for his thesis “Novel approaches to the fast simulation of the ATLAS calorimeter and performance studies of track-assisted reclustered jets for searches for resonant X → SH → bbWW* production with the ATLAS detector”.
HEP is at an exciting yet critical inflection point. The coming years hold both unparalleled opportunities and growing challenges, including an expanding arena of international competition and the persistent issue of funding and resource allocation. In a swiftly evolving digital age, scientists must rededicate themselves to public service, engagement and education, informing diverse communities about the possible technological advancements of HEP research, and sharing with the world the excitement of discovering fundamental knowledge of the universe. Collaborations must be strengthened across international borders and political lines, pooling resources from multiple countries to traverse cultural gaps and open the doors of scientific diplomacy. With ever-increasing expenses and an uncertain political future, scientists must insist upon the importance of public research irrespective of any national agenda, and reinforce scientific veracity in a rapidly evolving world that is challenged by growing misinformation. Most importantly, the community must establish global priorities in a maturing age of precision, elevating not only new discoveries but the necessary scientific repetition to better understand what we discover.
The most difficult issues facing HEP research today are addressable and furthermore offer excellent opportunities to develop the scientific approach for the next several decades. By tackling these issues now, scientists can continue to focus on the mysteries of the universe, driving scientific and technological advancements for the betterment of all.
Ezra D. Lesser is a CERN research fellow working with the LHCb collaboration. He was awarded his PhD in physics by the University of California, Berkeley for his thesis: Measurements of jet substructure in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV with ALICE”.
ECRs must drive the field’s direction by engaging in prospect studies for future experiments, but dedicating time to this essential work comes at the expense of analysing existing data – a trade-off that can jeopardise our careers. With most ECRs employed on precarious two-to-four year contracts, time spent on these studies can result in fewer high-profile publications, making it harder to secure our next academic position. Another important factor is the unprecedented timescales associated with many prospective futures. Those working on R&D today may never see the fruits of their labour.
Anxieties surrounding these issues are often misinterpreted as disengagement, but nothing could be further from the truth. In my experience, ECRs are passionate about research, bringing fresh perspectives and ideas that are crucial for advancing the field. However, we often struggle with institutional structures that fail to recognise the breadth of our contributions. By addressing longstanding issues surrounding attitudes toward work–life balance and long-term job stability – through measures such as establishing enforced minimum contract durations, as well as providing more transparent and diverse sets of criteria for transitioning to permanent positions – we can create a more supportive environment where HEP thrives, driven by the creativity and innovation of its next generation of leaders.
Savannah Clawson is a postdoctoral fellow at DESY Hamburg. She was awarded her PhD by the University of Manchester for her thesis “The light at the end of the tunnel gets weaker: observation and measurement of photon-induced W+W– production at the ATLAS experiment”.
CERN turns 70 at the end of September. How would you sum up the contribution the laboratory has made to human culture over the past seven decades?
CERN’s experimental and theoretical research laid many of the building blocks of one of the most successful and impactful scientific theories in human history: the Standard Model of particle physics. Its contributions go beyond the best-known discoveries, such as of neutral currents and the seemingly fundamental W, Z and Higgs bosons, which have such far-reaching significance for our universe. I also wish to draw attention to the many dozens of new composite particles at the LHC andthe incredibly high-precision agreement between theoretical calculation performed in quantum chromodynamics and the experimental results obtained at the LHC. These amazing discovering were made possible thanks to the many technological innovations made at CERN.
But knowledge creation and accumulation are only half the story. CERN’s human ecosystem is an oasis in which the words “collaboration among peoples for the good of humanity” can be uttered without grandstanding or hypocrisy.
What role does the CERN Council play?
CERN’s member states are each represented by two delegates to the CERN Council. Decisions are made democratically, with equal voting power for each national delegation. According to the convention approved in 1954, and last revised in 1971, Council determines scientific, technical and administrative policy, approves CERN’s programmes of activities, reviews its expenditures and approves the laboratory’s budget. The Director-General and her management team work closely with Council to develop the Organization’s policies, scientific activities and budget. Director-General Fabiola Gianotti and her management team are now collaborating with Council to forge CERN’s future scientific vision.
What’s your vision for CERN’s future?
As CERN Council president, I have a responsibility to be neutral and reflect the collective will of the member states. In early 2022, when I took up the presidency, Council delegates unanimously endorsed my evaluation of their vision: that CERN should continue to offer the world’s best experimental high-energy physics programme using the best technology possible. CERN now needs to successfully complete the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) project and agree on a future flagship project.
I strongly believe the format of the future flagship project needs to crystallise as soon as possible. As put to me recently in a letter from the ECFA early-career researchers panel: “While the HL-LHC constitutes a much-anticipated and necessary advance in the LHC programme, a clear path beyond it for our future in the field must be cemented with as little delay as possible.” It can be daunting for young people to speak out on strategy and the future of the field, given the career insecurities they face. I am very encouraged by their willingness to put out a statement calling for immediate action.
At its March 2024 session, Council agreed to ignite the process of selecting the next flagship project by going ahead with the fourth European Strategy for Particle Physics update. The strategy group are charged, among other things, with recommending what this flagship project should be to Council. As I laid down the gavel concluding the meeting I looked around and sensed genuine excitement in the Chambers – that of a passenger ship leaving port. Each passenger has their own vision for thefuture. Each is looking forward to seeing what the final destination will look like. Several big pieces had started falling into place, allowing us to turn on the engine.
What are these big pieces?
Acting upon the recommendation of the 2020 update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, CERN in 2021 launched a technical and financial feasibility study for a Future Circular Collider (FCC) operating first as a Higgs, electroweak and top factory, with an eye to succeeding it with a high-energy proton–proton collider. The report will include the physics motivation, technological and geological feasibility, territorial implementation, financial aspects, and the environmental and sustainability challenges that are deeply important to CERN’s member states and the diverse communes of our host countries.
It is also important to add that CERN has also invested, and continues to invest, in R&D for alternatives to FCC such as CLIC and the muon collider. CLIC is a mature design, developed over decades, which has already precipitated numerous impactful societal applications in industry and medicine; and to the best of my knowledge, at present no laboratory has invested as much as CERN in muon-collider R&D.
A mid-term report of FCC’s feasibility study was submitted to subordinate bodies to the CERN management mid-2023, and their resulting reports were presented to CERN’s finance and scientific-policy committees. Council received the outcomes with great appreciation for the work involved during an extraordinary session on 2 February, and looks forward to the completion of the feasibility study in March 2025. Timing the European strategy update to follow hot on its heels and use it as an input was the natural next step.
At the June Council session, we started dealing with the nitty gritty of the process. A secretariat for the European Strategy Group was established under the chairmanship of Karl Jakobs, and committees are being appointed. By January 2026 the Council could have at its disposal a large part of the knowledge needed to chart the future of the CERN vision.
How would you encourage early-career researchers (ECRs) to engage with the strategy process?
ECRs have a central role to play. One of the biggest challenges when attempting to build a major novel research infrastructure such as the proposed FCC – which I sometimes think of as a frontier circular collider – is to maintain high-quality expertise, enthusiasm and optimism for long periods in the face of what seem like insurmountable hurdles. Historically, the physicists who brought a new machine to fruition knew that they would get a chance to work on the data it produced or at least have a claim for credit for their efforts. This is not the case now. Success rests on the enthusiasm of those who are at the beginning of their careers today just as much as senior researchers. I hope ECRs will rise to the challenge and find ways to participate in the coming European Strategy Group-sponsored deliberations and become future leaders of the field. One way to engage is to participate in ECR-only strategy sessions like those held at the yearly FCC weeks. I’d also encourage other countries to join the UK in organising nationwide ECR-only forums for debating the future of the field, such as I initiated in Birmingham in 2022.
What’s the outlook for collaboration and competition between CERN and other regions on the future collider programme?
Over decades, CERN has managed to place itself as the leading example of true international scientific collaboration. For example, by far the largest national contingent of CERN users hails from the US. Estonia has completed the process of joining CERN as a new member state and Brazil has just become the first American associate member state. There is a global agreement among scientists in China, Europe, Japan and the US that the next collider should be an electron–positron Higgs factory, able to study the properties of the Higgs boson with high precision. I hope that – patiently, and step by step – ever more global integration will form.
Do member states receive a strong return on their investment in CERN?
Research suggests that fundamental exploration actively stimulates the economy, and more than pays for itself. Member states and associate member states have steadfastly supported CERN to the tune of CHF 53 billion (unadjusted for inflation) since 1954. They do this because their citizens take pride that their nation stands with fellow member states at the forefront of scientific excellence in the fundamental exploration of our universe. They also do this because they know that scientific excellence stimulates their economies through industrial innovation and the waves of highly skilled engineers, entrepreneurs and scientists who return home trained, inspired and better connected after interacting with CERN.
A bipartisan US report from 2005 called “Rising above the gathering storm” offered particular clarity, in my opinion. It asserted that investments in science and technology benefit the world’s economy, and it noted both the abruptness with which a lead in science and technology can be lost and the difficulty of recovering such a lead. One should not be shy to say that when CERN was established in 1954, it was part of a rather crowded third place in the field of experimental particle physics, with the Soviet Union and the United States at the fore. In 2024, CERN is the leader of the field – and with leadership comes a heavy responsibility to chart a path beneficial to a large community across the whole planet. As CERN Council president, I thank member states for their steadfast support and I applaud them for their economic and scientific foresight over the past seven decades. I hope it will persist long into the 21st century.
Is there a role for private funding for fundamental research?
In Europe, substantial private-sector support for knowledge creation and creativity dates back at least to the Medici. Though it is arguably less emphasised in our times, it plays an important role today in the US, the UK and Israel. Academic freedom is a sine qua non for worthwhile research. Within this limit, I don’t believe there is any serious controversy in Council on this matter. My sense is that Council fully supports the clear division between recognising generosity and keeping full academic and governance freedom.
What challenges has Council faced during your tenure as president?
In February 2022, the Russian Federation, an observer state, invaded Ukraine, which has been an associate member state since 2016. This was a situation with no precedent for Council. The shape of our decisions evolved for well over a year. Council members decided to cover from their own budgets the share of Ukraine’s contribution to CERN. Council also tried to address as much as possible the human issues resulting from the situation. It decided to suspend the observer status in the Council of the Russian Federation and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. Council also decided to not extend its International Collaboration Agreements with the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. CERN departments also undertook initiatives to support the Ukrainian scientific community at CERN and in Ukraine.
A second major challenge was to mitigate the financial pressures being experienced around the world, such as inflation and rising costs for energy and materials. A package deal was agreed upon in Council that included significant contributions from the member states, a contribution from the CERN staff, andsubstantial savings from across CERN’s activities. So far, these measures seem to have addressed the issue.
I thank member states for their steadfast support and I applaud them for their economic and scientific foresight over the past seven decades
While these key challenges were tackled, management worked relentlessly on preparing an exhaustive FCC feasibility study, to ensure that CERN stays on course in developing its scientific and technological vision for the field of experimental high-energy physics.
The supportive reaction of Council to these challenges demonstrated its ability to stay on course during rough seas and strong side winds. This cohesion is very encouraging for me. Time and again, Council faced difficult decisions in recent years. Though convergence seemed difficult at first, thanks to a united will and the help of all Council members, a way forward emerged and decisions were taken. It’s important to bear in mind that no matter which flagship project CERN embarks on, it will be a project of another order of magnitude. Some of the methods that made the LHC such a success can continue to accompany us, some will need to evolve significantly, and some new ones will need to be created.
Has the ideal of Science for Peace been damaged?
Over the years CERN has developed the skills needed to construct bridges. CERN does not have much experience in dismantling bridges. This issue was very much on the mind of Council as it took its decisions.
Do you wish to make some unofficial personal remarks?
Thanks. Yes. I would like to mention several things I feel grateful for.
Nobody owes humanity a concise description of the laws of physics and the basic constituents of matter. I am grateful for being in an era where it seems possible, thanks to a large extent to the experiments performed at CERN. Scientists from innumerable countries, who can’t even form a consensus on the best 1970s rock band, have succeeded time and again to assemble the most sophisticated pieces of equipment, with each part built in a different country. And it works. I stand in awe in front of that.
The ecosystem of CERN, the experimental groups working at CERN and the CERN Council are how I dreamt as a child that the United Nations would work. The challenges facing humanity in the coming centuries are formidable. They require international collaboration among the best minds from all over the planet. CERN shows that this is possible. But it requires hard work to maintain this environment. Over the years serious challenges have presented themselves, and one should not take this situation for granted. We need to be vigilant to keep this precious space – the precious gift of CERN.
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