On 8 December, the high-energy physics advisory panel to the US Department of Energy and National Science Foundation released a 10-year strategic plan for US particle physics. The Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) report recommends projects across high-energy physics for different budget scenarios. Extensive input from the 2021 Snowmass exercise and other community efforts was distilled into three overarching themes: decipher the quantum realm; explore new paradigms in physics; and illuminate the hidden universe, each of which has been linked to science drivers that represent the most promising avenues of investigation for the next 10 years and beyond.
“The Higgs boson had just been discovered before the previous P5 process, and now our continued study of the particle has greatly informed what we think may lie beyond the standard model of particle physics,” said panel chair Hitoshi Murayama (UCB). “Our thinking about what dark matter might be has also changed, forcing the community to look elsewhere – to the cosmos. And in 2015, the discovery of gravitational waves was reported. Accelerator technology is changing too, which has shifted the discussion to the technology R&D needed to build the next-generation particle collider.”
Independent of the budget scenario, realising the full scientific potential of existing projects is the highest P5 priority, including the High-Luminosity LHC, DUNE and PIP-II, and the Vera C Rubin Observatory. In addition, the panel recommends continued support for the medium-scale experiments NOvA, SBN, T2K and IceCube; DarkSide-20k, LZ, SuperCDMS and XENONnT; DESI; Belle II and LHCb; and Mu2e.
On the hot topic of future colliders, the P5 report endorses an off-shore Higgs factory, naming FCC-ee and ILC, to advance studies of the Higgs boson following the HL-LHC. The US should actively engage in design studies to establish the technical feasibility and cost of Higgs factories and convene a targeted panel to make decisions in US accelerator physics at the time when major decisions concerning an off-shore Higgs factory are expected, at which point the US should commit funds commensurate with its involvement in the LHC and HL-LHC. Looking further into the future “and ultimately aim to bring an unparalleled global facility to US soil”, the P5 report supports vigorous R&D toward a 10 TeV parton-centre-of-momentum collider, including a targeted programme to establish the feasibility of a 10 TeV muon collider at Fermilab – dubbed “our Muon Shot”.
Astro-matters
Looking outward, the panel identified several critical areas in cosmic evolution, neutrinos and dark matter where next-generation facilities could make a dramatic impact. Topping the list are: CMB-S4, which will use telescopes in Chile and Antarctica to study the cosmic microwave background (CERN Courier March/April 2022 p34); early implementation of a planned accelerator upgrade at Fermilab to advance the timeline of DUNE (in addition to a re-envisioned second phase of DUNE and R&D towards an advanced fourth detector); and a comprehensive Generation-3 dark-matter experiment to be coordinated with international partners and preferably sited in the US. Here, states the report, the impact of the more constrained budget scenario is severe, and could force the US to cede leadership in Generation-3 and to descope or delay elements of DUNE: “Limiting of DUNE’s physics reach would negatively impact the reputation of the US as an international host, and more limited contributions to an off-shore Higgs factory would tarnish our standing as a partner for future global facilities.”
Multi-messenger observatories with dark-matter sensitivity, including IceCube Gen-2 for the study of neutrino properties, and small-scale dark-matter experiments employing innovative technologies, are singled out for support. In addition, the panel recommends that the Department of Energy create a new competitive programme to support a portfolio of smaller, more agile experiments in high-energy physics.
The P5 report supports vigorous R&D toward a 10 TeV parton-centre-of-momentum collider
Investing in the scientific workforce and enhancing computational and technological infrastructure are described as “crucial”, with increased support for theory, general accelerator R&D, instrumentation and computing needed to bolster areas where US leadership has begun to erode. The report also urges broader engagement with and support for the workforce, suggesting that all projects, workshops, conferences and collaborations incorporate ethics agreements that detail expectations for professional conduct and establish mechanisms for transparent reporting, response and training.
“In the P5 exercise, it’s really important that we take this broad look at where the field of particle physics is headed, to deliver a report that amounts to a strategic plan for the US community with a 10-year budgetary timeline and a 20-year context,” said P5 panel deputy chair Karsten Heeger (Yale). “The panel thought about where the next big discoveries might lie and how we could maximise impact within budget, to support future discoveries and the next generation of researchers and technical workers who will be needed to achieve them.”
Experimental particle physicist Lawrence W Jones, a well-respected mentor and educator who contributed to important developments in accelerators and detectors, passed away on 30 June 2023.
Born in Evanston, Illinois on 16 November 1925, he enrolled at Northwestern University in autumn 1943 but was drafted into the US army a few months later. He served in Europe during World War II in 1944 and 1945, returning to Northwestern to complete a BSc in zoology and physics in 1948, followed by an MSc in 1949. After completing a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1952, Jones went to the University of Michigan to begin a lifetime career in the physics faculty. In 1962 he acted as dissertation adviser to future Nobel laureate Samuel Ting and was promoted to full professor in 1963. He served as the physics department chair from 1982 to 1987 and was named professor emeritus in 1998.
Jones collaborated in the 1950s in the Midwestern Universities Research Association, a collaboration of US universities that developed key concepts for colliding beams, and built the first fixed-focus alternating gradient accelerator. Over the course of his career, Jones also contributed to the development of scintillation counters, optical spark chambers and hadron calorimeters. He participated in experiments designed to measure inelastic and elastic scattering, particle production, dimuon events, neutrino physics and charm production.
Jones came to CERN as a Ford Foundation Fellow (1961–1962) and as a Guggenheim Fellow (1964–1965), and then contributed to cosmic-ray experiments on Mount Evans, Colorado and nearby Echo Lake. In 1983 he joined the L3 experiment at LEP, which was led by his former student Ting. The Michigan team, led by Byron Roe, helped to design, construct and install the experiment’s hadron calorimeter – a key component used to determine the number of elementary neutrino families. Jones also contributed to the construction of L3 cosmics, a programme to trigger on and measure cosmic rays using the detector’s precision muon detector and surrounding solenoidal magnet.
Jones’ interest in entomology led to a species of beetle (Cryptorhinula jonsi) being named after him. On the first Earth Day, in 1970, Jones introduced the term “liquid hydrogen fuel economy” and, in 1976, he joined the advisory board of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy. He had a long involvement with the Ann Arbor Ecology Center, which he led in 1974–1975, and became co-chair of the Michigan Environmental Council’s Science Advisory Committee in 2000.
What’s not to like about particle physics? Exploring the fundamental workings of the universe at international laboratories such as CERN is an inspiration to all, and regularly attracts media attention. However, despite the abundance of wonderful outreach activities by physicists and professional communicators, and science centres such as CERN’s new Science Gateway, it is important that we also take a critical look at our attitude towards science communication (and colleagues who engage in it) to see where we can improve.
Like many of my colleagues, I have always devoted a significant fraction of my time to share my passion for the field with diverse audiences. Society funds our research, so we have a fundamental duty to report back about our discoveries, act as an advocate for science in general, and educate and inspire the next generation. Doing outreach is not only enjoyable but also a valuable exercise that forces you to look at your own work from an outside perspective and to adapt your story for different audiences. Given the collective responsibility of particle physicists for garnering societal support for fundamental science, one might expect the entire field to support individuals involved in outreach activities. Regrettably, this is not always the case.
A new programme at the Leiden Institute of Physics, in collaboration with colleagues from the science communication research group, is investigating how we approach physics communication. When studying our attitudes, certain “points of attention” become rapidly apparent.
Critical points
One concerns cultural appreciation and the role of the scientist. Outreach is often still perceived as something someone does in their spare time and not a valuable activity for “serious” scientists. Many young researchers are all too aware of this attitude, and given the limited number of permanent positions and the emphasis on leadership roles and scientific output for career advancement, outreach often gets reduced priority. This means we’re missing out on an enormous potential of energy and ideas to connect with society. It is important that scientists realise that good communication skills are indispensable for an academic career, which, after all, includes teaching and grant writing. While professional communicators do great work, it’s crucial that more physicists are directly involved as they inherently radiate their passion and drive.
A second point is public relations versus the role of science in society. While every country can simultaneously benefit from new discoveries, communication departments within universities and research institutes – including CERN – often struggle to move beyond the frame of public relations and the latest scientific breakthroughs. In doing so, there is an increasing tendency to project a polished image and to be too self-focused while neglecting opportunities to provide insights into laboratory life – including failure, which is an inevitable aspect of the scientific process – and the stories behind the publications.
Impact assessment is a third factor where we could do better. Despite the increasing encouragement from funding agencies to make societal engagement an integral component of research proposals, we frequently fall short when it comes to conducting impact assessments. While researchers invest years in writing academic papers and scrutinise collaborators for failing to cite the most recent articles, we seem perfectly happy to ignore the literature on science-communication research and input from experts when developing outreach initiatives. Moreover, owing to our lack of collective memory, we do not have a systematic way to learn from good and bad practices.
Last but not least, developing effective communication skills is also critical in peer-to-peer interactions. We don’t often talk about it openly, but it is remarkable how physicists perpetuate the poor quality of presentations and seemingly endless meetings, and how increasingly challenging it is to understand developments in other sub-fields. With proper attention given to our internal communication, we would all stand to benefit significantly.
A change in culture does not happen overnight. Nevertheless, given the ongoing discussions about the future of the field, for example about a future collider at CERN, it is vital that we develop a stronger, broader and especially more open science communication strategy. It should be centred around curiosity and the amazing people in our field, as that is how we can connect with society to start a dialogue, while at the same time finding ways to support and acknowledge the work of colleagues who engage in outreach activities. Particle physics is a wonderful adventure. Let’s make sure the world knows about it.
Within the naturally lit expanse of the Exploring the Unknown exhibition at CERN Science Gateway, an artwork both intrigues and challenges: Julius von Bismarck’s Round About Four Dimensions, commonly referred to as the “tesseract”. As light interacts with its surfaces, the tesseract – a 3D representation of a 4D cube – unfolds and refolds, turning inside out in a hypnotic sequence that draws viewers into its rhythm (see “Round About Four Dimensions” image). This kinetic piece not only captivates with movement but also signifies the deep-rooted relationship between art and science.
Organised around themes of space and time, dark matter, and the quantum vacuum, the Exploring the Unknown exhibition becomes a meeting point, inviting spectators to dive into the collective curiosity of both artists and scientists. In particular it channels the imaginative spirit of CERN’s theoretical physicists, including Joachim Kopp, who remarked during an encounter with a visiting artist: “I try to visualise the maths. So, whenever I work on something, I need to have some pictures in my head, even when it’s mathematical concepts.” This sentiment illuminates the profound visual connection artists and scientists alike experience when confronted with complex ideas.
Rich dialogue
Born from the collaborative efforts between the Arts at CERN programme and the CERN exhibitions section, this display vividly encapsulates the synergy between art and science. By championing artist residencies, commissioning distinct art pieces and curating exhibitions, a rich dialogue is fostered between two seemingly distinct worlds. For the first time, Science Gateway will spotlight works born from residencies and commissions, proudly featuring creations from celebrated resident artists including Yunchul Kim, Chloé Delarue, Ryoji Ikeda and Julius von Bismarck.
Within CERN’s corridors, serendipitous dialogues emerge. An artist might gain fresh inspiration from a casual chat about the universe, looking at their work through a new lens. On the other hand, physicists can discover a fresh perspective on their familiar theories through the artist’s interpretation. As former CERN theorist Tevong You insightfully shared during one such discussion, “In the quantum world of particles and waves, there’s a beauty that artists instinctively grasp. They bring to life the equations we scribble on paper.”
The dialogue between diverse minds takes centre-stage at Science Gateway. Yunchul Kim harnesses the intricacies of fluid dynamics (see “Chroma VII” image), capturing space and time and the elusive nature of dark matter in his sculptures. Chloé Delarue crafts tangible experiences around the mystery and the uncertainty of the unknown (see “TAFAA” image), while the avant-garde audiovisual installations of Ryoji Ikeda breathe life into the elusive quantum vacuum (see “data.gram [n°4]” image). As artists immerse in these scientific domains, they unearth fresh inspiration and, in return, challenge scientists to see their own work through a different prism. This unconventional collaboration amplifies both fields: artists distill vast, abstract concepts into evocative forms, and scientists, inspired by this artistic partnership, discover enriched avenues through which to communicate their research.
Navigating the confluence of art and science is no straightforward journey. For every moment of synergy, there are hurdles to clear – terminology gaps, differing methodologies and the occasional skepticism from both sides. However, through the many interactions we’ve experienced between scientists and artists, it’s clear that these challenges can be overcome. Artists, through their residencies at CERN, have cultivated an understanding of complex scientific narratives. Conversely, CERN scientists have come to appreciate the evocative power of art, expanding beyond their traditional vocabulary. This endeavour is about building bridges, recognising the need for compromise, and ultimately celebrating the beauty that emerges when diverse worlds collide.
Finding equilibrium between artistic liberty and scientific truthfulness is also a delicate dance. In the vast realm of creativity, an artist might sometimes venture far from the core scientific concepts in their pursuit of artistic expression. In Exploring the Unknown, such balances are impressively maintained by von Bismarck’s tesseract and Ikeda’s audiovisual installation data.gram [n°4]. The exhibition shows that neither art’s freedom nor science’s precision need to be sacrificed; when approached with mutual respect, they can coexist, each enhancing the other’s message.
When CERN was founded in 1954, four missions were given to the new organisation: performing fundamental research at the frontier of knowledge; development of innovative technologies to pursue fundamental research; international collaboration for the good of humanity; and education and inspiration for future generations of scientists, engineers and the public at large. The latter mission has been given a powerful new platform in the form of the CERN Science Gateway.
CERN is well known for outreach, most recently via the switch-on of the LHC and the search for and discovery of the Higgs boson. It also trains thousands of people through a variety of student and graduate programmes, ranging from internships, studentships and fellowships to professional training, such as at the CERN Accelerator School, the CERN School of Computing, and several physics and instrumentation Schools. Less well known, perhaps, is CERN’s influential work in science education.
Growth initiatives
CERN offers many professional-development programmes for teachers (see Inspiring the inspirers), as well as dedicated experiment sessions at the former “S’Cool LAB” (reincarnated in the Science Gateway educational labs, see Hands on, minds on, goggles on!) and the highly popular Beamline for Schools competition. These efforts are also underpinned by an education-research programme that has seen seven PhD theses produced during the past five years as well as 82 published articles since the programme began in 2009. This is made possible by the significant contributions of doctoral students, who make up much of the team, and cooperation with their almae matres in CERN’s member states. In addition, CERN is the publisher of the multilingual international journal Progress in Science Education.
The question “what is science education?” probably has more answers than the number of science educators in Europe. Nevertheless, the nature of science – the scientific method itself, without which we could not formulate science correctly, reproducibly and understandably – is a basic principle. Teaching the nature of science as the basis and conveying scientific results as examples is widely regarded as the best way to inspire learners young and old, although methods vary. A frequently asked question in this respect is: what to educate?
The traditional answer, which will be familiar to people who went to school in the 1970s or earlier, is “pure knowledge”. Later, it was realised that “skills” were important, too. While both remain core to science curricula, “competencies” are now seen as an effective way to advance society. In terms of physics, key topics in this regard are education for sustainable development, quantum physics and its applications, radiation and artificial intelligence.
Fulfilling its mission, CERN strives to reach everyone with its education programmes. The CERN Science Gateway offers exhibitions, large education labs, as well as educational science shows for audiences aged five and above. Education is key to sustainability, and thus to society, so let’s all work together. The CERN team is open to your proposals!
“The reason I want to talk to you today is that I myself had a very good physics teacher, which is why I’m now here at CERN. So, thank you for the important work you are all doing. You really make a difference!” This heartfelt sentiment, echoing the gratitude often expressed by CERN scientists when addressing visiting high-school teachers, encapsulates the essence of CERN’s teacher programmes.
Over the past quarter-century, CERN’s teacher programmes have played a vital role in bridging the gap between particle physics and educators from across the globe. What started originally in 1998, when the first International High School Teacher Programme took place with a small group of teachers, has grown into one of CERN’s many success stories. Today, CERN’s teacher programmes run on an almost weekly basis, welcoming about 1000 teachers from more than 60 countries every year, which makes them one of the largest and most successful professional development offers for in-service high-school science teachers worldwide.
The vast bulk are week-long programmes for teachers from one country or from one language group, predominantly targeting teachers from CERN’s member states, associate member states and the occasional non-member state. In addition, two international teacher programmes take place every year in the summer, significantly broadening the reach. Each international teacher programme lasts two weeks and hosts up to 48 teachers from around the world. So far, about 14,500 teachers from 106 countries have participated in CERN’s national and international teacher programmes, and every year another 1000 teachers travel to CERN to attend lectures, on-site visits, hands-on workshops, discussions and Q&A sessions.
Multifaceted
Teacher programmes at CERN serve multiple purposes. First and foremost, they are professional development programmes that enable high-school teachers to keep up to date with the latest developments in particle physics and related areas, and to experience a dynamic, international research environment. As such, they answer the call to bring more modern science into the classroom, which goes hand in hand with a slow yet steadily increasing change in curriculum development (see Particle physics in school curricula). Second, teacher programmes are an acknowledgement of the critical role that teachers play in preparing the future of humanity. They inspire and empower teachers and, through them, their students. Last but not least, teacher programmes showcase the importance of science diplomacy – colloquially referred to as a soft power in the world of international relations. For instance, before joining CERN as associate member states, several countries already brought high-school teachers to CERN for dedicated national teacher programmes; these, in turn served as door-openers in the respective ministries and supported the country’s application to join CERN. The same is true for distant countries, with which CERN has no other connections than teachers who took part in one of the international teacher programmes.
High impact
But what about the impact of CERN’s teacher programmes? Is it possible to measure the effectiveness of such a variety of programmes and perform an evaluation that goes beyond documenting teachers’ feedback? Combined with anecdotal data from alumni teachers, who frequently return to CERN with their students or take part in other education activities such as the Beamline for Schools (BL4S) competition, and the fact that CERN’s teacher programmes are heavily overbooked, the overall picture is clear: teachers’ satisfaction with CERN’s teacher programmes is extremely high.
The overall picture is clear: teachers’ satisfaction with CERN’s teacher programmes is extremely high
To deepen the level of evaluation of CERN’s teacher programmes and to allow for further development in the future, in 2021 a multi-stakeholder study was performed to document and illustrate the goals of professional development programmes at particle-physics laboratories. This study led to a hierarchical list of the 10 most important learning goals, such as enhancing teachers’ knowledge of scientific concepts and models, and enhancing their knowledge of curricula, which now represent the baseline for future evaluations of teachers’ learning. Here, a large-scale study is currently ongoing to assess their knowledge in a pre-post setting by using concept maps. The aim of this approach is not only to study the learning progression throughout a teacher programme but also to support teachers in constructing meaningful mental models and knowledge structures, which are key indicators of successful educators. Indeed, CERN’s teacher programmes continue to serve as a prime testbed for the Organization’s physics-education research efforts, with one doctoral research project already successfully completed and a second on its way. Future research projects will aim to evaluate teachers’ use of their new knowledge and skills after their participation in CERN’s teacher programmes and consequently their students’ learning outcomes.
The most important dimension of CERN’s teacher programmes, however, is the social one. Over the past 25 years, teachers from different parts of the world have met at CERN, became friends and remained in touch with one another. This has led to several cross-border Erasmus projects, combined school events and even tri-national proposals for the BL4S competition.
Today, CERN’s teacher programmes are more popular than ever, with teachers from all around the world being more than eager to apply for one of the limited spots. One participant of this year’s International High School Teacher Programme even had to move his wedding date, which originally coincided with the programme dates. Luckily, his fiancée was understanding and not only agreed to the postponed date but also smiled when he put on his CERN helmet for the wedding picture.
In big science, long-term planning for future colliders is a careful process of consensus building. Particle physics has successfully institutionalised this discourse in the many working groups and R&D projects that contribute, for example, to the European strategy updates and the US Snowmass exercise. But long timescales and political dimensions can render these processes impersonal and uninspiring. Ultimately, a powerful vision that captures the imagination of current and future generations must go beyond consensus building; it should provide a crisp, common intellectual denominator of how we talk about what we are doing and why we are doing it.
A lack of uniqueness
For several decades, the hunt for the Higgs boson has been central to such a captivating narrative. Today, 11 years after its discovery, all other fundamental open questions remain open, and questions about the precise nature of the Higgs mechanism have become newly accessible to experimentation. What the field is facing today is not a lack of long-term challenges and opportunities, but a lack of uniqueness of one scientific hypothesis behind which a broad and intrinsically heterogeneous international research community could be assembled most easily.
We need to learn how to communicate this reality more effectively. Particle physics, even if no longer driven by the hypothesis of a particular particle within guaranteed experimental reach, continues to have a well-defined aim in understanding the fundamental composition of the universe. From discussions, however, I sense that many of my colleagues find it harder to develop long-term motivation in this more versatile situation. As a theorist I know that nature does not care about the words I attach to its equations. And yet, our research community is not immune to the motivational power of snappy formulations.
The exploration of the Higgs sector provides a two-decade-long perspective for future experimentation at the LHC and its high-luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC). However, any thorough exploration of the Brout–Englert–Higgs mechanism exceeds the capabilities of the HL-LHC and motivates a new machine. Why is it then challenging to communicate to the greater public that collecting 3 ab–1 of data by the end of the HL-LHC is more than filling-in details on a discovery made in 2012? How can our narrative better reflect the evolving emphasis of our research? Should we talk, for example, about the Higgs’ self-interaction as a “fifth force”? Or would this be misleading cheerleader language, given that the Higgs self-coupling, unlike the other forces in the Standard Model Lagrangian, is not gauged? Whatever the best pitch is, it deserves to be sharpened within our community and more homogeneously disseminated.
Another compelling narrative for a future collider is the growing synergy with other fields. In recent decades, space-based astrophysical observatories have started to reach a complexity and cost comparable to the LHC. In addition, there is a multitude of smaller astrophysical observatories. We should welcome the important complementarities between lab-based experimental and space-based observational approaches. In the case of dark matter, for example, there are strong generic reasons to expect that collider experiments can constrain (and finally, establish) the microscopic nature of dark matter and that the solution lies in experimentally unchartered territory, such as either very massive or very feebly interacting particles.
What makes the physics of the infinitesimally small exciting for the public is also what makes it difficult to communicate
What makes the physics of the infinitesimally small exciting for the public is also what makes it difficult to communicate, starting with subtle differences in the use of everyday language. For a lay audience, for instance, a “search for something” is easy to picture, and not finding the something is a failure. In physics, however, particles can reveal themselves in quantum fluctuations even if the energy needed to produce them can’t be reached. Far from being a failure, not-finding with increased precision becomes an intrinsic mark of progress. When talking to non-scientists, should we try to bring to the forefront such unique and subtle features of our search logic? Could this be a safeguard against the foes of our science who misrepresent the perspectives and consequences of our research by naively equating any unconfirmed hypothesis with failure? Or is this simply too subtle and intellectual to be heard?
Clearly, in our everyday work at CERN, getting the numbers out is the focus. But going beyond this operational attitude and fighting for the most adequate words and pictures that give meaning to what we are doing is crucial to keep the community focused and motivated for the long march ahead.
• Adapted from text originally published in the CERN Staff Association newsletter.
Guide since: October 2022 Position: Masters student for VITO at ISOLDE (User, University of Oldenburg) Languages: German, English
One thing that makes being a CERN guide so interesting and exciting is the diversity of our visitors. You might have a super-interested 10 year-old, for whom the visit to CERN is his birthday present, or you could find yourself discussing the connection between Buddhism and the Higgs boson with a monk.
One visit that I remember vividly was with a group of Swiss–German retirees. All of the visitors were hard of hearing, with the majority of them being deaf. To facilitate communication they brought two sign-language translators with them. Before the start of the tour some of the visitors were concerned that their cochlear implants, which can restore some hearing, might be influenced by CERN’s equipment. Luckily, I studied medical physics and audiology before coming to CERN, so I was able to reassure them that everything will be fine. On that day we were showing the group the Synchrocyclotron and the ATLAS Visitor Centre. Communicating via the translators was something that was completely new for me, as I am sure terms such as muon spectrometer or superconducting magnet were to them. Due to the translation, it naturally took a few seconds longer than usual to see the audience’s reaction. In most cases, however, it was full of excitement and often more effusive than with a group of hearing visitors. Many questions were asked and a lot of photos were taken, later to be shown to their grandchildren.
Although the tour took much longer than planned, I do not regret a single second I got to spend with them. When the group finally left CERN, there was not only a bright smile on their faces but on mine as well. Engaging people in our research and making it accessible to everybody regardless of their background, age or impairments is something which to me is a vital part of CERN’s mission.
Guide since: 2013 Position: Electronics engineer at CMS (User, NCIP Estonia) Languages: English
I’ve been guiding for nearly a decade, and during this time have had plenty of exciting tours. When I first started, I helped my supervisor as a translator. I joined her at the virtual CMS visits for Pakistani prisoners in a jail in Athens.
For in-person tours I like to take visitors to the Synchrocyclotron, ATLAS Visitor Centre, CERN Control Centre, SM18 (currently under renovation) and CMS. There they get a good overview of how accelerators and detectors work. One of the typical questions I get is about the power consumption of CERN.
Weekends are busy times. The visitors are always curious and come with many questions. Besides power consumption, they want to know about quantum computers, how data gets stored and handled, and the technologies that are used for electronics, vacuum, magnets and cryogenic cooling. Of course, the Higgs boson as well as future goals are always of interest, too. As we give guided tours in radiation surveillance areas, people also have questions about safety risks.
I like guiding very much. It is very rewarding to represent CERN in this way, especially when the visitors appreciate it with their compliments and applauds. The loveliest I heard was when a girl told me that she had taken a tour with me a few years before and that it had motivated her to become a CERN technical student.
Guide since: 2017 Position: Senior fellow for the Muon Collider study Languages: French, English
In 2008, I had the great opportunity to undertake a one-week middle-school internship at CERN, during which I discovered the contagious passion for science and technology I saw in my supervisors. Today, it’s my turn to try and pass on that passion to everyone, especially young people.
Whether it’s showing visitors around the most iconic places at CERN or at events such as Science Night, I’ve been able to meet and talk to people of all ages and backgrounds. Many visitors initially feel that what is done at CERN and in physics research in general is too difficult to understand. However, after a few discussions and by making connections with everyday phenomena or objects, people become interested and grasp the value of such research, and often want to find out more or come back to CERN.
I also particularly enjoy guiding school classes and taking part in activities aimed at children. Whether it’s working with schools when their classes come to visit us, or taking part in science shows such as “Fun with Physics”, I always see a sense of wonder and a “wow” effect, not just in the children’s eyes but also those of the teachers and adults who accompany them.
Children are curious about everything and ask lots of questions about the world around them and how we study it. This requires that we, as guides, question ourselves and stay curious, because some questions, such as “How does the Higgs boson work?” are not easy to answer. This offers an opportunity to involve everyone: the group of children act as the Higgs field, their parents or teachers then try to make their way through while the kids can gently heckle the adults, giving the “particles” mass. Together they reconstruct the Higgs mechanism!
Being a guide at CERN brings a dimension to one’s work that I think is necessary to our profession: that of sparking curiosity. For example, I remember a 12-year-old girl from nearby Meyrin who told me that she wanted to understand the world around us by becoming a physicist and then go into politics to better protect it.
Guide since: October 2021 Position: CERN Research Fellow in Experimental Physics Languages: English, French, Arabic
I became a CERN guide because I wanted to expand my knowledge beyond my research topic and to explore other experimental sites. Little did I know how much excitement and challenges await me each time I lead a group of visitors.
At CERN, the diverse range of visitors creates a unique cultural experience as people come from different backgrounds and with varying scientific interests. They are often curious to verify information they have heard about CERN in the media and elsewhere. However, language barriers can occasionally lead to amusing situations. For example, I once had a group of visitors who spoke neither English nor French, so I had to use my imagination to create a universal scientific language to guide them through the Synchrocyclotron and ATLAS Visitor Centre facilities.
Throughout my time as a CERN guide, I have had many unforgettable moments that have only deepened my appreciation for the work that we do. One experience that stands out is when I had the pleasure of meeting a five-year-old boy and his parents who were visiting for his birthday. Despite his young age, this child had an impressive understanding of particle physics and the activities taking place at CERN. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was one of those rare geniuses who start university at a young age. To my surprise, his parents informed me that they don’t have any physics books at home and that his knowledge has solely come from the internet. His enthusiasm for the subject was truly inspiring and I couldn’t help but think that I may have been in the presence of a future physicist.
Another vivid memory was when an American father approached me after his visit and asked if I could help him get in touch with his high-school daughter in the US. She was interested in physics but lacked a female role model to explore and pursue her passion. We are still exchanging emails whenever she needs guidance or information. Her father has even promised to bring her to CERN at the first opportunity.
I was also part of the ATLAS virtual visits and initiated a programme dedicated to Moroccan universities and high schools. These virtual visits proved to be an effective means of promoting not only the ATLAS experiment but also CERN’s overall activities to a wider audience, resulting in an increased number of Moroccan students and visitors at CERN.
I have the honour of wearing two hats: that of a scientist and a guide. As a CERN physicist, I have long believed that one of my core missions is to contribute to raise awareness about the different activities and research projects carried out at CERN. By doing so, we dispel fear and create opportunities to educate people about the significance of scientific research.
Guiding young students, especially those from high school, is where my heart finds joy. When students interact with scientists at CERN, they often feel intimidated, perceiving them as superhuman figures. However, as their guide, I consistently receive comments expressing relief and surprise when they realise that scientists are just ordinary individuals like themselves. This relief often sparks a sense of confidence, which makes them realise that pursuing a career in science is within their reach – often at a crucial juncture in their education, having to decide which field of study to pursue. My impact may be just one jigsaw piece in their decision, yet, in some sense, I feel a certain level of responsibility for their future choices.
One heartfelt tale involved a girl who expressed her fear of pursuing research, believing it to be a field dominated by men. I told her stories of incredible women who have made significant contributions to science, and I shared with her my own experience: woman, mother, physicist. I saw her eyes glimmer with a fresh sense of hope and determination. Imagine my overwhelming joy when a few years later I received an email from her, revealing that she had started university in a scientific field and had a strong desire to pursue a PhD. She expressed how our conversation had ignited a fire within her, dispelling her doubts and fuelling her ambition.
These rich and fulfilling experiences as a guide at CERN not only underscore the significance of outreach but also serve as a rewarding testament to the impact of our efforts in nurturing young minds.
Guide since: 1999 Position: Visits service operations manager (staff) Languages: French, English
In 2015 I was contacted by the president of a local association, Les Enfants de la lune (“Moon children”), which helps families and children who suffer from a rare but serious and restrictive disease that forbids them from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation under risk of developing skin or eye cancer. The president wanted to organise a visit to CERN to show them science in a fun way if possible. I immediately responded, taking care to check with the medical service and colleagues from HSE that the site we were visiting offered no or very little UV light, and measuring UV levels in the main auditorium. Together with the visits service we were able to invite about 40 children accompanied by adults to the afternoon event. They arrived by bus, with windows protected by an anti-UV film, equipped with anti-UV suits, resembling astronaut masks and gloves. As soon as they disembarked, they were accompanied to the auditorium in which they were able to remove their suits and helmets in complete safety. I performed several demonstrations that delighted the youngest visitors (from age five) and their parents alike – especially when they were able to taste a few marshmallows immersed in liquid nitrogen! After being re-equipped, they toured the Synchrocyclotron, which is safe from UV exposure. When the visit was over, I met looks, smiles and the sparkling eyes of all these children.
During the following weeks I organised a meeting with physicists and engineers from CERN who proposed a hackathon to improve the daily lives of the children. This resulted in more efficient, lighter and better ventilated helmets at a much lower cost than existed on the market. The group also worked on a more sensitive and cheaper UV detector to help children know if they can safely remove their protective gear.
I received a message from the group soon after: “We would like to thank you again for this magnificent visit. We were able to feel your passion and enthusiasm for CERN. Very happy to visit CERN with such young children, discovering some aspects allowed us to understand how fantastic this place is. I can say the children of the Moon left with lots of stars in their eyes.”
Whether it is grasping the intricate workings of the Higgs mechanism, catching a glimpse of how gravitational waves propagate or contemplating the profound interconnectedness of these phenomena, fundamental physics awakes excitement in scientists and non-scientists alike. Curiosity and the endeavour to fulfil it transcends the constraints of physical, neurological and cultural boundaries, uniting us all in the pursuit of knowledge.
Yet, physics is inherently abstract, and the complex series of interconnected cause-and-effect reasoning is often not straightforward to grasp. The challenge becomes even more daunting when the audience does not share the visual or neurological setup typical to the majority. The main bottleneck is the traditional mode of visual physics communication, which relies mostly on 2D descriptions. We are all familiar with such examples: screens or slides full of overwhelming text with occasional images and graphs. Clearly, such descriptions are not accessible to the visually impaired. Moreover, they usually fall short of creating intuitive understanding, even in people with regular visual perception.
Tangible representations
The key to unlock accessibility is to broaden the number of dimensions and directions through which physics is communicated. Tactile models are the foremost example. They transform abstract concepts into tangible representations, offering a hands-on, immersive and engaging learning experience. The structures of complex entities such as an atom, a gravitational wave, an LHC detector and how particles interact with it are best “visualised” by “feeling” their 3D models. Yet, these are relatively concrete concepts that are straightforward to model. Much more fascinating is to extend this idea and build models to represent the workings of more abstract phenomena. For example: how are the LHC magnets cooled? How does wakefield acceleration work? How are particles reconstructed in a detector? And how does a data analysis searching for new particles progress?
Designing models for these concepts requires more than simply adding an extra dimension to a visual representation. It involves discerning the core aspects of the physical concept that hold the most significance, simplifying them without diluting their essence, and weaving them into a tangible story – a story that takes into account the perception spectrum of the intended audience and aligns with their lived experiences. We can all share a part in this process: physicists, educators, accessibility experts and the target audience itself. Thanks to amazing improvements in 3D printing, realising the models is now much easier, which gives us the freedom to imagine and build with boundless creativity.
Fresh perspectives
It is highly worthwhile for all of us to attempt this expansion of expression in what we are experts at. In the realm of accessibility initiatives, what proves beneficial for one audience usually translates into advantages for all. For instance, tactile content originally tailored for the visually impaired resonates with children who possess an innate curiosity for tactile experiences. Enhancing access to captivating physics, as is done by the informal science-learning encounters at CERN Science Gateway, can make a great impact. Another pioneering example, specifically designed for the visually impaired, is Tactile Collider, an immersive workshop developed by particle physicists in the UK that allows participants to explore the science of particle accelerators and the Higgs boson through touch, sound and embodied learning techniques (CERN Courier January/February 2020 p33).
The thorough internalisation and fresh perspectives brought whilst sculpting a tangible 3D story out of a physics theme and seeking connections to familiar daily concepts can also amplify our own intuition. Most rewarding would be to share our models in festivals of 3D learning wherever curiosity dwells, from classrooms to exhibitions and public scientific discussions, to inspire and encourage brilliant ideas born through “feeling physics”.
One of the key challenges of communicating particle physics – particularly when preserving and presenting tangible artefacts – is the sheer scale of the endeavour. The infrastructure of particle physics has frequently been likened to cathedrals: great vaulted caverns built by the hands of many in search of truths about our universe. And even the major facilities are only one part in the international network of particle physics. Museums, which are also often likened to cathedrals, weren’t typically designed with gigantic and internationally distributed artefacts in mind. And that’s before we consider the objects of study: you can’t display a particle in a glass case. So how can we find tangible ways to represent abstract physical phenomena? What does it mean to represent the work of the thousands of people involved in today’s particle-physics projects? And is it possible to capture a fleeting moment of discovery for posterity?
Sometimes, those fleeting moments are best captured by ephemeral objects. Something that might seem mundane or throwaway can provide eloquent insights into the real life of physics. The announcement of the discovery of the Higgs Boson at CERN on 4 July 2012 was recorded in several formats, notably the film footage of Peter Higgs wiping away a tear in CERN’s main auditorium as the ATLAS and CMS teams announced the discovery of the particle whose existence he, François Englert and Robert Brout had predicted decades before.
A material memorial of the Higgs-boson discovery is the champagne bottle emptied by Higgs and John Ellis the night before the announcement. In fact, the quiet and modest Higgs usually prefers London Pride beer; unfortunately, the can that he drank on his flight home from Geneva after the announcement was not saved for posterity. But the champagne bottle also speaks to a common practice at CERN: around the site, particularly in the CERN Control Centre, there are arrays of empty bottles, opened in celebration of events including the LHC start-up, first physics collisions, major publications and other milestones.
Familiar yet unexpected objects such as the champagne bottle in the context of a display about physics can pique visitors’ interest and encourage them to move on to more complex-looking displays that they might otherwise pass by. As such, Higgs’ champagne bottle featured in the Collider exhibition (see above picture) produced by the London Science Museum in 2013 and another bottle is part of CERN’s heritage collection – a curated assortment of more than 200 objects that encapsulate CERN’s history.
Magic moments
Connecting to newsworthy moments or well-known people is usually a successful draw for visitors. Capitalising on the global success of the movie Oppenheimer, this year the Bradbury Science Museum at Los Alamos developedan exhibition of Oppenheimer-related artefacts, including his own copy of the Bhagavad Gita. At CERN Science Gateway, Tim Berners-Lee’s NeXT computer – used to host the first website – creates an immediate talking point for visitors who can barely imagine life without the web, despite the object itself being literally a black box.
That said, it is rare for a scientific or technological artefact to be a “show piece” that would attract visitors in its own right, in the same way that they would queue to see a famous artwork. The Antikythera mechanism at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Galileo’s telescopes at the Museo Galileo in Florence, or the Apollo 11 command module at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington are not representative of the types of material generally found in science heritage collections. Most science-related objects are not that easy for non-specialists to engage with; to the uninitiated eye the tools of particle physics mostly look like wiring and plumbing. Exhibition developers therefore usually adopt the “key pieces” approach advocated by Dutch curator Ad Maas: setting objects in the context of an overall narrative and a rich array of materials including photographs, documents, film, audio and personal testimony brings them to life and allows developers to layer information for different audience tastes and interest levels. Thanks to CERN’s archives and heritage collection, there is a wide range of material to draw from.
Using the key-pieces approach, a single small part can be revealing of a much larger whole: for example, by following the “life story” of a lead tungstate crystal used in the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter – which was also featured at the Collider exhibition – we gain insights into the decades-long design and planning process for the CMS detector, and an adventure in production and testing that takes us on a journey via Moscow, Shanghai and Rome (with a detour to the UBS bank vaults in Zurich). The physical nature of the object itself reflects its design and production history, while also illustrating the phenomena of particle decay and scintillation. At CERN, you’ll find displays of crystals like these around the site, in public and private spaces.
Much of the scientific heritage of the 20th and 21st centuries was originally preserved by practitioners with a sixth sense of “this might be useful someday” rather than by professional curators. Today, CERN has detailed archival and heritage collection policies that offer guidance as to what kinds of material might be worth keeping for posterity. Of course it’s impossible to keep everything; we can’t predict for certain what avenues future historians might be interested in exploring, or what kinds of objects will be used to popularise science. But by preserving storehouses of memories, we might be keeping some building blocks for the cathedrals of a future age.
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