Topic 1 – Science Diplomacy

 

Speakers: Dr. Archana Sharma (Senior Scientist at the Department of Physics at CERN), Dr. Pippa Wells (Deputy Director for Research and Computing at CERN)

 

Dr. A. Sharma said that particle physics was not an isolated field but one that affected every aspect of life. As such, students at CERN were sought after by many different industries from space science, astrophysics and cosmology to engineering, medical physics, industrial application and meteorology.

 

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) had been operating for more than 10 years and was currently being upgraded to the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The HL-LHC would use new technologies that produced ten times more collisions than the LHC. The upgrade was a daunting feat but might enable scientists to access dark matter. It was an inter-generational project with consecutive generations responsible for preparing, building and putting the equipment to use. It would come into operation in 2029.

 

CERN founded for Science for Peace :

 

CERN had been founded in 1954 by 12 European States with a number of aims: (1) to pool resources for world-class research infrastructure in nuclear and particle physics; (2) to avoid brain drain of scientists from Europe; and (3) to restore peaceful collaboration in Europe after the Second World War. It was an intergovernmental organization founded under the auspices of UNESCO.

 

CERN had been established under the Convention for the Establishment of a European Organization for Nuclear Research signed and ratified by the original 12 Member States in 1954 and revised in 1971. Under Article 9 of the Convention, CERN was granted privileges and immunities in the interests of the Organization. There were also agreements with host countries as well as the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Organization for Nuclear Research signed by all Member States in 2004. The status granted to Member States was that of an international legal personality that enjoyed special fiscal and customs arrangements, inviolability of its premises and archives, immunity from jurisdiction, free access for officials and specific privileges and immunities for personnel to facilitate exercise of official functions.

 

Over time, the Member States of CERN had increased from 12 to 23. There were also three Member States in the pre-stage to membership, seven Associate Member States and six observers. The observer status of the Russian Federation and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research was currently suspended. Additionally, CERN had around 50 cooperation agreements with non-Member States. It meant that the whole world was engaged in one way or another.

 

CERN had an annual budget of 1.2 billion Swiss francs. Its total number of employees stood at 2,676 staff and 783 fellows. There was also a great deal of associates, including 11,175 users, many of whom used the facilities remotely from around the world. The Headquarters of CERN were in Switzerland but some of its premises also extended into France. The fact that the premises were located across two Host States was a unique situation which facilitated peaceful cooperation.

 

CERN Activities :

 

The activities of CERN were set out in the Convention. Overall, the Organization worked to foster collaboration in nuclear research of a pure scientific and fundamental character with no concern with work for military requirements. The results of its experimental and theoretical work were always published or made publicly available. Activities included the construction and operation of international research laboratories that contained: (1) one or more particle accelerators, (2) apparatus for use in the research programme executed on the accelerators, and (3) related scientific and administrative infrastructure. CERN was also involved in the organization and sponsoring of international particle physics cooperation both inside and outside the laboratories. Some important areas of cooperation included theoretical physics and cosmic rays. Other activities included the promotion of contacts and exchange of scientists, dissemination of information for outreach purposes and provision of advanced training. Work was also being done to support the international scientific community in the fields of nuclear particle and astroparticle physics as well as to help define the European Strategy for Particle Physics.

 

Landmark accelerators at CERN :

 

The LHC was a well-known collider that had been put into operation in 2009. However, other smaller colliders had also previously existed, including the Synchrocyclotron (1957-1990), the Proton Synchrotron (1959), the Super Proton Synchrotron (1976), the Intersecting Storage Rings (1971-1984) and the Large Electron-Positron Collider (1989-2000). The Intersecting Storage Rings had served as the first proton collider while the Large Electron-Positron Collider had been in the same tunnel where the LHC was now located.

 

Governance of CERN :

 

CERN had a lateral rather than hierarchical governance structure given the amount of consultation that must occur. The supreme decision-making authority was the Council which was responsible for determining the scientific, technical and administrative policies, admitting new Member States and Associate Member States, approving the programme of activities, approving the European Strategy for Particle Physics, appointing the Director-General and managing the pension fund, amongst other things. The Council was composed of two delegates per Member State, including a President appointed for a maximum of three years. Its work was governed by the Rules of Procedure of the Council.

 

The Director-General was the executive organ and legal representative of CERN. He or she was responsible for the management of the CERN laboratory, preparation and submission of proposals for consideration by the Council, implementation of the Council’s decisions, reporting to the Council and oversaw implementation of the European Strategy for Particle Physics. The current Director-General, Fabiola Gianotti, was the first woman to take up the post.

 

The laboratory at CERN was for people everywhere in the world. There was a great deal of cultural diversity with users from 110 different nationalities including 19.4% women.

 

Scientific Priorities for the Future :

 

CERN was very bold and courageous in its scientific priorities for the future. The plan was to fully exploit the HL-LHC, build a Higgs factory to further understand the particle, begin the design of a 100km future energy-frontier collider (known as the Future Circular Collider (FCC), ramp up relevant research and development and continue supporting other projects around the world. The FCC was a global project with many countries already collaborating on an ongoing feasibility study. A total of 34 countries were involved as well as 30 companies, 147 institutes and the European Commission. The FCC project had an organizational structure operating under the CERN Council.

 

CERN would continue to play a crucial role in the journey of exploration. It must dare to work on bold projects, bridging humanity with the future and helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It was important to work together as one community for “one earth”.