Session Details

Short Abstract

CERN has been hosting scientists from all over the world for more than 70 years to collaborate on the forefront of basic research into the fundamental constituents of the universe. Experiments at ever more powerful particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), are research facilities that operate over many years. They are performed by international collaborations that today count thousands of physicists, engineers and technicians from hundrerds of academic institutions across the world. In my presentation, I will briefly introduce the goals of this research effort and the tools that are employed, and will then describe how these large collaborations are organized and how they operate to achieve their goals and realize a shared vision. I will conclude with a few remarks on the societal impact of this effort.

Key Takeaways

CERN is a large international organisation for basic research, hosting scientists from all over the world; experiments at CERN operate for many years and are run by large international collaborations; the organisation of these collaborations requires efficient structures adopting rather flat hierarchies; scientists at CERN work in fruitful long-term collaboration with partners in industry to develop novel technologies; most of the young scientists educated at CERN leave academia to pursue successful careers in the public sector and in industry.