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ISOLDE experiment explores new territory in nuclear fission

An international collaboration led by the University of Leuven, Belgium, exploiting ISOLDE’s radioactive beams, has recently discovered an unexpected new type of asymmetric nuclear fission, which challenges current theories. The surprising result opens the way for new nuclear structure models and further theories to elucidate the question. >>

The end of a remarkable era

An important era in particle physics is coming to an end: the US Department of Energy announced on Monday that it will not fund an extension to Tevatron running beyond 2011. It is a poignant moment for particle physics as we prepare to bid farewell to a machine that has changed our view of the Universe, and played a significant role in paving the way for the new era that is opening up with the LHC. >>

LHC Report: Even accelerators need a break

The LHC technical stop is in full swing, with a lot of essential maintenance work on the accelerator services, such as electricity distribution, cooling, ventilation, cryogenic systems, access and safety systems, vacuum, cranes and lifts, being crammed into the few weeks before the start of the 2011 run in February. >>

QART - the CERN facility for quality assurance

How would your detector perform in a very high magnetic field? Or at 60°C and high humidity? Will it work for 10 or more years? Answering these questions requires specialised and thorough testing. This can be done at the Quality Assurance and Reliability Testing Laboratory (QART) - a top-notch testing facility based at CERN, providing invaluable support for CERN projects. The QART lab has become a service in 2011, and invites all projects to use its equipment and expertise. >>

Microcosm 2.011

Microcosm, CERN's first exhibition centre, will soon be upgraded. While keeping its present character and many of its nice features, the use of new cutting-edge exhibition technologies together with an area for student experiments and physics demonstrations will make version 2.011 even more attractive to the general public and school classes. >>

CERN@school shoots for the stars

CERN technology will be taking a stellar journey as the Langton Ultimate Cosmic ray Intensity Detector (LUCID) is launched into space in 2012. LUCID has been designed by students from the CERN@school programme using Timepix chips from the Medipix Collaboration at CERN. >>

LHC Concerto

Recently, a new song was created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of GEANT – the high-speed pan-European communication network dedicated to research and education. The names of the national networks interconnected by GEANT and that allow data to be exchanged between European research institutes were turned into music. The technique is known as ‘sonification’, and aims at complementing the graphic representation of data with sound. >>

Knowledge transfer to Africa

For the second year running, a team from CERN comprising experts in the design and running of digital libraries has taken part in a workshop in Africa. The aim of the workshop, which was held in Morocco from 22 to 26 November 2010, was to pass on their expertise and help train librarians and IT engineers from five African countries. >>

Competencies - a roadmap for CERN Staff

Back in November, the new CERN Competency Model (CCM), a framework defining the competencies that “ drive performance and lead to excellence”, was introduced by Anne-Sylvie Catherin, Head of the Human Resources (HR) Department, in a special edition of the "Spotlight on CERN" interviews. >>

Wondering what the future can do for you?

Today’s technological decision makers will explore the answer to this question at the Lift11 conference, to be held from 2-4 February in Geneva. CERN will be hosting a workshop at Lift11, and is offering one lucky person from CERN the opportunity to lead the workshop and 9 winners the chance to attend the conference. >>

Ombuds' Corner: A section leader on a limited-duration contract

In this series, the Bulletin aims to explain the role of the Ombuds at CERN by presenting practical examples of misunderstandings that could have been resolved by the Ombuds if he had been contacted earlier. Please note that, in all the situations we present, the names are fictitious and used only to improve clarity. >>

News from the Library: Finding an article from Science published in 1880? As simple as clicking!

The CERN Library continues to expand its range of online resources. As of January 2011, the CERN community now has access to several important journal collections via JSTOR. JSTOR (short for Journal Storage) is a not-for-profit online system for archiving academic journals. It provides access to digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals in various subject areas, dating back to 1665. >>

Awards and Honours

On 8 December 2010, Phillippe Lebrun was named Engineer of the Year by L’Usine Nouvelle and the Engineers and Scientists of France for his work on the LHC’s superconducting magnets and cryogenic cooling systems. >>

Official News

CERN Health Insurance Scheme - changes on 1 January 2011  
Pension payment dates in 2011  
To all members of personnel in receipt of remuneration from CERN  

Training and Development

CERN Technical training: Available places in forthcoming courses  
General and Professional French Courses  

General Information

Reminder: Mandatory Computer Security Course  
Industrial Exhibition “11th Germany at CERN“  
Conference for CERN Pensioners  
Colloquium: 40th Anniversary of the First Proton-Proton Collisions  

Staff Association

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Théâtre les 50  
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