CERN Accelerating science

     
 

CERN
Bulletin

   
 

Prevention is better than cure

Throughout the year, members of the Safety Inspections Services section of HSE Unit devote themselves to ensuring the safety of all infrastructure and equipment that represent a specific hazard within the Organization. They regularly comb through all CERN's infrastructure to forestall any accidents and their potential impact, true to the adage that prevention is better than cure. >>

Route de Meyrin-CERN: and the winner is...

Last night, CERN’s engagement with society took an important step forward with the unveiling of the winner of the architectural competition for the Route de Meyrin between CERN’s entrances A and B. The winning entry is a project entitled “Metaphoros”, entered by Studio Bürgi of Ticino. >>

LHC Report: The machine under maintenance

The LHC Christmas break started on 12 December. Since then, teams have been working hard to complete all the maintenance work planned to ensure the reliable operation of the LHC in 2012. >>

Behind the scenes at FameLab, the international competition for young scientists

FameLab is an international science communication competition for young researchers and science teachers aged 18 to 35. At CERN, preparations are under way to recruit participants, advertise the event to the public and organise the regional semi-finals for Suisse Romande, which will take place on Saturday, 4 February 2012 in the Globe of Science and Innovation. The Bulletin looks ahead to the forthcoming event… >>

Funding innovation

For the first time, six knowledge and technology transfer activities are set to benefit from a dedicated fund made available by the Knowledge Transfer group. This initiative cements CERN’s commitment to sharing its technological knowledge and expertise with society. >>

Data goes faster than ever

Using store-bought computers and commercially available optical fibre lines, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the University of Victoria, the University of Michigan, CERN and Florida International University broke the world speed record for LHC data transfer. They caught the attention of HEP experiments worldwide – including the LHC – which rely on ever-improving technology to share their results. >>

New solutions for data management on the horizon

Almost all large-scale scientific experiments, including those at CERN, manage their data using relational databases, accessible with a programming language called SQL (Structured Query Language). But, as the amount of data continues to grow, there are also growing doubts that relational databases are the best solution. >>

Visiting CERN… like “common people”

Paul Young, the British pop star who made his name in the 80s, came to visit CERN on 17 December. His son brought him here because of his passion for science in general and physics in particular. Father and son found the visit exciting and CERN’s activities really thrilling. We could even expect a surprise for Paul's next visit… >>

Inspired at a book fair

During the Frankfurt book fair last October, the CERN stand drew quite the crowd. Director-General Rolf Heuer was there to promote CERN’s mission and the "LHC: the Large Hadron Collider" book. He met a lot of visitors and for one of them there was also a nice follow-up… >>

Serbian President visits CERN

On Tuesday 10 January, Serbian President Boris Tadić visited the Laboratory to sign the Agreement of granting the status of Associate Membership as the pre-stage to full Membership of CERN.  >>

Science Hack Day uses CMS data

Science Hack events: a new way for scientists, designers and other techno-savvy people to interact. The most recent Science Hack Day was held in San Francisco and with it the CMS collaboration found an original and simple way to present its data. Science Hack events: a new way for scientists, designers and other techno-savvy people to interact. The most recent Science Hack Day was held in San Francisco and with it the CMS collaboration found an original and simple way to present its data. >>

Not just for printing: new services from the CERN Printshop

The CERN Printshop is introducing a series of new services to complement its existing ones. Laminating services, conference badges, tubes for posters and a new way of ordering external printing are all now available. >>

Why I like power cuts...

Accidental power cuts - a permanent nuisance when running accelerators or computing services, since it takes a lot of time to recover from them. While I feel very sorry for those who are under pressure to get their service running again and deeply regret the loss of down-time and availability, I must admit that I like power cuts: power cuts make computers reboot! And rebooting computers at CERN means all the pending software patches are automatically applied. >>

Ombuds’ corner: Two striking features from last year

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: Learning a profession at the CERN Library

As you all know, training is very important at CERN, and each year the Organization welcomes thousands of students in various areas. However, did you know that it is also possible to learn the profession of Library Assistant (Agent en Information Documentaire - AID)? >>

Official News

Pension payment dates in 2012  
Extension of the pre-retirement programmes  
Administrative Circular No. 26 (Rev. 9) – Recognition of Merit  
Adjustments to financial benefits and contributions with effect from 1 January 2012  
Residence in Switzerland of partners of members of the personnel  

Training and Development

Safety Training: places available in February  
English Course  
CERN Technical training: Available places in forthcoming courses  
Novelties on Sharepoint Collaboration Workspace  

Announcements

Results of the Route de Meyrin - CERN international competition  
Accelerator and Technical Sector Seminar: Future neutrino facilities: the neutrino factory  
Geneva University: New frontiers on photodetection   
Health, hygiene and safety in the workplace and the MARS interview  
R.I.P. Computer Animal Shelter  
Model United Nations at CERN  

Events

Lecture: Broken mirrors, lost antimatter, hidden matter-inquiries into the turbulent beginnings of the universe  
Concert: Florilège  

Staff Association

2011 : Qu'elle année !  
Banque cantonale de Genève (BCGE)  
Dancing Club  
Car Club  
Yoga Club  
Learning Classical Music Club  
Théâtre de Carouge  
Théâtre Le Poche  
GAC-EPA  
Interfon