Patrick Janot receives the CNRS silver medal

On 25 November, Patrick Janot of the CERN Physics Department received the CNRS silver medal for IN2P3 (Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules). This prize, one of the most prestigious awarded by the French research centre, is given to scientists for the 'originality, quality and importance of their work, as recognised both nationally and internationally'.

Patrick Janot joined the ALEPH collaboration, one of the four experiments at LEP, then under construction, in 1987. First a CERN Fellow, he went on to work for the CNRS at LAL in 1989. Together with his team, he developed innovative algorithms for the reconstruction of events. This work and others earned him the bronze CNRS medal in 1993, which is awarded to scientists for their first achievements. In 1997, he became a permanent physicist at CERN, where he continued to work for ALEPH. He was appointed LEP scientific co-ordinator for the last two years of the accelerator's operations in 1999 and 2000. It is especially for his work during this period and his 'central role in the search for the Higgs boson' that Patrick Janot has been recognised by the French institute. Among other things, he distinguished himself by proposing innovative ideas to push the machine' performance to its limits and to achieve an energy of 209 GeV while at the same time optimising luminosity. 'It is in part thanks to his talent, his dedication and his enthusiasm that the LEP II teams were able to experience such a thrilling final year of operations', says IN2P3 in the press release announcing the prize.

Patrick Janot, 43, has been a member of the CMS collaboration for the last four years.