CERN Accelerating science

     
 

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Scintillating crystals: the best things come in small packages

The European project ENDO TOFPET-US, which involves a team from the PH Department, was officially launched last month. Its main objective is to design a high-performance medical imaging device for use in pancreatic cancer research. 13 partners (including three hospitals and three companies) are involved in the initiative, which has obtained funding of 5.5 million euros from the European Union's FP7 programme and will last for four years. >>

One day, Sir, you may tax it

“One day, Sir, you may tax it”… Those are the words I used to get the audience's attention during my talk at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, where I was invited to speak about the science agenda in 2011. For those of you who don’t know the quote, it was Michael Faraday’s response to William Gladstone when asked to comment on the utility of his blue-sky research into the newfangled phenomenon of electricity. >>

LHC Report: finalizing the shutdown activities

The maintenance work and other activities scheduled for the LHC technical stop have now been completed and the electrical, quality assurance and powering tests are in full swing. >>

CERN’s automobile fleet turns a brighter shade of green

CERN is partnering with Services Industriels de Genève (SIG) in an environmentally friendly initiative to acquire cars running on natural gas. The first forty vehicles will arrive at CERN around mid-February, and enter service in March. >>

CERN in the blogosphere

CERN communicates with the outside world in many different ways – websites, publications, through the media and via twitter to name but a few. As of January, CERN has a new way of engaging with the world: a CERN institutional blog. >>

Photowalk Exhibition opens at Microcosm

The winning photographs from the 2010 Global Particle Physics Photowalk competition will go on display at Microcosm from 11 February to 2 April. The exhibition is part of a global photography event taking place over three continents, with Photowalk exhibitions opening simultaneously at Fermilab in the US, KEK in Japan and here at CERN. >>

CERN communication in the spotlight

A rich harvest of important prizes has recently been awarded to CERN communication efforts. The list includes: the European Excellence Award 2010, the physics.org “people’s choice” award for the best children's website, and two prizes in the UK Recruitment Advertising Awards for 2011. Given the high expectations surrounding CERN's future physics results, there is little doubt that the old refrain “the best is yet to come” also applies to communication at CERN. >>

A new EU-funded project for enhanced real-time imaging for radiotherapy

ENTERVISION (European training network for digital imaging for radiotherapy) is a new Marie Curie Initial Training Network coordinated by CERN, which brings together multidisciplinary researchers to carry out R&D; in physics techniques for application in the clinical environment.   >>

AIDA – pushing the boundaries of European particle detector research

AIDA (Advanced European Infrastructures for Detectors at Accelerators), a new project co-funded by the European Union and worth a total of 26 million euros, will be officially launched at CERN next week. The kick-off meeting will take place on 16-18 February, during which Europe-wide detector physicists will come together to begin work on detector infrastructure developments for future particle physics experiments. >>

There's gold in them thar' hills!

A former EN Department trainee, Vincent Gauthier-Manuel, has come away from the 2011 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championship at Sestriere in Italy with three world titles and now has his sights firmly set on the 2014 Paralympics. >>

14 medals for the CERN Ski Club

From 22 to 29 January, the ski resort of La Clusaz in Haute Savoie hosted the 11th Winter Atomiades. With nine gold medals and four silver medals in cross-country skiing, and a bronze medal in downhill skiing, the team from the CERN Ski Club finished third in the medals table. >>

Ombuds’ corner: Compromise or “win-win” solution?

A managerial position in a large project led by CERN became available. Karen* and Walt*, both members of this collaboration and part of the same CERN unit, started to compete for this unique position, as they both felt that they were the most qualified. >>

Official News

Entitlement to vote in the Canton of Geneva and entitlement to vote and eligibility for election in the Canton of Vaud  
Staff Rules and Regulations – modification No. 5 to the 11th edition  
Adjustments to financial benefits and contributions with effect from 1 January 2011  

Training and Development

Academic Training Lecture 2011  
CERN Technical training: Available places in forthcoming courses  
Language training  

Announcements

CERN Shuttle  
Maintenance of the CERN telephone exchanges  

General Information

Information from Carlson Wagonlit Travel  
Cercle Condorcet - Dîner-débat avec Robert Cailliau  
The new Service Desk  
Reminder: Alcohol abuse, road traffic and safety on the site  

Staff Association

Editorial - The winter Atomiades  
Nursery School - Enrollments 2011-2012  
Offer  
Election to the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund  
Interfon  
GAC-EPA