CERN Accelerating science

     
 

CERN
Bulletin

   
 

New life for CERN's first accelerator

Building 300 right in the middle of the CERN site houses a special "antique": the Laboratory's very first accelerator. After several years in the wilderness following its decommissioning in 1990, the Synchrocyclotron is set to take on a new lease of life in the near future, this time as a visitor attraction. >>

The LHC: a week for taking stock, pushing boundaries and for long-term planning

This has been a week full of LHC news, beginning and ending in Paris with results presented by the ATLAS, CMS and LHCb collaborations at the Hadron Collider Physics Symposium, HCP2011. In between came the first lead-ion collisions of 2011, tests with protons and lead-ions circulating in the LHC, and the kick-off meeting for an LHC luminosity upgrade. >>

LHC Report: a record start for LHC ion operation

After the technical stop, the LHC switched over to ion operation, colliding lead-ions on lead-ions. The recovery from the technical stop was very smooth, and records for ion luminosity were set during the first days of ion operation. >>

By invitation only

The Hôtel Métropole in Brussels is a legendary conference venue that will ring a bell to all physicists. 100 years after the first meeting of the Conseil de Physique Solvay, a representative group of the world’s most eminent physicists met again in October this year in the Excelsior Room to discuss “The Theory of the Quantum World”. Three members of CERN's Theory Group were invited to participate. Gian Giudice, one of them, shares with us his thoughts and impressions about this exclusive conference. >>

Hybrid beams in the LHC

The first proton-ion beams were successfully circulated in the LHC a couple of weeks ago. Everything went so smoothly that the LHC teams had planned the first p-Pb collisions for Wednesday, 16 November. Unfortunately, a last-minute problem with a component of the PS required for proton acceleration prevented the LHC teams from making these new collisions. However, the way is open for a possible physics run with proton-lead collisions in 2012. >>

Charming surprise

The CP violation in charm quarks has always been thought to be extremely small. So, looking at particle decays involving matter and antimatter, the LHCb experiment has recently been surprised to observe that things might be different. Theorists are on the case. >>

MapCERN: the CERN map on your mobile

On the initiative of the GS Department, a new smartphone application called MapCERN has just been released. Available in two different versions – one from the Apple Store for iPhones and the other from the web for Android and Blackberry – it will help you to find the building you're looking for more easily. >>

LHC@home is ready to support HiLumi LHC: take part!

Recently relaunched, the LHC@home volunteer computing project is now ready to support the HiLumi LHC project, the design phase of the planned upgrade of the LHC that will increase its luminosity by a factor of 5 to 10 beyond its original design value. HiLumi will need massive simulations to test the beam dynamics. Whether you are at home or at work, you can help experts design the future LHC by connecting your computer to LHC@home. Go for it! >>

“If knowledge were light, there would be an aureole of light over CERN!”

On Tuesday, 8 October, CERN welcomed Jean de Toledo, aged 100 years and 1 month (as he is eager to point out). He is the president of the “Pharmacies principales de Genève” and has a passion for physics. >>

Care to dance?

The second part of the artistic programme Collide@CERN was officially launched at the beginning of November. The initiative, a dance and performance award, is the result of a partnership between CERN, the City of Geneva and the Canton of Geneva. >>

Celebrating staff members with 25 years of service

The 27 staff members who are celebrating 25 years at CERN in 2011 were invited by the Director-General to a reception in their honour on 8 November. >>

A Saturday of science: inspiring young girls' careers

On 12 November, more than 240 girls aged 9-14 descended upon the Geneva University science building for the second Geneva edition of Expand Your Horizons. This initiative, started in the United States in 1974, aims to inspire young girls to consider scientific careers by giving them a chance to do fun, hands-on experiments in all sorts of technical and scientific fields.  >>

Raise your defence: a baseline for security

It is an unfair imbalance: the (computer) security of a system/service is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain of protection. This provides attackers with an incredible advantage: they can choose when to attack, where and with which means. The defence side is permanently under pressure: they must defend at all times all assets against all eventualities. For computer security, this means that every computer system, every account, every web site and every service must be properly protected --- always. >>

Ombuds’ corner: responsibility and reporting

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: newspapers anyone? Try PressDisplay!

PressDisplay is an online portal where you can browse and read online articles from more than 1,900 newspapers from 95 countries, as soon as they are published. With Pressdisplay, the time when newspapers were nicely displayed on wooden rods in libraries has passed... >>

Official News

Procedure for obtaining visas for Switzerland and France  

Announcements

CERN car sharing scheme now open to everyone  
Geneva University: Searches for Exotic Physics with leptons with the ATLAS detector  
LIU 2011 event  
94TH ACCU MEETING  
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Flagstaff Car-Park and Park-and-Ride (P+R)  
CERN Electronics Pool presentations  
New Procedure for Account Operations at the CERN Service Desk  

Staff Association

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