General Information about CERN (Central European Organisation of Nuclear Research) CERN in a nutshell CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter - the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature. The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions. Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States. CERN’s mission Research, technology, collaboration, education The convention that established CERN in 1954 clearly laid down the main missions for the Organization. Primarily, the Convention states; “The Organization shall provide for collaboration among European States in nuclear research of a pure scientific and fundamental character (...). The Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements and the results of its experimental and theoretical work shall be published or otherwise made generally available”. Today it is the contents of the nucleus – the basic building blocks of the Universe – that provide the key to unlock the frontier of fundamental research, but CERN’s main mission remains essentially the same. The Convention also states that CERN shall organize and sponsor international co- operation in research, promoting contacts between scientists and interchange with other laboratories and institutes. This includes dissemination of information, and the provision of advanced training for research workers, which continue to be reflected in the current programmes for technology transfer and education and training at many levels. Research: Seeking and finding answers to questions about the Universe
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General Information about CERN (Central European
Organisation of Nuclear Research)
CERN in a nutshell
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and
most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics,
finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest
and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of
matter - the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles
collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.
The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators
boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other
or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.
Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva.
It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States.
CERN’s mission
Research, technology, collaboration, education
The convention that established CERN in 1954 clearly laid down the main missions for the
Organization.
Primarily, the Convention states;
“The Organization shall provide for collaboration among European States in
nuclear research of a pure scientific and fundamental character (...). The
Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements and the
results of its experimental and theoretical work shall be published or otherwise
made generally available”.
Today it is the contents of the nucleus – the basic building blocks of the Universe – that
provide the key to unlock the frontier of fundamental research, but CERN’s main mission
remains essentially the same.
The Convention also states that CERN shall organize and sponsor international co-
operation in research, promoting contacts between scientists and interchange with other
laboratories and institutes. This includes dissemination of information, and the provision
of advanced training for research workers, which continue to be reflected in the current
programmes for technology transfer and education and training at many levels.
Research: Seeking and finding answers to questions about the Universe
Technology: Advancing the frontiers of technology
Collaborating: Bringing nations together through science
Education: Training the scientists of tomorrow
CERN's structure
The CERN Council is the highest authority of the Organization and has responsibility for
all-important decisions. It controls CERN’s activities in scientific, technical and
administrative matters. The Council approves programmes of activity, adopts the budgets
and reviews expenditure. The Council is assisted by the Scientific Policy Committee and
the Finance Committee.
The Director-General, appointed by the Council, manages the CERN Laboratory. He is
assisted by a Directorate and runs the Laboratory through a structure of Departments.
Council
CERN is run by 20 European Member States, each of which has two official delegates to
the CERN Council. One represents his or her government’s administration; the other
represents national scientific interests. Each Member State has a single vote and most
decisions require a simple majority, although in practice the Council aims for a consensus
as close as possible to unanimity.
Scientific Policy Committee
The Scientific Policy Committee evaluates the scientific merit of activities proposed by
physicists and makes recommendations on CERN’s scientific programme. Its members are
scientists elected by their colleagues on the Committee and appointed by Council on the
basis of scientific eminence without reference to nationality. Some members are also
elected from non-Member States.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee is composed of representatives from national administrations and
deals with all issues relating to financial contributions by the Member States and to the
Organization’s budget and expenditure.
Director-General
Appointed by Council, usually for five years, the Director-General manages CERN. The
Director-General is assisted by a Directorate, whose members he proposes to Council. The
Director-General reports directly to the Council. He can also propose to Council any
adjustment he deems necessary to meet the evolving needs of the research programme.
Directorate
Director-General: Rolf Heuer
Director for Research and Computing: Sergio Bertolucci
Director for Accelerators and Technology: Stephen Myers
Director for Administration and General Infrastructure: Sigurd Lettow
International Relations
Co-ordinator for International Relations: Felicitas Pauss
Heads of Departments
PH - Physics: Philippe Bloch
IT - Information Technology: Frederic Hemmer
BE - Beams: Paul Collier
TE - Technology: Frédérick Bordry
EN - Engineering: Roberto Saban
HR - Human Resources: Anne-Sylvie Catherin
FP -Finance, Procurement and Knowledge Transfer : Thierry Lagrange
GS - General Infrastructure Services: Thomas Pettersson
Directorate Office
Isabel Bejar-Alonso
Ewa Rondio
Emmanuel Tsesmelis
The name CERN
CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The name is derived from the
acronym for the French Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or European
Council for Nuclear Research, a provisional body founded in 1952 with the mandate of
establishing a world-class fundamental physics research organization in Europe. At that
time, pure physics research concentrated on understanding the inside of the atom, hence
the word ‘nuclear’.
When the Organization officially came into being in 1954, the Council was dissolved, and
the new organization was given the title European Organization for Nuclear Research,
although the name CERN was retained.
Today, our understanding of matter goes much deeper than the nucleus, and CERN’s main
area of research is particle physics — the study of the fundamental constituents of matter
and the forces acting between them. Because of this, the laboratory operated by CERN is
commonly referred to as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics.
A global endeavour
CERN is run by 20 European Member States, but many non-European countries are also
involved in different ways. Scientists come from around the world to use CERN’s facilities.
The current Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Romania, Israel and Serbia are candidates to become Member States of CERN.
Member States have special duties and privileges. They make a contribution to the capital
and operating costs of CERN’s programmes, and are represented in the Council,
responsible for all important decisions about the Organization and its activities.
Some states (or international organizations) for which membership is either not possible
or not yet feasible are Observers. ‘Observer’ status allows non-Member States to attend
Council meetings and to receive Council documents, without taking part in the decision-
making procedures of the Organization.
Scientists from some 608 institutes and universities around the world use CERN’s
facilities.
Physicists and their funding agencies from both Member and non-Member States are
responsible for the financing, construction and operation of the experiments on which
they collaborate. CERN spends much of its budget on building new machines (such as the
Large Hadron Collider), and it only partially contributes to the cost of the experiments.
Observer States and Organizations currently involved in CERN programmes are: the
European Commission, India, Japan, the Russian Federation, Turkey, UNESCO and the USA.
Non-Member States with co-operation agreements with CERN are: Algeria, Argentina,