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Of the tens of thousands of particle accelerators in operation worldwide, only a few are used to explore the fundamental constituents of the Universe. The rest are used in industry and for medical purposes, such as cancer therapy.
A group of international students recently completed a challenge to come up with new ways in which particle accelerator technologies can be used to address some of healthcare’s most pressing issues.
The fourth Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) event, hosted at CERN and the European Scientific Institute in Archamps from 22 to 31 July, was part of the European-Union-funded I.FAST project, which aims to enhance innovation in accelerator physics to meet the increasing demands from applied science, industry and medicine.
Four teams, made up of six students each, were tasked to come up with new ways in which accelerators could be used to tackle healthcare issues, and to think about how to pitch their ideas to potential investors. The teams comprised physicians, life scientists, chemists, physicists and engineers, and represented 14 countries and 18 different nationalities. They spent nine days learning about accelerators and receiving mentoring on start-ups, pitching and communication, and then proposed their ideas to a panel of expert judges at CERN on 31 July.
The winning team, IrradiAID+, suggested an innovative approach to combating antibiotic resistance using targeted Auger electron therapy. Their idea set out a way to tackle methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – commonly known as MRSA – with targeted radionuclide therapy using very-low-energy electrons (Auger electrons or AEs). The idea of using AEs for MRSA is new and stems from investigations into using a similar approach to treat cancer. The IrradiAID+ team suggested a novel radiopharmaceutical for the procedure, based on its optimal properties.
“We worked a lot and I learned a lot about things that are not in my area of expertise,” said team member Ajla Džaka, a master’s student in electrical engineering at the University of Sarajevo. “What I loved was that if we had a problem that we couldn’t solve we could go to another team and ask them – it was a nice environment to work in.”
The other three participating teams also received high praise from the judges for the quality of their proposals:
“This year’s student projects were impressive,” says accelerator physicist and CBI coordinator Nicolas Delerue of Université Paris-Saclay. “I am convinced that this is a great investment for their future and for Europe’s future.”
The fourth CBI event is the last under the current I.FAST project. Participants are encouraged to continue working on their ideas, and all four teams from the fourth edition expressed an interest in doing so. Two teams from previous CBI editions have carried out validation experiments, with one team forming a startup.
Read more on the I.FAST project website.
abelchio Tue, 08/26/2025 - 12:00 Byline Thomas Brent Publication Date Wed, 08/27/2025 - 09:30Arts at CERN and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia are delighted to announce the extension of the Connect collaboration framework and the launch of a new edition: Connect Argentina. This dual residency programme has selected Argentinian artist Juan Sorrentino and Swiss artist Céline Manz to undertake a shared residency split between CERN and the Pierre Auger Observatory, organised in partnership with the Presente Continuo - Arts & Science Program by the Fundación Bunge y Born and the Fundación Williams. Connect Argentina offers artists a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in two scientific and cultural settings, cultivating new artistic perspectives through engagement with research communities in Switzerland and Argentina.
Launched in 2021, Connect has established itself as a vital platform for artistic experimentation in connection with fundamental science. With its framework extended until 2028, the programme has strengthened its mission to foster dialogue between artists and scientists through residencies at CERN and other international laboratories. Connect will support two dual residencies each year. In each edition, one artist from Switzerland and one from the partner country will share residencies at CERN and a partner scientific institution, supported by Arts at CERN and local cultural organisations.
This edition brings together two world-leading institutions dedicated to fundamental physics. At CERN, scientists and engineers probe the constituents of matter using the world’s most complex accelerators and detectors. On the pampas of western Argentina, the Pierre Auger Observatory studies high-energy cosmic rays from outer space.
“I am delighted to renew our long-term partnership with Pro Helvetia through the launch of Connect Argentina, marking the start of a new cycle of dual residencies. This collaboration fosters transnational and intercultural exchange, providing a unique platform for the arts to engage in meaningful dialogue with fundamental scientific research,” explains Giulia Bini, Head of Arts at CERN.
Juan Sorrentino is a Buenos-Aires-based sound artist and experimental musician. He creates sonic sculptures and installations that explore visual language, nature, poetry and collective imagination. His project, entitled Cherenkov Tides – ψ(r,t), reinterprets cosmic and subatomic phenomena through sound, vibration and light. In collaboration with particle physicists and astrophysicists, he will explore new materialisations of sound and design sonification algorithms to create a perceptual environment of the invisible matter of the Universe.
Céline Manz is a research-based, multidisciplinary artist based in Basel. Drawing on theory, archives and experimentation, her practice focuses on the mediation of power relations through cultural practices. Her proposal, Echoes from the Void, connects scientific research on cosmic rays at both institutions with a critical historiography of knowledge politics in physics. Centring on the contributions of scientists Marietta Blau and Bibha Chowdhuri, the work combines field recordings, early photographic records and physics data sonification to interlace historical and contemporary scientific inquiry through sonic and somatic experience.
The residency will begin in autumn 2025 with a three-week stay in Argentina, split between Buenos Aires and the Pierre Auger Observatory. In early 2026, the artists will continue their research with a three-week residency at CERN.
“We are pleased to mark the ninth edition of Connect, which deepens our ongoing collaboration with Arts at CERN. The residency programme invites artists from diverse backgrounds to engage with processes of societal innovation, while nurturing a growing global network of artists, scientists and technologists who collectively explore the frontiers of art, science and cultural dialogue,” says Leonie Thalmann, Head of Global Encounters and Initiatives at Pro Helvetia.
The jury was composed of Fabiana Barreda, artist; Giulia Bini, Head of Arts at CERN, Geneva; Alejandrina D’Elia, General Coordination at Presente Continuo, Buenos Aires; Lucie Kolb, Professor of Critical Publishing, Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW; Pablo La Padula, artist; Yasmin Naderi Afschar, co-director of the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zurich; and Silvana Spadaccini, General Coordination at Presente Continuo, Buenos Aires.
rodrigug Tue, 08/26/2025 - 11:15 Publication Date Tue, 08/26/2025 - 14:00Ambassador Benedikt Wechsler visited CERN in style on 15 August, at the wheel of a UNESCO-branded Microlino electric car. Newly appointed as Permanent Representative of Switzerland to UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), his “Swiss@UNESCO – Diplomacy on Wheels” tour has taken him across the country and naturally included a visit to CERN.
While on site, his visit included Route Isidor Rabi, named after the United States delegate to UNESCO who helped to create CERN in 1952. Indeed, the original CERN Convention and the instruments of ratification of all CERN Member States are deposited with UNESCO, and collaborations between our two organisations continue.
As a laboratory committed to environmentally responsible research, we wish the energy-efficient, eco-friendly UNESCO Microlino all the best as it continues its journey.
ehatters Wed, 08/20/2025 - 16:43 Publication Date Wed, 08/20/2025 - 16:39The summer of luminosity production is well under way. As of 19 August, the LHC had delivered 55 fb⁻¹ to both ATLAS and CMS, compared with the initial target for this date of 60 fb⁻¹. This means we are still slightly behind the predicted luminosity curve. The gap is slowly closing, but we are not there yet.
When the LHC is running smoothly, the production curve rises more steeply than forecast, and catching up can take just a week or two. Unfortunately, several periods of beam stop have slowed progress, caused by a variety of issues within the LHC and the injector chain (e.g. electrical disturbances, loss of cryogenic conditions, and the failure of an SPS magnet that required replacement).
One particularly intriguing event may have simply been a coincidence, but it nevertheless raised some questions. At 1.25 a.m. on 30 July, a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Kamchatka in the Russian Far East, just as the LHC was preparing to inject beam. Just after 2.00 a.m., the orbit of the freshly injected beams began to oscillate, most noticeably in the horizontal plane, as illustrated in the image below. Unfortunately, this beam was dumped around 4.45 a.m. due to a disturbance in the electrical network, which caused some issues at Point 8 and required an operation in the tunnel.
Display with the horizontal average orbits of beam 1 (blue) and beam 2 (red) with unusual excursions that come and go and could be consistent with the earthquake or aftershocks. The average vertical orbits of beam 1 (light blue) and beam 2 (orange) are less impacted, which is also consistent. (Image: CERN)During the orbit excursions, beam losses were also recorded. These were traced to a sudden and brief rise in vacuum pressure of about a hundredfold near Point 2 but on the side towards Point 1. After the spike, the pressure gradually decreased again. Similar vacuum activity was observed in subsequent fills, prompting the vacuum experts to request access in order to take X-ray images of the affected part of the LHC machine. The X-ray scans revealed a problem in a radiofrequency (RF) finger module, a component that ensures electrical continuity at the join between two vacuum chambers. The images showed that the spring, which should press the fingers tightly against the chamber wall, had lost its tension and no longer provided reliable contact. Without this contact, electrical sparks can occur as the beam passes, which in turn trigger the sudden spikes in vacuum pressure.
X-ray images of two different RF finger modules. On the left, an RF finger module that is compliant, with on the right-hand side of the photo the spring pulling the RF finger against the vacuum chamber. On the right, the non-compliant RF finger module, showing on the left-hand side the RF finger converging and no longer pulled against the vacuum chamber. On the bottom left-hand side, the loose spring is visible. (Image: Josef Sestak/CERN)This may sound familiar, as we faced a similar issue on 25 May 2023 when two successive beam dumps occurred during acceleration due to slow local beam losses. The source was ultimately traced to an RF finger module in a warm section near Point 1 that was heating up, or arcing. At that time, the beam performance was limited by the issue, and the RF finger module was replaced in the days following the event. Only five days after the event occurred, beams were back in the LHC.
As a preventive measure, many of the most critical RF finger modules were replaced during the subsequent year-end technical stop with improved versions designed for the HL-LHC. However, not all the modules could be changed, including the one responsible for this month’s issue.
This time, following the detailed procedure established after the 2023 event, the LHC was initially filled with fewer bunches, while vacuum activity was closely monitored by experts. A careful, stepwise ramp-up in the number of bunches then took place. Some vacuum activity was observed, but never to a level requiring the immediate replacement of the RF finger module.
The LHC is now running with this non-compliant RF finger module at nominal performance as planned, with 2460 bunches per beam, each containing 1.6×10¹¹ protons at the start of collision. The vacuum activity remains low and acceptable and, in some cycles, no noticeable activity at all is observed.
What will happen to the module is still to be determined. While repeated X-ray inspections have not shown any change in its condition, its behaviour could still evolve over time. Plans for the final quarter of 2025 also include an increase in the number of protons per bunch. The LHC Machine Committee (LMC) together with the ATS management will now take these considerations into account and decide on the best course of action.
One final question remains: was the timing of the RF finger module issue pure coincidence, or triggered by the Kamchatka earthquake and a subtle shaking of the LHC tunnel and machine? Personally, I lean towards coincidence, but we will never be entirely sure…
ehatters Wed, 08/20/2025 - 10:56 Byline Rende Steerenberg Publication Date Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:53At any moment in time, CERN is training thousands of young people across a large spectrum of competencies, providing society with a continuous stream of talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics who have been trained in a truly international environment.
A key aspect of this work is the annual CERN Summer Student programme, which provides unique training opportunities to bachelor’s and master’s students and gives them a deep insight into the world of particle physics research. This summer, 341 students from more than 100 countries arrived on campus for placements across the Organization lasting from 8 to 13 weeks.
These paid placements allow students to work on a wide range of physics, engineering and computing projects through both the Summer Student programme and the computer-science-focused openlab summer programme. In addition to making real contributions to CERN research, the students get to attend a series of lectures given by researchers at the top of their respective fields, visit CERN facilities and take part in a variety of discussion sessions and workshops. For many students, the programme is an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone.
Constanza Valdivieso presenting her radiation protection research at the student poster event. (Image: CERN)“My investigation is something that I never expected to do, and it’s great to discover new areas of physics,” says Constanza Valdivieso from the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Chile, who worked with the International Muon Collider collaboration. Support from her supervisors and the “super friendly” researchers in her office ensured she could make progress, and Valdivieso now plans to return to CERN by undertaking a PhD on the SHiP experiment, which will investigate neutrinos and hypothetical dark-matter particles.
Agathe Fremont, an engineering physics student at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology, emphasised how she valued developing soft skills in parallel with technical training, including “how best to communicate with other students and my supervisor to find solutions to problems”. Having spent the summer researching cosmic-ray muons with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, Fremont described CERN as an “incredible” environment that is “the best place for science”.
“Summer students question assumptions that we usually make for our projects and bring in new ways of thinking that help to advance our research,” says Fremont’s supervisor, Kostas Ntekas of UC Irvine. “Over the years, I have seen how the programme really sparks the students’ interest and enhances their motivation to carry on with their studies, with several returning to work at CERN after graduation.”
Summer students question assumptions that we usually make for our projects and bring in new ways of thinking that help to advance our research.Although the application process is highly competitive, summer student Sera Conti from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and Politecnico di Milano, Italy, urges interested students not to be put off. “You need to stand out, but I think people have the wrong idea about what outstanding is: you need to be specific about the kind of experience you have and really write through it, showing what those few lines on your CV really mean.”
If you’re a physics, computing, engineering or maths student looking for a unique way to spend next summer, applications for the 2026 CERN Summer Student programme will open in January. Students of any nationality can apply, including – thanks to the CERN & Society Foundation – those from countries that are not members of CERN.
See what a summer student's average day is like in this video:
View this post on InstagramA post shared by CERN (@CERN Mattermost)
ehatters Tue, 08/19/2025 - 16:18 Byline Emma Hattersley Publication Date Tue, 08/19/2025 - 16:00Global media coverage of artificial intelligence (AI) has recently exploded, but CERN’s excellence in the field can be traced as far back as 1987. However, the fast-evolving nature of AI makes it essential for the whole CERN community to develop the skills needed to use it competently, safely and ethically. The CERN AI Steering Committee (CAISC) was therefore set up in April 2025 to define a strategy and supporting governance structure that will promote a coherent and collaborative approach to AI across the Organization. CAISC, which incorporates many pre-existing CERN AI initiatives and strategies, presented its initial proposals in June during Council week.
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics emphasised how AI is carving out new routes to groundbreaking scientific discoveries, highlighting the strong relationship between physics and AI. Research at CERN has reflected this relationship, with AI currently being integrated into data processing, event simulations and numerous other processes including improved triggers for the HL-LHC and accelerator controls. CERN’s AI research is also impacting wider society through projects such as CAFEINTM. Initially developed to detect accelerator anomalies, CAFEINTM is now used to diagnose and predict brain pathologies, improving outcomes for stroke patients across Europe.
As the technological demands of particle physics research increase with the HL-LHC and beyond, the benefits of using AI are only likely to grow. A plethora of potential uses exists across the Organization, including large-scale software, device integration, commercial products and CERN-developed innovations. To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, CAISC aims to engage experts and foster communication and collaboration, helping CERN to identify common AI activities, tools and infrastructure needs.
Wider adoption of the technology will also introduce new risks alongside its benefits, with some, such as data privacy, already being mitigated. To continue to address these challenges, CAISC plans to run an AI awareness campaign, identify training requirements and develop a new CERN policy for AI usage.
CERN’s unique environment and proven AI track record give the Organization a fantastic opportunity to shape the future of open, ethical AI driven by high-energy physics. Equipping tomorrow’s physicists and engineers with world-leading AI skills will play a vital role in sustaining CERN’s scientific excellence and talent pipeline. Efforts towards these goals will be outlined in an initial proposal for a unified CERN-wide AI strategy planned for the end of 2025. Built on strategies already independently produced by various sectors across CERN, this strategy will be firmly rooted in the Organization’s core values and evolve alongside European and Member State initiatives. CERN’s intelligent approach to artificial intelligence is under way.
CERN project wins AI for Good award
The award-winning CAFEINTM project is presented at the AI for Good Summit, which took place in Geneva from 8 to 11 July 2025. (Image: CERN)Congratulations to the CAFEINTM project, which won an Innovate for Impact in Healthcare Award at the AI for Good Summit for its application to the TRUSTroke and UMBRELLA projects. CAFEINTM uses a decentralised and secure approach to train machine-learning algorithms without exchanging confidential data. This technology transfer from accelerators to healthcare was initiated thanks to seed funding from CERN’s medical applications budget and developed using solely external funds. The improved model will now efficiently and sustainably support CERN accelerator operations and research.
ehatters Tue, 08/19/2025 - 15:31 Publication Date Tue, 08/19/2025 - 15:22
As CERN computing equipment must meet highly specific efficiency requirements, it is often retired despite being still useful for less exacting environments. Since 2012, CERN has regularly donated computing equipment to countries and other international organisations, to be used in education-related contexts.
Through this programme, CERN shipped equipment to Fayoum University in Egypt in July. A member of the CMS collaboration since 2019, the university received its first donation of equipment in 2020, which was then used to create its Super Computing Lab, inaugurated in 2024.
As part of this second instalment, Fayoum University received more than 19 000 terabytes of storage capacity, more than 5000 processing cores, high-performance switches and a storage unit.
During his visit to CERN on 30 July, Ayman Ashour, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, commented: “This phase two donation goes beyond computational infrastructure; it is a catalyst for innovation. It is not merely equipment – it is an invitation to dream bigger, reach farther, and unite in the pursuit of discovery. Together, we prove that science knows no borders.”
ehatters Tue, 08/19/2025 - 15:16 Publication Date Tue, 08/19/2025 - 15:13An event at CERN’s IdeaSquare held on 8 August demonstrated how citizen science and novel artificial intelligence (AI) techniques developed at the Large Hadron Collider can contribute to combating plastic pollution. The IdeaSquare event was part of a programme of side events aimed at attendees of INC-5.2 – the second part of the fifth session of an intergovernmental negotiating committee established by the United Nations in 2022 to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, which is meeting in Geneva from 5 to 14 August.
In 2024 a European Union project called Edge SpAIce was established to use CERN’s expertise in data management to combat marine plastic litter. The aim of the project is to develop an on-board system for satellites that will make it possible to acquire and process high-resolution pictures using a deep neural network. The system will process data in near real time directly on the satellite, mirroring the efficient filtering of data in particle detectors at the Large Hadron Collider.
The IdeaSquare event “Citizen Science and AI to combat plastic pollution”, which was organised by the Polarquest Association in partnership with Edge SpAIce, included presentations and workshops by experts in citizen science, AI, marine biology and geography. More than 70 delegates from the UN Plastic Treaty INC-5.2 session attended the event and toured CERN’s facilities.
The unique combination of AI and citizen science promises to make monitoring and implementation of Plastic Treaty rules more efficient and accessible: AI can process thousands of satellite and drone images to map pollution in real time, while citizens can perform ground-truthing and can help AI systems learn and improve. “Together, they enable faster responses, smarter policies, and stronger community engagement in reducing plastic waste,” said speaker Rosy Mondardini, Director of Research at Citizen Science Zurich (UZH and ETH Zurich).
“For this ‘once-in-a-planet’ opportunity to succeed, we have to ensure that science plays a pivotal role,” said marine biologist Stefano Aliani (CNR-ISMAR), who is a member of the International Science Council delegation at INC-5 and spoke at the event on the importance of science-based decisions.
Watch the IdeaSquare event:
Programme and presentations:
https://indico.cern.ch/event/1562356/
Deploying watertight and 100% secure IT services and applications belongs to the dream world. No single software has ever proven 100% secure. Which is normal. Which is natural. Which is human. As, usually and despite ChatGPT entering this scene, too, IT services and applications are designed, architected, developed and deployed by humans. And humans make mistakes. Still, some mistakes can be avoided. The usual blunder. The basic errors that others have made in the past. The phase space of mistakes is so vast that repeating those already made by others is just a waste of energy. There are libraries full of books on software engineering, secure coding practices and the most dangerous programming errors. There are standards and best practices. Unfortunately, these are all long compendiums, with many pages, lots of details and sometimes a complicated and “heavy” language. Let’s try a shorter version. Security: easily applied!
So, to make your life easier, the Computer Security Office has compiled four shortlists of so-called “Security Principles”. They contain the essence of how to properly apply a first layer of security best practices to your operating system, container, virtual machine or web application and how to develop software in a secure way. They are split into the MUST do, SHOULD do and COULD do for further guidance. And we suggest you have a read-through to improve your skills, deepen your knowledge and help further secure CERN:
Where possible, these Security Principles give examples and links to more technical details on how to apply each principle to your, e.g. Linux or Windows servers, Kubernetes or Docker containers, Apache or nginx web server. Have a read. Check them out. Apply them. Security: easily applied.
Please note that, for the moment, although they are mandated by CERN’s Computing Rules (i.e. its Subsidiary Rules DEV2 and OPS2), these Security Principles are not yet enforced. However, during 2026 the Computer Security Office will start reviewing all IT services and all web applications for compliance with the Principles. Non-compliant services, especially those without any upgrade plan, might lose their access to the internet in order to better protect the Organization (as also required by the 2023 CERN cybersecurity audit’s recommendation R-5.1 and others). So, have a read now. Check them out now. Apply them now. And let us know what worked and what worked less well. Security: easily applied (we believe)!
Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.
ehatters Tue, 08/12/2025 - 15:18 Byline Computer Security Office Publication Date Tue, 08/12/2025 - 15:13AWAKE, a CERN experiment that explores how to make particle accelerators more compact, has become the first facility to pause operations for CERN’s third long shutdown (LS3). While most of CERN’s accelerator complex will enter LS3 in mid-2026, AWAKE ended operations on 1 June to begin a series of significant improvements.
Existing accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider, use radio-frequency fields inside metallic chambers to give charged particles a kick in energy. Plasma – a state of matter in which some atoms are freed of their electrons – could allow higher energies to be achieved over shorter distances.
AWAKE’s acceleration technique uses a proton beam from CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) to create crests and troughs in a plasma’s electric field, which can then be used to accelerate particles such as electrons. Such “wakefields” can be compared to a speedboat displacing water as it travels, explains project leader Edda Gschwendtner: “This boat – the proton beam – drives wakefields behind it, and then you inject some surfers, or electrons, which surf on the waves and get accelerated. The higher the amplitude of the wakefields, the higher the energy of the electrons.”
In its initial 2016 – 2018 run, AWAKE became the first experiment in the world to demonstrate that electrons could be accelerated to multi-GeV energy levels in a wakefield driven by protons, rather than electrons or a laser. The first phase of its second run, which began in 2021 and ended on 1 June this year, showed how proton bunches drive and maintain high-amplitude wakefields over the entire 10-metre-long plasma medium. As Gschwendtner explained, “when the proton beam enters the plasma it starts to self-modulate, meaning it produces small bunches that resonantly drive strong wakefields”.
Researchers now want to show that the quality of the electron beam can be controlled while the electrons are accelerated to a high energy and that this process is scalable. To facilitate this, AWAKE needs to be upgraded, including through the installation of a new electron beam system and an additional plasma source. The first plasma source will act as the self-modulator of the proton beam and the second will accelerate externally injected electrons in the proton-driven plasma wakefields to 4-10 GeV over 10 metres.
Increasing the size of AWAKE to incorporate these changes is challenging as it is located upstream of a chamber previously used by the CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso (CNGS)experiment. CNGS involved directing an SPS proton beam onto a graphite target to produce a neutrino beam that was sent towards the Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy.
This process made the target and its shielding material highly radioactive, so their dismantling and removal requires dedicated protection measures. The complex process is now under way to make room for the expanded AWAKE experiment, and a new building to house and treat the dismantled CNGS material has already been constructed.
To spread the demands on CERN’s workforce, the dismantling and removal process is scheduled to be largely completed before other experiments enter LS3 in July 2026. The improved version of AWAKE will then be constructed before the start of the SPS proton run in 2029, when tests of the new set-up will commence. AWAKE’s goal, to accelerate particles to far higher energies over a far shorter distance, will then be one step closer to realisation.
ehatters Tue, 08/12/2025 - 12:33 Byline Emma Hattersley Publication Date Tue, 08/12/2025 - 12:22The atomic nucleus was discovered over a century ago, yet many questions remain about the force that keeps its constituent protons and neutrons together and the way in which these particles pack themselves together within it.
In the classic nuclear shell model, protons and neutrons arrange themselves in shells of increasing energy, and completely filled outer shells of protons or neutrons result in particularly stable “magic” nuclei. But the model only works for nuclei with the right mix of protons and neutrons. Get the wrong mix and the model breaks down.
Identifying the regions on the chart of nuclei where this breakdown occurs is keeping nuclear physicists busy worldwide. The goal? To develop a model that applies to all nuclei and leads to a deeper understanding of their internal structure.
In a paper just published in Physical Review C, Louis Lalanne and his colleagues report data from CERN’s ISOLDE facility that allowed them to determine the western border of one such region – the “island of inversion” associated with the neutron number 40.
The 40-neutron island of inversion is one of only a few small islands of unusual nuclei in a sea of mostly “normal” nuclei at the neutron-rich edge of the nuclear chart. In these insular regions, the usual order of nuclear shell filling breaks down and neutrons occupy shells other than those where we expect to find them. This uncommon shell filling gives these nuclei unusual shapes and properties compared to their neighbours.
To explore the 40-neutron island of inversion, Lalanne and his co-workers used ISOLDE, a unique facility for the production and study of nuclei that have too many or too few neutrons to be stable. Specifically, they created and investigated the little-studied chromium-61 nucleus, which has 24 protons and 37 neutrons and was thought to be located right at the western shore of the 40-neutron island of inversion.
Using measurements taken with the facility’s collinear resonance ionisation spectroscopy (CRIS) apparatus, which allows neutron-rich nuclei to be studied with high precision, the researchers determined two properties of chromium-61 known as spin and magnetic dipole moment.
Paired with theoretical calculations, these measurements showed that chromium-61 has a shell-filling configuration that lies between the one expected for nuclei located outside the 40-neutron island of inversion and that expected for nuclei that lie within it – thus determining the western border of the 40-neutron island of inversion.
"The ultimate goal is to understand how nuclear structure emerges and evolves across the nuclear landscape,“ says Louis Lalanne. "Islands of inversion are important because they represent regions of rapid evolution that challenge our understanding. This result is helping us to build a clearer picture of the mechanism driving this evolution."
abelchio Tue, 08/05/2025 - 14:37 Byline Ana Lopes Publication Date Tue, 09/02/2025 - 17:00In my last Report, I announced the completion of the first proton physics run of the 2025 LHC schedule and the start of a series of special runs. These included the oxygen and neon ion runs, as well as Van de Meer (VdM) scans to calibrate the luminosity monitors in the experiments. At that time, the integrated luminosity had reached 24 fb-1.
Since then, and despite a tight schedule, all the special runs have been successfully completed thanks to both the good availability of the LHC machine and the excellent, very close collaboration between the machine team and the experiment teams. However, the ion run was extended by one day for neon-neon collisions, and the VdM run took significantly more time to complete than originally planned. The time needed to carry out the many precision scans and measurements had been underestimated. If a scan is interrupted (e.g. by a beam dump), the entire scan has to be redone with a new fill, as beam conditions vary slightly from one fill to another and consistency is required for good calibration results.
As a result, luminosity production has fallen behind the original forecast. Fortunately, the high availability of the LHC and the excellent beam quality delivered by the injectors have enabled the luminosity production rates to be slightly improved, and the trend in the luminosity production curve indicates that we are gradually catching up with the forecast (see graph below). We are counting on the summer period, which is typically calmer in terms of machine studies and special runs, to maintain a high production rate. The goal is to reach around 72 fb⁻¹ by the start of the second machine development (MD) block on 1 September.
The integrated luminosity prediction (green line) and the integrated luminosity actually achieved for ATLAS (blue dots) and CMS (black dots). The coloured areas represent the first MD block (blue), a technical stop (green), the oxygen and neon ion runs (yellow) and the VdM run (red). During these periods, the proton-based luminosity production was close to zero. The flat dotted line after the coloured periods shows that the VdM calibration run took more time than scheduled to complete. Luminosity production resumed with a short intensity ramp-up starting around the middle of July and the full production rate was achieved again on 19 July. The slope of the luminosity production is presently steeper than forecast, indicating that we are catching up. (Image: CERN)Today’s LHC performance is based on beams of 2460 bunches per beam, each containing 1.6 × 10¹¹ protons when the beams collide at an energy of 6.8 TeV per beam.
Over recent years, in particular after the LHC Injectors Upgrade (LIU) during Long Shutdown 2 (LS2), the teams responsible for the injector complex have worked intensively to prepare for the HL-LHC beam. This high-intensity and high brightness beam, reaching up to 2.3 × 10¹¹ protons per bunch, is now available in the injectors. However, the current LHC machine cannot safely handle such a bright and intense beam until the HL-LHC project has been completed, after LS3.
That said, there is still some margin with the present LHC set-up to increase the bunch intensity to around 1.8 × 10¹¹ protons per bunch, even if it is physically constrained by electron cloud effects, which limit the total beam intensity (a product of both the number of bunches and the bunch intensity). We must also keep in mind that pushing the beam intensity higher may reveal other – as yet unknown – limitations in the machine that could require a temporary stop of beam operations. This is something we want to avoid, especially during a key luminosity production phase. However, there are significant advantages in gaining operational experience with higher bunch intensities in preparation for the jump to HL-LHC bunch intensity levels after LS3.
To balance these considerations, a conservative strategy was outlined at the beginning of 2025, consisting of achieving a solid integrated luminosity before considering a stepwise increase in bunch intensity.
At a meeting of the LHC Machine Committee (LMC) later in August, experts in the field and the management of the Accelerators and Technology Sector (ATS) will discuss the possibility of increasing the bunch intensity towards a target of 1.8 × 10¹¹ protons per bunch while carefully evaluating input from all the equipment groups and the potential risks.
On the injectors side, the complex is running very well, delivering protons to the fixed-target facilities with high availability. Preparations for the final weeks of the 2025 run are already under way.
Following the intense period of oxygen and neon ion runs, the Linac3 source underwent a period of maintenance, during which it was switched back to lead (Pb) ion production. On 25 July, a week ahead of schedule, the Pb ion beam was successfully accelerated again in Linac3. The next steps include delivery of the Pb ion beam to LEIR on 15 September, followed by injection into the PS on 6 October and into the SPS on 13 October. These steps are all part of the lead-ion preparations for the upcoming Pb–Pb and possibly proton-Pb physics run in the LHC and for the Pb physics run in the PS East Area and SPS North Area, which are scheduled for the final weeks of the 2025 run, which will end at 6.00 a.m. on 8 December.
Until then, a significant amount of proton beam time remains and physics production and MD activities will continue in both the injector complex and the LHC.
anschaef Thu, 07/31/2025 - 09:43 Byline Rende Steerenberg Publication Date Thu, 07/31/2025 - 09:39
18 July saw the very first performance of Catherine Tinivella-Aeschimann's play Collision(s) at the 59th Avignon Off Theatre Festival. Collision(s) is part of the Binôme project (see below), which is the brainchild of French theatre company Les sens des mots, in collaboration with Château Rouge – Scène conventionnée d'Annemasse.
Collision(s) arose from an encounter between playwright Catherine Tinivella-Aeschimann and particle physicist Yasmine Amhis (CNRS/CERN). It is not a didactic piece about science but an introspective, poetic journey revealing the resonances between scientific research and human experience. It explores, with strength and delicacy, the themes of matter, memory and identity through a fragmented narrative about a mother and her daughter, a to-do list, scientific inventories and personal reflections. Through this work, Catherine Tinivella-Aeschimann movingly reminds us that behind every scientific achievement lies a profoundly human story, which the medium of theatre is particularly well suited to telling.
Collision(s) will be performed at the Théâtre de la Reine Blanche in Paris on 24 September 2025, at the Château Rouge - Scène conventionnée d'Annemasse on 26 and 27 September 2025, and at the CERN Science Gateway on 5 March 2026.
What is Binôme?
The concept of Binôme is that of a playwright studying a researcher and then writing a play freely inspired by their encounter. The result is touching and often funny and offers a new way of looking at science and scientists. Binôme was launched in 2010 by theatre company Les sens des mots and has led to the creation of 64 plays, of which Collision(s) is the latest.
“Binôme aims above all to bring together two people from entirely different walks of life who are passionate about each other's work. One is devoted to research, the other to writing. Binôme is a non-didactic way of discovering science and a rich source of inspiration for contemporary theatre. The product of the collision between these apparently so different universes is a rich and original piece of art. It’s touching to see how nervous the two protagonists are, but once they’ve spent some time together they usually realise that their fields are driven by the same forces of intuition, doubt, hard work and passion. Binôme casts the spotlight on the poetry of science.”
Thibault Rossigneux
Artistic director of Les sens des mots and designer of Binôme
anschaef Mon, 07/28/2025 - 12:01 Byline Dante Larini Publication Date Wed, 07/30/2025 - 08:56
Unsolicited marketing and, even worse, fraudulent calls are unfortunately very common nowadays. Although total protection is impossible, the CERN Telephony Service has implemented several mechanisms to reduce such annoying calls to all CERN telephone numbers, whether landline or mobile.
Remember that the mantra “Stop – Think – Don’t click” also applies to phone calls – just replace “click” by “talk”, stop your conversation and hang up if you have any doubts. Also remember that messaging applications (e.g. WhatsApp) and text messages are widely abused for illicit purposes. Malicious links or URLs are just one click away.
The amount of vishing attempts and shock calls is increasing. If you doubt the authenticity of a displayed telephone number or messaging contact:
To better protect you, CERN has implemented three layers of call filtering that are applied by our Telco operator, by the CERN Telephony Service and at the user level. Please note, however, that these spam filters can only offer a certain degree of protection, as new numbers need to be added constantly and telephone numbers can be faked by the caller (spoofing).
Swisscom call filteringIncoming calls to CERN mobile and landline numbers are filtered by Swisscom according to an updated list of known spammers. Swisscom’s call filtering works like an email anti-spam system: background software checks the incoming call before it is established and decides if it is legitimate or not. If the call is blocked, the person being called won’t receive any notification.
CERN fixed telephony call filteringIn addition, the CERN Telephony Service, in collaboration with the CERN Computer Security Office, blocks certain numbers that have been reported by users to be fraudulent or annoying. Again, if the call is blocked, you won’t be notified.
Personal call filteringFinally, you can manage your own list of numbers or prefixes to be blocked in addition to the Swisscom and CERN filters.
Via the CERNphone User Portal, select the CERNphone number to which you would like to apply the spam filter, go to “Settings” and add any number or prefix to be blocked via the “Spam filters” tab:
Via Swisscom’s cockpit, select “Call settings” under the “Settings” tab:
And add any number or prefix under “Manually blocked numbers”:
Android and iPhone call filteringBoth Android and iPhone offer personal call filtering for their terminals. Please be aware that the configuration is terminal-dependent, so you will need replicate it if you change your phone:
SupportShould you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact telecom services support.
anschaef Fri, 07/25/2025 - 11:07 Byline Computer Security Office Publication Date Wed, 07/30/2025 - 08:52On 15 July 2025, the ALICE collaboration honoured its PhD thesis award winners during a special ceremony held as part of the ALICE collaboration meeting at CERN. ALICE PhD thesis awards are dedicated to the memory of Karel Šafařík (1953–2024).
Since 2008, ALICE has recognised the most outstanding PhD theses based on the excellence of the results obtained, the quality of the thesis manuscript and the importance of the contribution to the collaboration. This year, 20 theses were submitted for the award on a great variety of topics based on physics analysis and instrumentation. The ALICE Thesis Award committee unanimously decided to honour five winners:
The winners gave flash talks on their thesis work and received prizes and mementos from the ALICE Spokesperson, Marco van Leeuwen, with congratulations from the Chair of the Collaboration Board, Alessandra Fantoni, and the Chair of the thesis award committee, Jana Bielčíková.
Find out more on the ALICE website.
ehatters Fri, 07/25/2025 - 10:38 Publication Date Fri, 07/25/2025 - 10:21If you’re a scientist, researcher or engineer working on any kind of new technology or idea, you could benefit from one of the programmes run by Horizon Europe. The flagship research and innovation programme of the European Union, Horizon Europe offers a vast range of funding possibilities.
The EU Projects Office, which is part of the IPT department, is the central point of contact with Horizon Europe for CERN personnel. They can help you identify funding possibilities, support you in applying and accompany you through project implementation if your application is successful.
What types of funding are available to the CERN community? An overview of Horizon Europe and Euratom. (Image: Horizon Europe)Horizon Europe is divided into three main pillars:
Pillar 1: Excellent SciencePillar 1 primarily funds frontier research through the following programmes:
These are large collaborative projects clustered around six themes including health, climate and food. Ongoing CERN projects include TRUSTroke, POSEIDON and five projects in the Digital, Industry and Space Cluster.
Pillar 3: Innovative EuropePillar 3’s European Innovation Council (EIC) is particularly relevant to CERN personnel. Set up to develop and scale breakthrough technologies, it is aimed at those who have a technology or product that is closer to market-ready or may be a game-changer in the future. This pillar has provided funding for ATTRACT and UNICORN.
I have an idea. How can I submit a proposal?If you have an idea for a project, you can get in touch with CERN’s EU Projects Office by emailing EU.Projects@cern.ch or visiting our offices in Building 5, floor 4.
The team will talk you through the process and set out the steps that you will need to follow to apply for funding, depending on the type of grant that you are targeting. They can also help you with the budget and legal side of the proposal, in collaboration with CERN’s external grants team in the FAP Department.
Points to note:
More information on applying for EU funding can be found on the EU Projects Office website. It’s regularly updated with the latest news from ongoing projects and they also publish information and guides on the latest calls for proposals for EU-funded projects relevant to CERN. You can also sign up for training and subscribe to their newsletter.
Current open calls of interest to CERN personnel
If you are working on projects in the fields of artificial intelligence, advanced sensor technologies, batteries, quantum computing or more, read our guide to open funding calls.
Deadlines vary per call, usually between September to October 2025.
ehatters Wed, 07/23/2025 - 14:12 Byline Thomas Brent Publication Date Wed, 07/23/2025 - 13:34
In a breakthrough for antimatter research, the BASE collaboration at CERN has kept an antiproton – the antimatter counterpart of a proton – oscillating smoothly between two different quantum states for almost a minute while trapped. The achievement, reported in a paper published today in the journal Nature, marks the first demonstration of an antimatter quantum bit, or qubit, and paves the way for substantially improved comparisons between the behaviour of matter and antimatter.
Particles such as the antiproton, which has the same mass but opposite electrical charge to a proton, behave like miniature bar magnets that can “point” in one of two directions depending on their underlying quantum mechanical spin.
Measuring the way these so-called magnetic moments flip, using a technique called coherent quantum transition spectroscopy, is a powerful tool in quantum sensing and information processing. It also enables high-precision tests of the fundamental laws of nature, including charge-parity-time symmetry. This symmetry rules that matter and antimatter behave identically, which is at odds with the observation that matter vastly outweighs antimatter in the Universe.
Particles have quantum characteristics that defy our common sense, such as the characteristic of interfering with themselves, as demonstrated in the double slit experiment. Interactions with the surrounding environment can quickly suppress these interference effects through a process known as quantum decoherence. Preserving coherence is essential for controlling and tracking the evolution of quantum systems, like the transitions between the spin states of a single antiproton.
Although coherent quantum transitions have been observed before in large collections of particles and in trapped ions, they have never been seen for a single free nuclear magnetic moment – despite the latter featuring prominently in physics textbooks. The BASE collaboration has now achieved this at CERN’s antimatter factory.
In some respects, the feat can be likened to pushing a child on a playground swing. With the right push, the swing arcs back and forth in a perfect rhythm. Now imagine that the swing is a single trapped antiproton oscillating between its spin “up” and “down” states in a smooth, controlled rhythm. The BASE collaboration has achieved this using a sophisticated system of electromagnetic traps to give an antiproton the right “push” at the right time. And since this swing has quantum properties, the antimatter spin-qubit can even point in different directions at the same time when unobserved.
The BASE experiment studies antiprotons produced at CERN’s antimatter factory by storing them in electromagnetic Penning traps and feeding them one by one into a second multi-trap system to, among other things, measure and change their spin states. Using this set-up, the BASE collaboration has previously been able to show that the magnitudes of the magnetic moments of the proton and antiproton are identical within a just few parts-per-billion. Any slight difference in their magnitudes would break charge-parity-time symmetry and point to new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.
However, this previous result was based on an incoherent spectroscopy technique in which the quantum transitions were disturbed by magnetic field fluctuations and measurement interference. In a substantial upgrade of the experiment, these decoherence mechanisms were suppressed and eliminated, culminating in the first coherent spectroscopy of an antiproton spin. The BASE team has now accomplished this for a period – called spin coherence time – of 50 seconds.
“This represents the first antimatter qubit and opens up the prospect of applying the entire set of coherent spectroscopy methods to single matter and antimatter systems in precision experiments,” explains BASE spokesperson Stefan Ulmer. “Most importantly, it will help BASE to perform antiproton moment measurements in future experiments with 10- to 100-fold improved precision.”
While qubits are the basic building blocks of quantum computers, where they allow information to be stored not just in one of two states but via a potentially limitless superposition of those states, the antimatter qubit demonstrated by BASE is unlikely to have immediate applications outside fundamental physics.
An even bigger leap in the precision of antiproton measurements is expected using BASE-STEP, which was designed to allow trapped antiparticles to be transported by road to magnetic environments that are “calmer” than the antimatter factory. “Once it is fully operational, our new offline precision Penning trap system, which will be supplied with antiprotons transported by BASE-STEP, could allow us to achieve spin coherence times maybe even ten times longer than in current experiments, which will be a game-changer for baryonic antimatter research,” says lead author of the paper Barbara Latacz.
angerard Mon, 07/21/2025 - 16:50 Publication Date Wed, 07/23/2025 - 17:00ATTRACT, a pilot designed to improve Europe’s generation of commercial innovation from its world-class scientific excellence, held its final conference on 2 and 3 July, attended by numerous European leaders. Participants reflected on ATTRACT’s successful investments, entrepreneurship support and training academy and considered how to replicate these achievements in future.
Despite its substantial investment in research and development (R&D), Europe has historically faced challenges in translating scientific advances into market-ready products. Led by CERN and involving eight other European scientific organisations and institutes (1), ATTRACT was launched in 2018 to address this by investing 60 MEUR of EU public funding into 170 early-stage R&D projects. These projects were primarily in the fields of detection and imaging technologies, which have broad applications across science, industry and society.
Successful student technology projects facilitated by the ATTRACT Academy were exhibited at the conference. This included the PuffAIR jacket, which condenses water from humidity in the air, then sterilises it so it is ready to drink. (Image: ATTRACT)By leveraging research infrastructure capabilities, streamlining funding mechanisms and fostering cooperation with public and private investors, ATTRACT supported 18 projects identified for their high potential. This support has already led to the creation of eight startups, several of which have entered second-round private financing. Furthermore, the ATTRACT Academy trained over 1300 young European innovators, contributing to the development of the next generation of deep-tech entrepreneurs. The European Commission has recognised the initiative as one of the top five projects contributing to the New European Innovation Agenda.
At the final conference, Jean-David Malo, Acting Director for the European Research Area and Innovation at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), described ATTRACT as “a source of potential gems on which we should build”. He stated that the project inspired the European Commission to introduce an “innovation challenge” element in future rounds of EU funding, aiming to help develop the most promising breakthrough technologies.
Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament and a prominent voice in EU research policy, also expressed strong support for the ATTRACT initiative. He stressed that the connection between research, innovation and competitiveness was often underestimated.
“Research and innovation is not only about discovery, but also about creating a community of shared values,” Negrescu noted. He also referenced recent reports by former Italian Prime Ministers Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi, which highlight how research infrastructures such as CERN and supercomputing centres help develop Europe’s technological and economic sectors.
A second student technology prototype on display at the conference, LUMO, was designed to help cancer patients get access to imaging scans more quickly. (Image: CERN)Representing far more than a successful pilot, ATTRACT marked a strategic shift in CERN’s engagement with innovation, entrepreneurship and societal challenges. By applying its scientific excellence and infrastructure to early-stage deep-tech development, CERN is reinforcing its relevance to Europe’s innovation ecosystem and deepening its strategic relationship with the European Commission. ATTRACT has helped place CERN at the heart of a renewed science-policy alliance that directly links scientific discovery with European prosperity. In this context and with the European Commission’s support, ATTRACT is ready to engage in whatever comes next.
CERN has announced the 3 winners and 18 runners-up of the CERN Photowalk 2025, a behind-the-scenes photo competition, which received 165 submissions. The three winners – two chosen by a local jury, one selected by the CERN community – will now be submitted to the Global Physics Photowalk and judged alongside pictures from all around the world.
On 27 May, CERN opened its doors to 17 photographers and invited them to explore, through their lens, the accelerators of tomorrow. This year’s competition, entitled “CERN Photowalk 2025: Future Colliders”, took them to four unique locations, from the galleries of the High-Luminosity LHC – the successor to CERN’s current flagship accelerator, the LHC – to the Laboratory’s main workshop.
The jury prizes were awarded to Marc Goodwin for his evocative image of the places where the High-Luminosity LHC is taking shape, and to Cedric Favero for his unique perspective of a scientist at work. The public vote went to Erik Kuna, whose picture of a cabling machine resonated with the CERN community.
Their pictures are a nod to the groundbreaking research and development work taking place at CERN, from the development of hardware components that don’t exist anywhere else, to their incorporation into some of the biggest research instruments ever built, to the people who make it happen.
body { font-family: sans-serif; padding: 20px; margin: 0; box-sizing: border-box; } .gallery { display: flex; gap: 20px; flex-wrap: nowrap; justify-content: center; } .gallery figure { margin: 0; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; flex: 1 1 0; /* allow shrinking and growing */ max-width: 33%; /* max 1/3 of container */ } .gallery img { width: 100%; /* fill figure width */ height: auto; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15); transition: transform 0.2s; display: block; } .gallery figcaption { margin-top: 8px; font-size: 14px; color: #555; } .lightbox { display: none; position: fixed; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); justify-content: center; align-items: center; z-index: 9999; } .lightbox img { max-width: 90%; max-height: 90%; box-shadow: 0 0 20px black; } Winners of CERN Photowalk 2025 “Dark” by Marc Goodwin, first place. “Hands that Build the Future” by Cedric Favero, second place. “Threading the Future” by Erik Kuna, third place, voted by the CERN community. function openLightbox(figure) { const img = figure.querySelector("img"); const lightboxImg = document.getElementById("lightbox-img"); lightboxImg.src = img.src; document.querySelector(".lightbox").style.display = "flex"; } function closeLightbox() { document.querySelector(".lightbox").style.display = "none"; }
The 21 finalist and 3 winning pictures were chosen based on how well they fitted with the theme and how they represented the facility depicted, as well as on their artistic and aesthetic merit. The jury was composed of professional and amateur photographers and of communications, exhibition and design specialists.
Many of the pictures submitted will be featured in visit points across the Laboratory for years to come. All the participants will be featured in turn on CERN’s social media channels, while the 21 runner-up pictures will be displayed in an exhibition at CERN, open to all visitors. The three winners will be granted a private visit of CERN, and their pictures will be submitted to the Global Physics Photowalk, organised by the Interactions collaboration, a worldwide network of communications professionals from large high-energy-physics laboratories.
All the photographs taken at CERN are available on the CERN Document Server.
Read more about the Global Physics Photowalk here.
21 pictures selected by the jury lburdych Thu, 07/17/2025 - 17:37 Publication Date Thu, 07/17/2025 - 14:39From quantum communication and the paradoxes of black holes to climate futures and synthetic images: the works of recent CERN artist residents engage with the frontiers of scientific research.
Soft Robots brings together new works by artists Joan Heemskerk, Alice Bucknell, and Martyna Marciniak, who were selected across the three editions of Collide Copenhagen, Arts at CERN’s residency programme in collaboration with Copenhagen Contemporary (2023–2025). In the framework of Collide, the artists undertook residencies between CERN in Geneva, and at the Niels Bohr Institute and Copenhagen Contemporary in Copenhagen. Their works are joined by a new commission from Danish artist Nanna Debois-Buhl.
For over a decade, Arts at CERN, the Laboratory’s arts programme, has supported artists to develop new works through exchanges with CERN scientists, engineers, and staff. The featured projects offer thought-provoking insights into how fundamental research and advanced technologies shape the ways we describe, sense and relate to the world.
Joan Heemskerk, entagled binary network (Hello, World) & NO MATTER (2024). Installation view, Soft Robots, Copenhagen Contemporary, 2025. (Photo: David Stjernholm)Joan Heemskerk presents two works from Hello, world!. Her residency project explores the possibility of a new universal language capable of surpassing barriers across galaxies and life forms by reimagining the iconic programming string ‘Hello, world!’. In the sculptural piece titled entangled binary network (Hello, world!), two entangled fields – formed by black and white balls under ultraviolet light – exchange the phrase within a speculative quantum internet network.
Her video NO MATTER follows CERN’s emulsion-scanning microscopes. Rare particle events emerge and dissolve, overlaid with scientists’ reflections on the nature of matter. The footage is processed using the Hough line transform, a computer vision technique employed in physics to reconstruct particle trajectories, repurposed in Heemskerk’s artistic search for ‘no matter’.
Alice Bucknell, Small Void (2025). Installation view, Soft Robots, Copenhagen Contemporary, 2025. (Photo: David Stjernholm)Conceived in dialogue with theoretical physicists, Alice Bucknell’s cooperative video game Small Void draws on quantum entanglement and black holes. Two players navigate interlinked worlds through non-verbal ‘call and response’ mechanics. Using shifting soundscapes and haptics, the game becomes what Bucknell terms an ‘affective interface’: an embodied way of engaging with some of the paradoxes of physics and the limits of language.
Nanna Debois Buhl, Atmospheric Omens (2025). Installation view, Soft Robots, Copenhagen Contemporary, 2025. (Photo: David Stjernholm)In Atmospheric Omens, Nanna Debois-Buhl reflects on climate through literature, visual art, and scientific research. The installation draws on CLOUD, CERN’s experiment that studies how cosmic rays might affect cloud formation. This inquiry is interwoven with Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley near Lake Geneva during the climate-disrupted ‘Year Without a Summer’ of 1816. Large digital weavings based on CLOUD’s imagery are shown alongside a generative video that layers Frankenstein's weather-related excerpts over footage of the Lake, tracing a temporal passage from historical climate unease to speculative atmospheric futures.
Martyna Marciniak, the 2025 Collide resident, recently completed her residency at CERN and will continue developing her project 2.2 microseconds: an anomaly in autumn in Copenhagen. In the exhibition, she presents the video installation AI Hyperrealism, which examines how images are constructed and perceived as real.
Soft Robots brings together fifteen artists who reflect on and reimagine our increasingly intertwined relationships with technology. The exhibition is on view until 31 December 2025.
Insa Meinke Tue, 07/15/2025 - 14:27 Byline Ana Prendes Publication Date Fri, 07/18/2025 - 13:12
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