CERN 70

Today, September 17, CERN, my former employer in Geneva, commemorates its 70th anniversary, although the Organisation will only turn 70 on September 29.

The original CERN premises where the celebration takes place today

Having just returned from my annual class reunion in Hamburg, I didn't feel like continuing to Geneva. Traveling is not so easy anymore at my advanced age.

On October 1, an official ceremony with invited heads of state will honor CERN's legacy and look toward an inspiring future of science and innovation.

Science is a driver of progress and a glue connecting people worldwide. Following the devastations of the Second World War, CERN's founding fathers knew that Europe's social and economic recovery required investment in fundamental research.

CERN still stands for scientific and technological excellence, cross-border collaboration, knowledge sharing, and its unwavering commitment to scientific excellence, training, and education. Knowledge and technology are crucial for a sustainable future for humanity and the planet. We should not forget that the World Wide Web was also developed at CERN.

Although Red Baron regrets missing today's festivities at CERN, he is not fully decoupled. Freiburg's university has set up a program of three lectures and an exhibition I will attend. 

Yesterday's lecture on CERN: Fundamental Questions, Fascinating Experiments by Prof. M. Schuhmacher sounded promising.

When Red Baron arrived at the lecture hall, Prof. Karl Jakobs was scheduled to give the talk. Explaining the Standard Theory of particle physics, he frequently said, "This you learned in school." Had the listeners really? I looked into many blank faces of an older generation that sometimes boasts, "In school, I didn't understand anything in physics." The lecturer knew this, so he emphasized CERN's technical aspects and achievements.

You read about Prof. Jakobs's lecture in a previous blog. So, I limit my report by showing you only three slides:

Physics research spans from 10^-18 to 10²⁵ meters, i.e., 43 orders of magnitude.

Click to enlarge

It was a glorious day when the Higgs particle was announced. This time, July 4 was not only an American holiday but a day to celebrate in Europe. From left to right: 

From left to right in the fully packed CERN Auditorium: Director General Rolf Heuer turns his head to the screen. In the middle is Fabiola Gianotti, Director of Research, now CERN's DG. 

Announcing the Higgs with a glimpse of doubt on German national television. 

The fathers of the Higgs and Noble Prize winners of 2013, François Englert and Peter Higgs

Prof Jakob's lecture summary, with the decisive plot showing that the Higgs field generates leptons as light as muons and quarks as heavy as the top quark.

*