CERN Accelerating science

A wide array of developments aimed at advancing detector technologies for particle accelerators were showcased at the final annual meeting of the AIDAInnova project this month. 

The meeting, held in Prague at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences between 5 to 8 May, brought together representatives of many of the EU-funded project’s 46 beneficiaries, including several representing companies. 

With the project now in its final year, talks centered on demonstrating the results of the work carried out over the past four years. 

The project is structured to improve detector technologies and facilities through three pillars: developing the backbone technologies that underpin detectors, developing detector facilities, and developing future detector technologies. 

Notable progress has been made in several key technological areas, such as advancing calorimeters and particle identification detectors (PIDs), improving hybrid pixel sensors for 4D tracking, advancing gaseous detectors including carrying out a detailed study for eco-friendly gases, and developments linked to cold liquid neutrino detectors designed for use at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, which is currently under construction in the US. 

Further to this, significant progress has been made on improving test beam and data acquisition infrastructure and upgrading and characterising irradiation facilities. 

Detectors of the future: Blue sky research

The AIDAInnova project also supports blue sky research, with four notable projects presented during the meeting. This included the development of compensated Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) for extreme fluences, the development of innovative nanocomposite scintillators for fine-sampling calorimetry, the development of a Silicon Electron Multiplier sensor, and the Wireless Data Transfer project that aims to develop wireless communication links that could replace or supplement traditional wired data connections in particle detectors. 

Despite the complexity of all of the projects, there have been promising results and the lessons learned can lay the foundation for future or continued research. 

AIDAInnova meets industry

The annual meeting was also a chance for researchers and industry representatives to network and discuss the project. A panel discussion on the links between the project and industry was held, and was a chance to explore the cross-over needs in terms of detector technologies. 

Following the panel, three companies, Pfeiffer Vacuum, Crytur and Foton, had the chance to display some of their products and explain their work to AIDAInnova participants. 

A talk during one of the plenary sessions on the knowledge transfer aspect of AIDAInnova showed that 10 technology disclosures have been submitted, surpassing the project’s initial target of five. A report summarising the various technologies developed during the project that have potential applications in industry is set to be published this summer. 

AIDAInnova and the future

With the project set to wrap up in autumn this year, this annual meeting was a chance for the project’s participants to look ahead to the future. 

For the detector community, there are still many technical challenges to overcome in order to advance various scientific fields, including high-energy physics. There is now a clear path to follow after the development of the Detector Research and Development Roadmap by the European Committee for Future Accelerators (ECFA). This document will help steer any future European-wide projects on detector technologies and facilities. 

Work has already begun on preparing the proposal for a new European call that would lead to the successor project of AIDAInnova.

The two fields of particle detectors and quantum technologies are intrinsically linked in a variety of ways, and yet there are few occasions for those working in these areas, especially early-career researchers, to come together to share knowledge and learn. 

That was the purpose of the two-day course on quantum applications that took place on January 23 and 24 at CERN, organised through the EU-funded AIDAinnova project. 

The event featured talks by 15 prominent experts in the fields of detectors and quantum technologies and attracted more than 100 participants over the two days, in person and on video conference.

The topics presented ranged from introducing the principles of quantum mechanics, to elaborating on different application areas, such as quantum sensing, metrology, quantum computing, and superconducting nanowire detectors. There were also four  industry talks from representatives of Amsterdam Scientific Instruments, IBM Quantum, STMicroelectronics and Hamamatsu.

This merging of academia with industry was particularly appreciated by participants and speakers alike. 

“What I thought was especially nice was to get more insight on some concepts that are being applied in industry,” said one speaker Daniel Egger, who works as a researcher in the Quantum Applications Research and Software group in IBM Research – Zurich. 

He highlighted talks on quantum random number generators and quantum sensors as being particularly interesting for him. “Getting a sense of what is happening outside of research is valuable,” he added. 

Karla Ivanković Nizić is doing a PhD at the Institut Ruđer Bošković in Zagreb and was one of five participants who received financial support through AIDAinnova to attend the course. She is working on the development and optimisation of single-crystal Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond detectors for use in cryogenic temperatures and radiation-harsh environments. 

“I liked the course a lot,” she said, adding that she applied for it to gain more knowledge for her research, network with industry representatives and to have the opportunity to visit CERN.

In that respect, she said the course met her expectations. “The best thing was that it merged industry and academia, and created opportunities to network with a lot of different people. This is very valuable for those pursuing PhDs,” she said. “It was also really great to see that after finishing a PhD there are many opportunities in industry.”

The course also featured a poster session with 15 early-career researchers demonstrating projects that they are working on. The topics ranged from dark matter detection to cryogenic technologies for quantum and particle detection and advanced detector technologies for cosmic observations. 

The second day of the event kicked off with a networking breakfast, giving participants and speakers the chance to meet and discuss their areas of interest. 

“It was a fantastic event that broadened our horizons, showcasing how technology and techniques familiar to us in particle detectors are being applied to quantum systems,” said CERN senior scientist Anne Dabrowski, who led the organisation of the event.

“The lectures were outstanding, and the audience — comprising individuals of all ages and backgrounds — was highly engaged. I’d like to thank all the organisers for their efforts in putting together such an event,” she added.

The event was carried out in synergy with the United Nations’ 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), which marks 100 years since the initial development of quantum mechanics.

Recordings of the talks are available at this link.

The Aidainnova project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101004761.

Members of the I.FAST consortium gathered at the Polish Academy of Arts and Science in Krakow for the fourth annual meeting. Credit: PAU

Several key developments in particle accelerator science that will shape the future of the field were presented at the recent annual meeting of the I.FAST consortium, a European Union-funded project now into its final year.

The meeting, which took place in Krakow, Poland, between 8 to 11 April, was an opportunity for the project’s partners to present results in several key technological areas, as well as a chance for the industrial and academic partners involved in the project to network and discuss new ideas.

Among the highlights was a presentation on a new strategy for developing thin films for superconducting radio frequency cavities, which was recently submitted to the European Strategy for Particle Physics update as part of an ongoing process to define the direction of particle physics over the next decade.

There were also talks on the progress made within I.FAST on the high-efficiency klystron prototype designed for use as part of CERN’s high-luminosity upgrade of ist Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and on the results from the testing of two separate RF electron photo-guns. Results were also presented in other key technological areas, such as in new accelerator applications, light sources, permanent magnets, additive manufacturing, and superconducting materials.

The I.FAST project is set to wrap up later this year and with many of the final results already accomplished, this fourth annual meeting was a chance for younger scientists and engineers involved in the project to present their work and findings.

There was also space in the week’s programme to dive into I.FAST’s relations with industry, with several sessions dedicated to innovation. There were talks on supporting start-ups and spin-outs, a look at Switzerland as a case study for technology transfer, and a discussion on the exchange between industry and academia in the field of accelerator science.

The event also provided the chance to delve into various activities taking place in the Polish particle accelerator community, looking at several facilities and projects to which the country contributes.

A key topic in accelerator science in recent years has been sustainability. A joint half-day workshop hosted by the Europe-America-Japan Accelerator Development Exchange Programme (EAJADE) and I.FAST outlined many initiatives to make large-scale particle accelerator projects more environmentally friendly. The session concluded with a discussion on what actions can and should be taken going forwards.

The final day of the meeting focused on the future and a potential follow-up to I.FAST that would continue and expand on the major developments that have so far been achieved.

A final I.FAST meeting will take place in October this year to conclude the project.

I.FAST is funded under the Horizon 2020 programme and brings together 48 beneficiaries from 15 countries, including 16 industrial partners, to explore innovative options and develop cutting-edge technologies for future accelerator platforms.

The I.FAST project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101004730.

Barbara Rusconi, project manager and financial analyst at CERN

Barbara Rusconi has been managing the finances of projects funded by the European Union that CERN is a part of since 2017.

In her role as project manager and financial analyst, she works closely with CERN’s EU Projects office to oversee the budgets, expenses and financial reports of some 20 different EU projects.

In this interview, she breaks down the difference between her job and the one carried out by EU support officers, talks about the EU projects she believes can have a positive impact on the world, and explains why she thinks it is not just scientists who make CERN special.

This is the first article in a new ‘meet the team’ series aimed at introducing the members of CERN’s EU Projects Office and sharing their perspectives on their work, CERN, science, EU projects and more.

Tell me about what your job entails?

My job consists of following up all EU-funded projects from a financial point of view. That means from the proposal stage until we receive the final payment.

There are six phases in my job. The first is meeting with the head scientist to prepare the right budget for the proposal. The second phase only goes ahead if the proposal is accepted and the project receives funding. At this point, we receive the first payment from the funder – often the European Commission via the Horizon Europe programme – and we divide the budget into material and personnel, in other words sorting out the budget on the CERN system. Then, during the lifetime of the project, we manage regular payments for expenses and submit financial reports to track expenditures. Those are the third and fourth phases. The fifth phase is preparing documents for audits, which are required for projects that receive over €430,000. The last phase is preparing the final financial report, which, when approved, grants us access to the final payment of the budget.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?

I manage around 20 projects in total, and I get all sorts of questions – it could be about employing new staff, paying for equipment and everything in between! It’s natural that some requests for changes get made during a project’s lifetime, but some requests can trigger a complete reset of the process and the budget. It is my role to communicate this and ensure that departments and project leaders understand the pathway to follow.

How is what you do different to what those working in the EU Projects office do?

Normally a project has three sides; the content side where scientists or engineers carry out the work planned in the project, the administrative side, which deals with making sure all the milestones and deliverables of the project are met and that the project stays on track, and the financial side, where I work and take care of all the budgetary aspects.

If a CERN scientist or engineer is interested in applying for EU funding, should they contact you or the EU Projects office?

It depends what their question is. If it is an administrative question, I will direct them to the EU Projects office as they have an extensive knowledge of the administrative issues of EU projects. Whereas if they have a financial question, I can help them. In any case, I will be able to direct them to the appropriate person. We can say that the two roles of EU Office and External Grants are complementary, we complete each other, and make sure that EU projects are implemented following EU and CERN rules.

What are some of your favourite projects that you are managing right now?

Currently, I have three favourite projects:

1. The FCCIS (Future Circular Collider Innovation Study), which ended recently, was about the feasibility to build the FCC. It is fascinating to be able to contribute to the birth of such a big effort that could revolutionise what we know about science today.
2. RADNEXT (RADiation facility Network for the EXploration of effects for indusTry and research) which makes CERN’s irradiation facility available to different users. I enjoy working on this because it is a large project with over 30 beneficiaries around Europe. It requires all tasks to be repeated by each of them and it is a great opportunity to learn.
3. The TRUSTroke (Trustworthy AI For Improvement of Stroke Outcomes) project works on a novel AI-based tool that detects pathologies in the brain and predicts the risk of disease recurrence. Being a part of the pieces working towards the goal of this project puts me in contact with groups at CERN which I normally do not have contact with. I find this enriching and it also helps to build connections.

From the outside, people tend to view CERN as being a place for particle physicists. What is your perspective on that?

CERN’s main mission is exploring the fundamental particles of the universe, and of course for that you need theoretical physicists or applied physicists. But CERN is much more than that.

There are entirely different worlds behind physics that allow the CERN machine to work. There are extremely talented people working in financial services, business administration, translation, legal services, community management, communications and many more! It takes all kinds of profiles to make CERN what it is today, and I think it’s really important that we all recognise and share this success.

Photo: Julien Marius Ordan / CERN

This year CERN has contributed to a wide range of European-funded projects, tackling topics that range from stroke care to wave energy to open science.

In total, 13 new projects began either in 2024 or at the tail end of 2023.

Three of these projects are funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the European Union’s funding programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral research, and have been awarded to scientists working in CERN's Theoretical Physics department. 

Of the 13 projects, five are funded under the Research Infrastructures calls of the Horizon Europe programme. The topics range from harnessing big data, to using AI to improve data collection from research infrastructures, to making accelerator facilities more energy efficient.

One newly launched project that CERN is participating in is UMBRELLA, which aims at transforming stroke care across Europe. The project takes a holistic approach to the entire stroke care pathway and uses AI and cutting-edge digital technologies to improve stroke prevention and diagnosis, reduce time to treatment, and prevent long-term damage.

Another project, MARES, aims to vastly improve wave energy converters (WEC) – devices that capture energy from ocean waves. The project looks to make the power take-off systems – the part of the WEC that converts wave motion into electricity – more efficient by designing a new reciprocating superconducting generator, the core component of the power take-off system. Wave power has great potential as a renewable energy source, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stating it could produce 29,500 terawatt hours of energy globally per year – almost 10 times Europe’s annual electricity consumption of 3,000 TWh.

The table below shows the 13 projects involving CERN that began either in 2024 or at the end of 2023.

The main substation in BE1 at CERN where the first phasor measurement unit was deployed as part of the RF2.0 project's activities at CERN

Particle accelerators are energy-intensive, consuming up to hundreds of gigawatt hours annually, comparable to small- or medium-sized European cities. This, combined with their reliance on non-renewable energy sources and significant raw material requirements, pose environmental challenges.

That is why the Research Facility 2.0 (RF2.0) project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, is exploring innovative solutions to make accelerators more sustainable.

The project focuses on four points:

• Developing new highly efficient components (permanent magnets and solid-state amplifiers)
• Integrating AI-assisted energy management systems
• Adopting low-carbon technologies (energy storage systems, renewable power-driven computing centers)
• Enhancing power consumption flexibility and network services (power electronics, direct current networks, fast measurement systems)

There are 10 partners, including five of the largest particle accelerator facilities in Europe – ALBA Synchrotron (Spain), CERN, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, and MAX IV Laboratory (Sweden) – supported by four specialised technology companies and with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) coordinating the consortium. 

It is running for three years between 2024 and the end of 2026 and is backed with a total of €5.6 million.

Improving power quality in accelerator electrical power distribution grids

It is still early in the project but there has already been marked progress towards achieving the goal of improving power consumption flexibility and network services at accelerator facilities.

As part of the fast measurement systems developments CERN, together with Swiss smart grid solutions company Zaphiro Technologies, are deploying 24 phasor measurement units (PMUs) in selected locations across CERN’s electrical power grid, as shown in figure 1, significantly enhancing its monitoring capabilities.

By validating these solutions through demonstrator projects, one of which will take place at CERN, RF2.0 seeks to reduce accelerators' environmental impact and benefit other energy-intensive facilities, for example medical centers, data centers and other industrial plants, with innovative, flexible energy management strategies.

The benefits for CERN

The electrical power distribution systems in particle accelerator facilities typically use standard SCADA systems characterised by slower dynamics, as is the case at CERN. The deployment of PMUs will provide several benefits, including the ability to:

• Analyse perturbations coming from the upstream electrical transmission grid
• Understand how these perturbations can impact CERN’s electrical power grid as well as various subsystems and components
• Increase grid resilience and provide guidelines for future accelerators, in particular the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC)

With the help of the PMUs, which are capable of monitoring voltage and current fluctuations in real-time with high sampling frequency and accuracy, CERN aims to:

• Create, in collaboration with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), a data-fed digital twin of CERN’s main electrical power grid focusing on the LHC
• Monitor the power quality of the grid and perform harmonic content analysis with the aim to better understand and classify in categories the various types of disturbances and identify mitigation actions and possible optimisations to increase the efficiency of the electrical power grid
• Communicate detected events to the SCADA system

First PMU and recorded events

So far, two PMUs have been installed at CERN. One in BE1 (CERN’s main 400 kV substation) and one in the new data centre recently opened on CERN’s Prévessin site. The rest will be installed during the year-end technical stop of the accelerators at CERN, which is in place over the winter period.

Zaphiro Technologies has also developed a dashboard to visualise all the recorded events and a few notable ones have already been recorded by the PMU installed in BE1. This marks a milestone for the project and the future installations.

The accuracy of the measurements and their high sampling frequency will pave the way for CERN to better understand and classify the voltage disturbances that impact its electrical power grid and prove as an excellent input to the digital twin which will unlock the potential for future improvements.

The author would like to acknowledge the full RF2.0 project team, Jean-Paul Burnet, Mario Parodi, Giuseppe Cappai, and Isabel Amundarain Arguello for making this work possible.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101131850 and from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Funded under Horizon Europe, the HEARTS project, that aims at providing access to high-energy heavy ion radiation testing facilities for space exploitation and space exploration, held its first annual meeting at beginning of February 2024. In a hybrid format, the meeting was attended by representatives from the five beneficiaries, the European Commission and two external expert reviewers. HEARTS also welcomed a new member, Cosylab, who joined the project thanks to the Hop-On Facility programme.

The meeting covered various topics related to HEARTS’ ongoing and future activities, such as the upgrade of the HEARTS@CERN facility, the development and characterization plans of GSI’s Galactic Cosmic Ray simulator, and the collaboration with other international partners. In an introductory talk, Markus Brugger, leader of the Experimental Areas group at CERN, and former CERN R2E project leader, went back to the history of radiation to electronics tests at CERN, from the first ideas at the beginning of the century to the construction of a dedicated facility at CERN in the East Area, namely the CHARM mixed-field facility.

One of the highlights of the meeting was the presentation of the results of the heavy-ion campaign at CERN in October 2023, which demonstrated the suitability of the developed beams and related services for high-energy heavy ion testing, in accordance with the radiation effects user requirements. The campaign was a success, as the tests showed very promising results that will further prepare the facility and its beams in order to accommodate radiation effects users from October 2024.

Rubén García Alía, HEARTS Project Coordinator, expressed his satisfaction with the project’s achievements and praised the cooperation and dedication of all the members. He also welcomed Cosylab as a new project beneficiary and said he is looking forward to working with them on improving the user interface to the experiments. He said that HEARTS is a successful example of how European institutes, industry and academia can work together to boost Europe’s research infrastructure competitiveness, thus ensuring European strategic autonomy.

The annual meeting will be followed in a couple months by the Period 1 Report, which will summarise the activities and achievements in the past year and a half, as well as its plans and objectives for the next year.