CERN Accelerating science

MEDICIS- produced radioisotope beams for medicine

MEDICIS-PROMED aims to develop a network of academic, medical and industrial partners providing an extensive doctoral program to 11 ESRs and 4 Swiss-supported ESRs in the field of new personalized treatments using radioisotope beams, notably for treatment of the deadly ovarian cancer, exploiting the newly discovered tumour endothelial marker 1 (TEM1/endosialin) for targeting the cancerous tissues. In this scheme, CERN is the coordinating partner, and collaborates with local hospitals which are able to exploit short-lived isotopes produced in the newly constructed CERN-MEDICIS facility. It fits within an extended network of high-technology companies and leading academic research institutes which will design new components for the development or tests of innovative radiopharmaceuticals and imaging agents for personalized treatment. It brings world-class researchers together in the field of lasers and isotope mass separation, accelerators, material science, oncology, entrepreneurial radiopharmaceutical production, and imaging, to propose new solutions to the 2nd deadliest cancer for women. In addition, the network will benefit from the coaching of the pioneer of personalized PET-imaging aided carbon hadron therapy recently tested in Japan.

Coordinator: CERN, Switzerland

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Thierry Stora

Full costs of the project: 2.8 M€

EU funding: 2.8 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 795 k€

1 January 2015 - 31 December 2018

LISA: Laser Ionization and Spectroscopy of Actinides

LISA aims to train the next generation of atomic, nuclear and laser scientists by conducting research to increase our understanding of the atomic and nuclear properties of the chemical elements known as the actinides. Of long-standing interest to the fields of fundamental atomic and nuclear physics, this effort is an essential prerequisite for unravelling the structure of the superheavy elements at the end of the Mendeleev table. This knowledge is required for the effective production, identification and handling of these elements, and is thus a necessary foundation towards understanding and exploiting the potential for practical applications of the actinides in the fields of medical physics, nuclear applications and environmental monitoring. The project consortium of world-leading experts in radioactive ion beam research and applications, laser spectroscopy, scientific laser technologies (industrial partners) and nuclear and atomic theorists will recruit and train 15 doctoral students.

Coordinator: CERN, Switzerland

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Bruce Marsh

Full costs of the project: 4.2 M€

EU funding: 4.2 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 562 k€

1 November 2019 - 31 October 2023

INTENSE ITN: particle physics experiments at the intensity frontier

Neutrinos come in three types or flavours: electron, muon and tau. They are known to oscillate in and out of the three flavours as they travel in space, but only further evidence will help scientists determine whether they also oscillate into a fourth type – a sterile neutrino. The EU-funded INTENSE project constitutes a new European training network between universities, research centres and industries. The project's researchers will take leading roles in the Short-Baseline Neutrino programme at Fermilab, which focusses on the search for the sterile neutrino. They will participate in the commissioning of the two particle detectors comprising this programme (Icarus and the Short-Baseline Near Detector) and develop new detector technologies, data acquisition and analysis techniques. Their endeavours will foster the development of cutting-edge technologies with spin-offs outside particle physics

Coordinator: UniPisa, Italy

Scientist in Charge from CERN: Marzio Nessi

Full costs of the project: 

EU funding: 2.6 M€

EU funding for CERN: 141 K€

9 January 2020 - 31 August 2024

INSIGHTS: Advanced Statistical Methods for Particle Physics 

INSIGHTS will develop advanced statistical methods and apply them to current research in Particle Physics, and through this, to many areas of society. It will create a cohort of physicists with expertise in modern statistical methods and in doing so will establish collaborations and educational structures that will continue long into the future. The software and tools created to achieve these goals will be made available to researchers in and beyond the field of Particle Physics.

Coordinator: RHUL, UK

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Lorenzo Moneta

Full costs of the project: 3 M€

EU funding: 3 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 265 k€

1 September 2017 - 31 August 2021

EASITrain: European Advanced Superconductivity Innovation and Training

This EU funded research and training program will advance the understanding of the behaviour of superconductors under different operating conditions, will establish innovative production techniques and will improve the cost efficiency of cryogenic refrigeration systems as an enabler for large-scale deployment. The project will establish a training curriculum in superconductivity for qualified experts in Europe who can bring the technology to the market. Together with industry representatives, funding agencies and decision takers at national and international level, the project aims at drawing up an R&D and product development roadmap and assessing its valorisation potentials.

Project internal page, Factsheet

Coordinator: CERN, Switzerland

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Amalia Ballarino, Michael Benedikt

Project Officer (CERN): Johannes Gutleber

Full costs of the project: 3.8 M€

EU funding: 3.8 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 265 k€

1 October 2017 - 30 September 2021 

CLOUD-MOTION: CLOUD Mobility, Training and Innovation Network

The aim of CLOUD-MOTION is to establish a network of early stage researchers at 10 institutions across Europe. The role of aerosol nucleation for atmospheric aerosol, clouds and climate is investigated.  A focus of the investigations is on a considerably improved understanding of pre-industrial aerosol concentration levels, which are crucial for an assessment of the climate forcing exerted by present-day aerosols. For this, the influence of Extremely Low Volatility Organic Compounds (ELVOCs) together with ions for aerosol nucleation without sulphuric acid is studied (“pre-industrial ELVOC nucleation”). Furthermore, the nucleation and initial growth induced by oxidation products from anthropogenic emissions of organic vapours (“anthropogenic ELVOC nucleation”) is studied, as well as the formation of ice on glassy Secondary Organic Aerosol acting as Ice Nucleating Particles (“glassy SOA as INP”).

Coordinator: GUF, Germany

Scientists in Charge from CERN: 
Antti Onnela, Jasper Kirkby

Full costs of the project: 3.9 M€

EU funding: 3.9 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 530 k€

1 September 2017 - 31 August 2021

AVA: Research with low energy antiprotons - a European training network

Antiprotons, stored and cooled at low energies in a storage ring or at rest in traps, are highly desirable for the investigation of a large number of basic questions on fundamental interactions, on the static structure of exotic antiprotonic atomic systems or of (radioactive) nuclei as well as on the time-dependent quantum dynamics of correlated systems. Fundamental studies include for example CPT tests by high-resolution spectroscopy of the 1s-2s transition or of the ground-state hyperfine structure of antihydrogen, as well as gravity experiments with antimatter. Antimatter experiments are at the cutting edge of science; they are, however, very difficult to realize and presently limited by the performance of the only existing facility in the world, the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN. Advances are urgently required in the development of numerical tools that can adequately model beam transport, life time and interaction, the development of new beam diagnostics tools and detectors to fully measure the beam’s properties, as well as collaborative R&D into advanced experimental techniques for improved precision and novel experiments. These open challenges are addressed within AVA. This network between universities, research centers and industry partners will realize an interdisciplinary and cross-sector research and training program for a cohort of 15 Fellows which shall provide them with an ideal basis for their future careers.

Coordinator: UNILIV, United Kingdom

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Michael Doser

Full costs of the project: 3.8 M€

EU funding: 3.8 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 400 k€

1 January 2017 - 31 December 2020

AMVA4NewPhysics: Advanced Multi-Variate Analysis for New Physics Searches at the LHC

The project will focus on developing advanced statistical learning techniques to data analyses at the LHC with the objective of maximizing the chance of new physics discoveries. The project will also setup a network of European institutions to foster the development and exploitation of Advanced Multi-Variate Analysis (AMVA) for New Physics searches. 

Coordinator: INFN, Italy

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Paris Sphicas

Full costs of the project: 2.4 M€

EU funding: 2.4 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 596 k€

1 September 2015 - 31 August 2019

POP SCIENCE

Every year, on the last Friday of September, the European Researchers’ Night takes place simultaneously in about 300 cities all over Europe and beyond. POP SCIENCE is the Geneva region programme for European Researchers’ Night 2014, on Friday September 26.

With POP SCIENCE, the science investigating the most profound mysteries of our origins and the researchers who contribute to this new knowledge through their passionate work will be brought to the masses.

Coordinator: CERN, Switzerland

Scientist in Charge from CERN:
Paola Catapano

Full costs of the project: 968 k€

EU funding: 210 k€

EU funding for CERN: 95 k€

1 May 2014 - 31 January 2016