The Challenges for the Scientific Community - Case Study Example

Strategic Plan of the CERN Facility 478896) Introduction One of the most fascinating challenges for the scientific community at large is to understand and decipher the events that lead to the creation of the universe. Some of the unanswered questions that have been plaguing the scientific community are theories regarding the origin of mass, presence of antimatter, nature and presence of dark matter, existence of magnetic monopoles and hidden spatial dimensions. The European Organization for Nuclear Research known as CERN facility founded in 1954 is responsible for the experiments conducted with regard to accelerator based particle physics.1 Experiments were conducted and data collected on the collisions simulated between particles in particle accelerators called the LHC. (Large Hadron Collider) These experiments will provide a scientific know how regarding the kind of matter that would have supposedly been filled up in the universe after the Big Bang. Programmes The director of CERN under the auspices of the Executive board and under the recommendations of a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) manages the functioning of different departments. 2 These are primarily (i) The Programmes & Projects Department (ii) Technical departments handling subjects in Computer Science, Electronics and Mechanical engineering. (iii) Management of Finance (iv) Safety Department, In-House library section and the Technical facility section. (v) Handling the Personnel Department Section (vi) The Communication Section. 1. http://public.web.cern.ch/public/ 2. Strategic Plan 2007-2012, p.81 (a) The LHC Programme – The Large Hadron Collider has been constructed in a 27km underground ring housed in Geneva, Switzerland generating a powerful energy source of 14 TeV.1 The LHC makes a beam consisting of bunches containing millions of protons to travel at a speed just below the speed of light. These are then accelerated and guided by strong superconducting magnets. Apart from this major LHC programme, CERN is also conducting experiments in astroparticle physics, neutrino telescopes and gravitational wave detectors. CERN is developing advanced technologies for upgrading the LHC experiments and improving the functioning of the linear collider systems. Research and development is progressing in this field and various corporate bodies have been approached for support. (b) Technical Departments- Several well equipped departments in mechanical, electronics and instrumentation maintain a vibrant work culture at CERN. Elaborate Simulation exercises are being developed and use of EDA (Electronic Design Automation) for Printed Circuit Board Design, Very large Scale Integration design and VHDL (Very high speed integrated circuits hardware Description Language) are being promoted.2 The mechanical engineering department adds value to a design by its various design 1. http://public.web.cern.ch/public/ 2. Strategic Plan 2007-2012, p.62 streams like multiCAD, PLM (Product lifecycle management), RM (rapid manufacturing), CNC (computerized numerical control systems), CAM ( computer aided manufacturing systems) and CAE (computer aided engineering). A well equipped computer networking team should be in place to trouble shoot various network problems that may arise when linking the numerous circuits. Suitable backup plans need to be in place when servers are down. In the past five years Linux clusters have been installed for over 1000 nodes. Linux as the pioneer for free software has been used to install the RedHat Linux or the RPM package which have used to address large scale networking.1 Designs were also done to make the reinstallation of a machine completely automated since a manual installation required lot of time and also lot of real time information. The CERN facility also attracts several apprentices and students planning to undergo PhD programmes at CERN. The recruiting process is however quite stringent with merit being the sole criteria. These departments house a number of facilities like laboratories, clean rooms and special equipment to pursue its scientific experiments. Industrial participation for each of the branches is also being improved in the areas of optical communication, pixel detectors and carbon dioxide based coolant technology. Visits from the industry are fostered and college contacts are increased to identify talents and nurture them when young. The research and development wing is making inroads into the chip design, water scale processing, die-bonding and integrated detector Microsystems. (c) Financing- Funding of the CERN facility The CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is being well funded by three programmes. The ATLAS which is being funded up to 2015, the LCHb up to 2014 and the ALICE up to 2013. 2 1. Bahyl Vladimir et al, 2003, p.3 2. FORCE- 10 Years of Funding Research at CERN, 2008, p.4 (i) ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS)- A general purpose particle detector of dimensions 46m long, 25m height and 7000 tonnes weight is used to measure a wide range of signals. This involves a coordinated effort of about 1700 scientists and engineers from 159 institutions selected from 37 countries.1 (ii) CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) – This detector is designed to run at highest luminosity and is programmed to study proton collisions occurring at high energy ranges of 14 TeV. (iii) The other programmes that are being funded are LHCb which is capable of detecting differences between matter and antimatter. There are a total of 680 participants and 39 of these participants are affiliated to Swiss research institutions (Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne EPFL and University of Zurich) 1 (iv) The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) was assigned the job of allocating resources to the funding programs at CERN. This was also designated by the title ‘FORCE’. The NRC Div II (National research Council) was given authority within the SNSF to assess the request for funds as and when it came up. Discussions of the functioning of this committee consisted representatives of FOES (Federal Office for Education and Science), the board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology, SNSF and the Swiss CERN delegation. Efforts were made to bring about a transparency in the manner in which funds were allocated. It was only after 2003 that funding for the LHC picked up with the formation of CHIPP, the Swiss Institute for Particle Physics.2 This therefore provided a good example where government authorities, scientific organizations and representatives of various research 1. FORCE- 10 Years of Funding Research at CERN, 2008, p.5 2. FORCE- 10 Years of Funding Research at CERN, 2008, p.17 organizations formed a cohesive unit and formed a group that was able to fund different projects undertaken at CERN in a systematic manner. The above sketch shows a representation of the manner in which FORCE (SNSF) provided funding for different programmes that were conducted at CERN over a period of 10 years. 1 CERN’s interest is slowly shifting to more global European markets and projects while at the same time maintaining it status quo intact with respect to research in astroparticle physics. This is because of the huge expertise this institution has with regard to accelerators, its emphasis on well equipped infrastructure and an excellent track record of perfect design, CERN would be in a position to compete in other markets to sustain its research activity (d) Safety Department- The Experimental Area Manager or Territorial Safety Officer is in charge of the safety issues at CERN. 2 The schedule for completing the Large Hadron Collider is tight; however no undue pressure is given so as to create a 1. FORCE- 10 Years of Funding Research at CERN, 2008, p.17 2. Safety at CERN, 2006, n.p safety risk. The CERN’s work policy involves a work package approach policy. In this, a work is assigned to a contractor. The list along with naming the activities to be performed also charts out the safety issues involved in the exercise. Precautions that need to be taken to protect one are also listed out. New people are given an immediate tour of the facility along with CERN Department Safety Officer and suitable training programmes conducted to familiarise the facility.1 (e) The Personnel Department- There is a huge volume of human resource that runs the CERN facility. The staff members categorised as those with 5 years of service and those over 10 years of service.2 Compilations are done with regard to age, gender, category and nationality. Proper documentation is done to update the information of all working staff. A well defined recruitment process selects the candidates that are to appear for different selection boards and the number of 1. Safety at CERN, 2006, n.p 2. CERN Personnel Statistics 2008, p.3 vacancies that are yet to be filled. Recruitment of fellows and selection of students for the summer programmes are well documented. Reasons for personnel leaving the departments are also noted down. The various departments and its codes having separate functions in the CERN facility are denoted as follows 1 AB- Accelerator and Beams, AT-Accelerator Technology, DG-Director-General, DSU- Directorate Services Unit, ETT-Education and Technology Transfer, FI-Finance, HR-Human Resources, IT-Information Technology LHC-Large Hadron Collider, PH-Physics, SC-Safety Commission SG-Secretary General, TS-Technical Support Nationalities are also assigned a code according to the international ISO Codes. These are MS- Member States NMS- Non Member States Code category are also assigned per Professional Categories which are as follows1 1. Scientific work (Experiment and Theoretical Physics) 2. Scientific and engineering work (other than experiment and theoretical physics) 3. Technical Work 4. Manual Work, Crafts and Trades. 5. Administrative Work 6. Office and Administrative Work 7. Office Work Codes are also assigned by the type of contract LD- Limited Duration Contract FT- Fixed Term contract IC- Indefinite Contract 1. CERN Personnel Statistics 2008, p.p 3-4 The two tables listed above provide an insight into the process in which human resource information is tabulated and maintained by the HR department.1 (f) The Communication and Networking Section- The huge amount of money and time that goes into the funding of these programmes at CERN calls for policy in which the activities of CERN at communicated to the general public to prevent any kind of resentment or negatives vibes from the public at large. 2 The 4 key messages are (i) World class lab for research and discovery in fundamental Physics. (ii) Provides leadership roles in science communication, education and training programmes. 1. CERN Personnel Statistics 2008, p.4 2. CERN LHC Communication plan , 2006, p.3 (iii) An Innovator in Design bringing out products for the Future (iv) Provide a symbiotic cooperation between the physics communities living in different countries. The target audiences that require a positive communication are (a) The general public (b) The physics community which provides information about CERNS present activities. (c) Industry partners to encourage collaboration. (d) Schools that are provided with this information to instil a curiosity within the mind of the child and generate his interest via visits, exhibitions and other products. Communication is fostered through media presentations, exhibitions, visits, print materials, web based articles and several multimedia products. The communication plan is thereby assessed quantitatively by noting the number of events, participation of delegates, advice taken from experts and the number of journalists that would be visiting CERN. 1 Quantitative measures include getting the feedback from visitors and assessing the amount of media and print coverage. Strategic Plan or SWOT Analysis conducted on a facility like CERN Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the CERN facility provides us a perspective to assess its strengths and weakness. 2 1. CERN LHC Communication plan , 2006, p.4 2. Strategic Plan 2007-2012, p.76 Strengths 1. Well documented publication and citation records are maintained which helps in tracing back vital information. 2. This has an excellent technical infrastructure with a team of highly dedicated personnel adding value to the same. 3. The scope of research is huge and the projects of international quality. This generates leadership qualities in a large working environment. 4. Collaborations with other international accelerator centres like DESY. 1 5. The CERN technical committee is well connected to a lot of universities thus supporting various research programmes for PhD and the like. 1 6. When other institutions are likely to enter into any kind of partnership, CERN can be presumed to take up an extremely active role. Weaknesses 1. Actual interactions with other physics communities have not been fully realised. 2. The PhD duration for the post graduate students is rather long. 3. Studies regarding accelerator physics and other topics do not form a major part of any college curriculum. Therefore proper training and imparting of knowledge is necessary for new recruits. Opportunities 1. The commissioning of the LHC shall provide ample scope for scientists to engage in detailed analysis. 2. The results of these experiments shall provide a wealth of knowledge and allow the technical departments in assigning areas that require more research. This has lead to more outreach activities and scope of active collaboration between industries.1 1. Strategic Plan 2007-2012, p.76 Threats 1. Minor aberrations in the product line could severely impact the working of the accelerator. One example of this was an accident technically known as ‘quench’ causing a tonne of leakage of the helium coolant. This resulted in 100 superconductor magnets of the LHC getting heated up to 100º C. The optimal vacuum conditions were destroyed and to repair this fault the damaged part needed to be warmed up and slowly cooled down resulting in two months of shutdown of the LHC activities.2 2. The research programme and ultimately the construction of these accelerators call for a lot of energy, time and funds. It is therefore imperative that the same amount of perseverance and dedication is carried out till the culmination of the project.1 The Large Hadron Collider at Cern Copyright : American Institute of Physics Conclusion These are exciting times for CERN as a host of programmes are there on the anvil. The world’s largest laboratory is pushing the frontiers of science and creating innovative methods in conducting research. This facility is boosted by the presence of a large number of dedicated and hardworking scientists who coordinate the working of various departments actively. Scientists at CERN are currently working on computing Grids which will add a whole new dimension to information technology and find wide applications in climate forecasting, earth observation and petroleum extraction. 1. Strategic Plan 2007-2012, p.76 2. http://public.web.cern.ch/public/ Bibliography 1. Bahyl Vladimir et al, “Installing, Running and Maintaining Large Linux Clusters at CERN”, March 2003 2. “CERN LHC Communication plan”, DSU-CO, July 2006, Print 3. CERN-The European Organization for nuclear Research 2010, Available at http://public.web.cern.ch/public/, [Accessed on 23rd November 2010] 4. “CERN Personnel Statistics 2008”, Human Resources Department, April 2009, Print 5. Ellis John et al, “Review of the safety of LHC Collisions”, LHC Safety Assessment Group- Theory Division, Physics Department, CERN, 2003, Web, [Accessed 24th November 2010] 6. “FORCE- 10 Years of Funding Research at CERN 1997-2007”, Swiss National Science Foundation, September 2008, Print. 7. “Strategic Plan 2007-2012”, FOM Institute for subatomic physics Nikhef, 2007, Print. 8. “Safety at CERN”, Office of Science, US department of Energy, April 2006,Available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/TCOORD/Activities/TcOffice/Safety/index.htm, [Accessed on 24th November 2010] Read More