WEP 2012: Rolf-Dieter Heuer – Leading CERN and Exploring Particle Physics
"Today's scientific challenge for CERN is to understand the first moments after the big bang and explore the beginning of the universe," explains Dr. Rolf Heuer, Director General of the European Organization of Nuclear Research (CERN) and King Abdullah University Science and Technology (KAUST) Trustee, during his opening keynote lecture, Research at CERN: From the Highest Energies to the Smallest Particles, at the 2012 Winter Enrichment Program (WEP).
Currently, CERN is engaged in research that has the potential to shape the future of modern science. They are actively searching to find the elusive Higgs-Boson particle. Although not yet discovered, the particle is fundamental to the Standard Model of physics.
Breaking new ground through particle collisions
Through the use of super-microscopy technology, and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – a particle accelerator that enables particle collisions – CERN researchers can get close to exactly simulating (on a micro-scale) the beginning of the universe and examine the moments just after the big bang.
After accelerating particles to the velocity of light, scientists use the LHC to collide them and then explore the subatomic debris. The LHC has a 20-year research program that ends towards 2030. All CERN experiments combined produce 15 petabytes of data per year.
The LHC is located 100 meters underground on the Swiss-French border and is 27km in circumference. It is made up of 1200 large magnets – each 18m long – that are connected by ten thousand high-current leads.
The search for the Higgs-Boson
The Standard Model of physics, a mathematical formalism describing all interactions, is missing one crucial element – the origin of mass. The theory suggests that all particles that pass through the Higgs-field (or scalar field) acquire mass upon interaction. The Higgs-Boson particle is a signature characteristic of the Higgs-field. It is named after the theoretical physicist, Professor Peter Ware Higgs of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland who first proposed the existence of the particle in the 1964.
Shortly after the universe began, it is believed the universe had no mass, but was later given mass thanks to the Higgs field. It is believed that the Higgs field – currently a theoretical energy field – exists throughout the universe. Finding the Higgs-Boson will vindicate the Standard Model of physics.
Dr. Heuer expects that the Higgs-Boson would have a "mass between 115 and 130 GeV (Gigaelectronic Volts), possibly 125 GeV," but he says meticulous examination will be required to verify it. Dr. Heuer added that the discovery of the Higgs-Boson would add greater depth to "our understanding of the universe."
"It took us 50 years to get the Standard Model of physics," said Dr. Heuer. "We are only talking about finalizing the Standard Model of physics which describes about five per cent of the universe. Next we will need to see physics beyond the Standard Model and to study even further beyond that. This is why we need a 20-year program."
Positive competition for improved results
Dr. Heuer also discussed the competitive collaboration that takes place between research teams at CERN. He remarked that competitiveness is good for collaboration as long as it is balanced and focused on the topic.
"Inside the Higgs-Boson analysis groups, scientists are competing because every group wants to be the first one to find the particle, but they are also collaborating because everyone knows that without the other teams the research cannot function," explains Dr. Heuer.
"And if you are only taking knowledge from people, but not sharing your methods, approach, or programs then you will quickly lose the knowledge gained from others," said Dr. Heuer. "Of course there are always some conflicts, but conflicts are also sometimes enriching."
Although less interdisciplinary work is performed at CERN because of the institution's focus on particle physics, Dr. Heuer explained that it is still needed and important for research success "as long as the disciplines work well together."
"If you stay within the thinking of one discipline, you will lose out on different viewpoints and questions. I think you can only win through this interdisciplinary approach, but of course you cannot go across all disciplines. We need to concentrate on disciplines which work well together – like KAUST is doing."
Science without borders
During his keynote lecture Dr. Heuer also noted a distinct similarity between KAUST and CERN, in that both are autonomous in deciding their research projects.
Prior to CERN being founded in 1954, discussions began in 1949 – just a few years after the end of World War Two. Countries in western Europe had decided to collaborate and build a research institution, independent of governments and politics.
"The fact that Germany, France and the UK were signing the same agreement on science a few years after the end of the war was a miracle. The success of CERN is that it was able to get politics out of the laboratory."
Similarly, KAUST is autonomous in deciding its research agenda. In accordance with the University charter, the KAUST Board of Trustees – under the leadership of His Excellency Minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Nami – oversee the institution's progress and development. The BOT is fully independent and self-perpetuating.
Another similarity he noted was that KAUST, like CERN, brings people together from different cultures and backgrounds to work together for the advancement of science and technology. "As with KAUST, CERN unites people through innovation, education and research, " said Dr. Heuer.
Currently KAUST is home to graduate students, faculty and administration staff from over 70 nations. CERN research is conducted at over 200 sites in 45 countries, and now any country – independent of geographical location – can now be part of CERN.
The endless pursuit of knowledge
Dr. Heuer became interested in physics during high school. "I became very interested in physics because I like the logic behind it. I like to understand things and was fascinated by the smallest elements of the universe," remarks Dr. Heuer. He wanted to investigate "as deeply as possible," the smallest constituents of matter and the fundamentals of the world's physical structure.
"I was intrigued by the questions, which are presented today as the two fundamental questions: What are the basic constituents of matter? and What are the forces between them?"
After serving a two-year term in the German army, he studied physics at the University of Stuttggart. In 1977, he gained a Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg. His post-doctoral work focused further on particle physics in the JADE (Japanese Deutschland and England) experiment in the electron-positron storage ring PETRA (Positron-Electron Tandem Ring Accelerator) at the German research facility, DESY (Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, "German Electron Synchrotron") and from 1984, he partook in the OPAL experiment (Omni-Purpose Apparatus for the Large Electrion-Positron Collider) at CERN.
In 1998 he became a Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Hamburg, Germany and in 2004, he returned to DESY as Research Director. In 2007 the CERN Research Council decided Dr. Heuer would be the next Director General following the end of Dr. Robert Aymar's term. He assumed his duties on January 1, 2009.
Despite being very successful in his academic and professional roles, Dr. Heuer says he has never viewed his work as a career. "I was never thinking of a career. I was always thinking of doing the job or task in the correct fashion," explains Dr. Heuer.
"I would say if your ambition is only for a career, then I am not sure if you are suitable for a scientific type of profession. Because, to me, aiming for a scientific career means you target visibility for yourself and not for the topic. I think what is more important is the task or the topic in front of you, and not yourself."
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