Fabiola Gianotti Gives Enlightening Talk on Fundamental Research
Geneva, September 13, 2018: The American International Club (AIC) hosted an inspiring presentation by Dr. Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN, the European Laboratory for particle physics, at the Swissôtel Metropole on September 13th. Dr. Gianotti is a world-leading figure in fundamental physics research.
CERN is the largest particle physics lab in the world with a current annual budget of CHF 1.15 billion, local staff of 2,500, 13,000 users worldwide, and 130,000 visitors annually. CERN’s accelerators, detectors, colliders, computer simulation and other tools help uncover the bricks of what make up the universe and ourselves, stated Dr. Gianotti. Elementary particles are the building blocks of matter. Dr. Gianotti elaborated that matter can be broken down into atoms, which have a nucleus made of protons and neutrons, which are finally composed of quarks at the elementary level.
Dr. Gianotti discussed the Big Bang theory of the evolution of our universe from its birth 13.7 billion years ago. Initially, elemental particles (quarks) began to bond, forming atoms, which later created matter, which eventually evolved into more complex organisms over time including humans. Light from these past billions of years can reach us today, providing a picture of our past. However, the first 380,000 years of our universe’s history remains a mystery, as a dense dark mass from that time period blocks any light from reaching us today.
CERN assembled the large hadron collider (LHC) in 2010, a 27 km underground ring in the Geneva region, to help solve the mystery of the universe’s first 380,000 years. Based on accelerated particle collisions in the LHC at CERN, Dr. Gianotti and her colleagues discovered the Higgs-Boson particle, which led to a Nobel Prize in Physics to Peter Higgs and François Englert, for their theoretical predictions of the existence of this elementary particle.
Dr. Gianotti stressed the importance of fundamental research to our society as a whole. While fundamental research initially does not have specific commercial benefits, it represents the highest expression of human intelligence. Moreover, this fundamental research then lays the foundation for future breakthroughs that help our society evolve. The great fundamental research of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr in Quantum Mechanics enabled the discovery of transistors, which is the foundation of our electronic world today. Similarly, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity enabled the accuracy of today’s global positioning systems (GPS).
AIC President, Ron Banks, closed-out this sold-out event by thanking Dr. Gianotti, and presenting her with a special gift – an exquisite portrait of Dr. Gianotti by artist Semma Canaan Jonsson.