Mark Thomson, a renowned professor of experimental particle physics from the University of Cambridge, has been appointed as the director general of Cern, one of the world's leading nuclear physics laboratories, and it appears he may be putting the team's interests before his own.
When Thomson takes over as director general on January 1st, his first act will be to turn off the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a massive scientific instrument that recreated conditions from just microseconds after the Big Bang, in order to undertake much-needed engineering work. This shutdown is not expected to last until his term nears its end.
Thomson seems unfazed by this decision and is actually relishing what the next five years hold, as "the machine is running brilliantly" with an unprecedented amount of data being recorded. The physics results are expected to be plentiful, with Thomson stating that there will always be new discoveries waiting to be made.
Thomson's path to becoming a leading figure in particle physics was not an easy one. Born into a family where university attendance was non-existent, he pursued a degree in physics at Oxford and later discovered his passion for the subject after reading about Cern while on holiday.
The LHC accelerates protons to nearly light speed inside a 27km-long ring under the French-Swiss countryside, with the ultimate goal of making precise measurements of particles and interactions that could potentially reveal long-held theories. However, as Thomson himself notes, there is still much to be discovered about the mysteries surrounding the Higgs boson, particularly its mass variation.
Thomson's five-year tenure will largely focus on bringing the high-luminosity LHC up to speed, a project that promises to make new discoveries tenfold with powerful new magnets and enhanced detectors. This upgrade comes at an estimated cost of 15bn Swiss francs (£14bn), but it is expected to be "incredibly exciting" for Thomson, who views it as more than just a machine working away.
However, the bigger challenge facing Cern lies ahead – the construction of the Future Circular Collider (FCC), which promises to be even larger and more ambitious. Spanning 91km in length and requiring a new 400-metre tunnel, this colossal machine would carry out collisions at seven times the energy level of the LHC. While it is expected to push forward our understanding of the universe's fundamental laws, critics argue that there are no guarantees that it will answer the questions humanity still seeks.
For Thomson, however, the prospect of advancing human knowledge remains a driving force. "We've not got to the point where we have stopped making discoveries," he says, highlighting Cern's ongoing mission to understand the universe at its most fundamental level.
When Thomson takes over as director general on January 1st, his first act will be to turn off the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a massive scientific instrument that recreated conditions from just microseconds after the Big Bang, in order to undertake much-needed engineering work. This shutdown is not expected to last until his term nears its end.
Thomson seems unfazed by this decision and is actually relishing what the next five years hold, as "the machine is running brilliantly" with an unprecedented amount of data being recorded. The physics results are expected to be plentiful, with Thomson stating that there will always be new discoveries waiting to be made.
Thomson's path to becoming a leading figure in particle physics was not an easy one. Born into a family where university attendance was non-existent, he pursued a degree in physics at Oxford and later discovered his passion for the subject after reading about Cern while on holiday.
The LHC accelerates protons to nearly light speed inside a 27km-long ring under the French-Swiss countryside, with the ultimate goal of making precise measurements of particles and interactions that could potentially reveal long-held theories. However, as Thomson himself notes, there is still much to be discovered about the mysteries surrounding the Higgs boson, particularly its mass variation.
Thomson's five-year tenure will largely focus on bringing the high-luminosity LHC up to speed, a project that promises to make new discoveries tenfold with powerful new magnets and enhanced detectors. This upgrade comes at an estimated cost of 15bn Swiss francs (£14bn), but it is expected to be "incredibly exciting" for Thomson, who views it as more than just a machine working away.
However, the bigger challenge facing Cern lies ahead – the construction of the Future Circular Collider (FCC), which promises to be even larger and more ambitious. Spanning 91km in length and requiring a new 400-metre tunnel, this colossal machine would carry out collisions at seven times the energy level of the LHC. While it is expected to push forward our understanding of the universe's fundamental laws, critics argue that there are no guarantees that it will answer the questions humanity still seeks.
For Thomson, however, the prospect of advancing human knowledge remains a driving force. "We've not got to the point where we have stopped making discoveries," he says, highlighting Cern's ongoing mission to understand the universe at its most fundamental level.
. I mean, shutting down the LHC already? That's like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound 
. But hey, if he thinks it's gonna make things "brilliant" with all that data being recorded... I guess that's his thing 
. On the bright side, who knows what new discoveries we'll actually get to see after this upgrade 
?
i mean, i get it cern needs some engineering work but five years is a pretty long time to be offline. and 15bn francs is like whoa 
that's a lot of money for just upgrading the machine. i'm kinda excited though, i've heard those new magnets and detectors are gonna make some major breakthroughs. 
as for the FCC, yeah i guess it's cool that they're pushing the boundaries but let's not get too carried away, we still don't know everything about the universe yet 
his plan to upgrade the high-luminosity lhc with new magnets and detectors sounds like a game-changer 
but the bigger picture is even more exciting - building the future circular collider (fcc) in 91km! that's like, whoa 
. And let's talk about the Future Circular Collider... it sounds like a whole new level of mind-blowing, but at what cost? £14bn?! That's crazy 
. Still, if Thomson's got the skills to bring those high-luminosity upgrades online and push human knowledge forward, I'm all for it 
. He's all about making new discoveries and pushing boundaries, and I'm sure his 5-year tenure is going to be amazing 
. The high-luminosity LHC project alone could uncover some mind-blowing stuff 
. Bring on the Future Circular Collider, let's see what secrets we can uncover! 
... we're talking about a machine that recreated conditions from the Big Bang here! Can't believe he's gonna shut it down for "engineering work"... sounds like an excuse to me 
. And 15bn Swiss francs is a pretty penny, but I guess if it means new discoveries and understanding the universe better... 
. Still, I hope Thomson stays true to Cern's mission and doesn't let personal interests get in the way 
. What do you guys think?
the LHC gets shutdown as soon as this guy takes over? it sounds like he's gonna be more of a dictator than a leader. 15 billion swiss francs for an upgrade, that's just crazy 
or something? I mean i guess Thomson seems confident but come on, it's a massive project with huge risks involved. what if he screws it up? 
from oxford to cern, he's literally living proof that with hard work & passion, anything is possible 