Meeting point: Parking Lausanne Bellerive at 08:00 (bus leaves at 08:15)

Transport: by bus

Number of participants: 20

Registration fee: CHF 17 (includes transport and lunch)

Details: Participants need to bring a valid ID. CERN's sites are located on either side of the French-Swiss border and the participants might cross the border during the trip. Depending on nationality, the participant may also require a Schengen visa. Visitors below 16 years old, pregnant women and people with ferromagnetic implants (pacemaker, insulin pump, etc.) cannot be admitted.  No high-heeled shoes, open-toed shoes, flip-flops and sandals are allowed.

Organizers and sponsors: Geneva University Hospital (HUG), University of Geneva (UNIGE), and CERN

Contact: Cristina Garcia (cristina.garcfdez@gmail.com)

 

Thirty years ago at CERN the World Wide Web was invented. Today, at CERN’s data centre more than 230,000 processor cores and 15,000 servers run 24/7, and over 2 petabytes of data are accessed every day. This visit will focus on Big Data and its challenges in different fields of research, such as particle physics, astronomy, and medicine. In these fields, a constant flux of new data can contribute to a better understanding of the the Universe, the creation of new knowledge, and the development of new therapies.

Journalists will learn about the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC): the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), which will increase the number of proton-proton collisions (luminosity). In 2026, the total computing capacity required by this experiments is expected to become 50-100 times greater than today. Participants will also hear how astronomers from the University of Geneva’s Astronomy Department plan to handle the data coming in from the next ESA cosmological satellite, EUCLID, which will send 850 GB of compressed data to Earth every day. Finally, participants will follow a live medical consultation in which several specialists will analyse digital representations of patients and show how big data is expanding research possibilities, sharpening clinical analysis– and raising fundamental questions about privacy, freedom and determinism.

To wrap up the day, the participants on the different Geneva field trips will be treated to a closing cocktail party at  Campus Biotech.