61 teachers and students from the Faculty of Technology of the University of Debrecen travelled to CERN, located on the border of Switzerland and France, near Geneva. Due to the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which operates the facility, they were able to visit four special sites, including the antimatter factory, the control centre, the server room and the magnet testing facility. CERN staff, who also speak Hungarian, helped the guests to interpret what they had seen.
One of the tour leaders, Kornél Sarvajcz, a lecturer at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Mechatronics, UD,said that among other things, they learned that CERN, established in the 1950s, attracts researchers from almost all developed countries who are highly involved in high-energy physics.
- The facility, which was designed by technical engineers to explore the wonders of the micro-world, is primarily a "playground" for physicists, who study the origin of the world, antimatter, black holes and other topics. Several major discoveries have been made here, the most recent being the discovery of the Higgs boson, the divine particle, for which Peter Higgs was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2013. One of the important aims of CERN was to prevent researchers doing this kind of research from leaving Europe, and it has succeeded," said Kornél Sarvajcz.
The students of the Faculty of Engineering also learned about the thesis, dissertation, PhD and research opportunities offered by CERN. They were also informed that the organisation offers scholarships to the most talented young people for up to several years, covering the full cost of their stay.
During the visit, the lecturers were able to build international contacts with Hungarian and foreign researchers working in the laboratory, and the leaders of the delegation also took the first step towards a longer-term research collaboration between the University of Debrecen and CERN in the field of engineering.
Kornél Sarvajcz added: after several months of preparation, the professional trip, which was supported by the Student Self-Government, provided a great deal of new knowledge, and not only those working in physics, but also, for example, mechanical engineers, mechatronics and architecture, benefited from it so they plan to send new groups from the Faculty of Engineering to CERN every year.
Press Centre - OCs
