The LargeHadronColliderat CERN, located beneath the border of France and Switzerland, was restarted this spring with a goal of making scientific history—once again.
The facility achieved that goal a few years ago when researchers found evidence that the Higgs boson, or “god particle", exists.
The world’s largest particle accelerator was then shut down for maintenance. but is now back up and running as scientists work to uncover the secrets of dark matter, gravity, and anti-matter.
Protons circulating in the collider are currently getting up to speed, which is expected to take until the end of May. Like last time, experiments will be conducted over a three year period. As a result, some of the top scientific minds from around the globe are headed to CERN to take part in these efforts. That includes UCSB Professor of Physics Joe Incandela who was responsible for following just about every aspect of the Higgs boson research.
Cal Poly Physics Professor Jennifer Klay is also headed to CERN this summer, and she's bringing her students with her. Klay and her students were part of the U.S.-led team that developed the electromagnetic calorimeter detector for the ALICE experiment.