CERN: the pinnacle of science
I discovered the programme through my university in Cyprus. Being an undergraduate from an unknown university in a small country, I was surprised to be accepted, given the vast competition. I was therefore greatly excited and proud for this impressive opportunity. After all, I have always considered CERN to be the pinnacle of science, the place that leads humanity forward. Amazingly, CERN is more than that: it is a place where humans not only coexists in a perfect balance, but evolved to the point where minds collide (pun totally intended) and synergize in a search for a higher level of understanding, the search for the greatest gift, knowledge.
Like most summer students, I am working in the PH department and luckily enough assigned to the DT group under the supervision of Dr Paolo Petagna. The group is highly supportive and cooperative and I admire the easiness and simplicity of coordination and knowledge sharing observed.
My project is concerned with micro-channel cooling systems for silicon detectors. To put it in layman’s terms, a (usually silicon) plate has micrometre-sized channels inside and then gas passes through the channels, cooling the plate. The cold plate is placed in contact with electronics and cools them. As simple as it sounds, the complications are endless: the device must be radiation tolerable, allow particles to pass through it, be very small, sufficiently cool down electronics, be easy and not too costly to manufacture, fail-safe, match the electronics thermal expansion and the list goes on. My subject is reliability and material reduction: through experiment, analysis and simulation I am trying minimize the material while maintaining an acceptable safety factor.
Luckily, as a mechanical engineer, solid mechanics, fluid and heat transfer are areas of my studies, so I was already familiar with the subject. However before arriving I studied some concepts and also software packages I would need, to better perform here upon starting work. It was a personal choice however and not a necessity.
I did not have specific expectations from CERN. My experience is limited to the university environment, small scale research, summer schools or internships in small organizations. Avoiding a possible disappointment, I tried not to have high hopes for CERN. “Just another internship […] in a big company” I thought. How wrong was I! CERN is a vivid organization: departments are the organs, people the cells, and everything works in an impossibly possible harmony. From the ideology to the culture and from research to knowledge possession, CERN has had such a huge impact on me that I consider it a life-changing experience.
Having experienced the unique, international-scale collaborative and productive effort at CERN, to continue working here is now a desire and goal of mine. After acquiring a degree/PhD, it is likely that I will pursuit a position here, either on the same subject or another.
As for the non-CERN related life, my first comment is about the cultural shock I got from Switzerland. I have been to a number of countries and I admit that none has showed the level of organization, culture, cleanness and proper systematic behaviour as seen here. And even though the area is not a touristic one, I was not disappointed. The lake, Jet d’Eau, museums, parks, parties; hiking, bungee jumping (2nd largest in the world!) and paragliding are just few places and activities I went to. During this warmest than usual (and extremely humid!) Swiss summer, great memories, friendships and experiences were built.
