Beamline for Schools Competition 2015 Launches Today

CERN is famous for the Higgs boson discovery and the invention of the World Wide Web, but there’s much more to the laboratory than that. A large part of CERN’s research and development is carried out at so-called fixed-target beamlines. These projects range from investigating the inner workings of protons to probing the mysteries of antimatter. In 2015, CERN will once again be making a fully equipped beamline available for schools. Beam time will be allocated to the one or more teams that win the 2015 beamline for schools contest.

The competition is open to high-school students aged 16 or older, in teams of up to 30 students, nine of whom would – if their team wins – come to CERN to run their experiments.

Teams may be composed of students from a single school, or a number of schools working together. Proposals will be pre-selected by a committee of CERN scientists, with the short list being sent on to the SPS and PS experiments Committee (SPSC), the committee that validates all proposals for experiments at the laboratory’s SPS and PS accelerators.

The first step is to register your team and tell us why you think you should win time to conduct your experiments on the beamline. Registration closes at midnight CET on 31 January 2015.

The second step involves submitting a two-part proposal: a written proposal and a 1-minute video about your proposed experiment. The deadline for submitting the experiment proposals is midnight CET on 31 March 2015.

For more information about how to apply and to read about the winning teams from 2014 see the beamline for schools website.

The beamline for schools team will hold a Google+ hangout in English on 4 December 2014 at 5pm CET on CERN’s YouTube channel. Researchers from CERN as well as last year's winning teams will be on hand to answer questions.

Good luck!

Featured

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • Photo courtesy of Kraus-Anderson

    Minnesota District Completes $49.7M Addition, Renovation Project

    St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $49.7-million addition and remodeling project at two district schools, according to a news release.

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).