Berkeley Lab hosts CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti and EPP panelists

Fabiola Gianotti (center) and Michael Turner (right) tour Berkeley Lab with Director Mike Witherell (left). (Credit: Robinson Kuntz, Berkeley Lab)

Special guests Fabiola Gianotti, Michael Turner, and Maria Spiropulu visited Berkeley Lab on October 21 for a series of presentations and panel discussions about the future of particle physics research and US/EU scientific collaboration.

Click on image to watch the EPP Report presentation.

The day began with a session on the recently-released Elementary Particle Physics (EPP) Committee Report, presented by committee co-chairs Michael S. Turner, a senior strategic advisor at the Kavli Foundation and professor emeritus of astronomy, astrophysics, and physics at the University of Chicago, and Maria Spiropulu (speaking remotely via Zoom), a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology. The results of a study commissioned by DOE, NSF, and the National Academies, the report – Elementary Particle Physics: The Higgs and Beyond – explores the long-term goals and future ambitions for particle physics research and presents a 40-year vision with recommendations that will guide investments to maintain U.S. leadership in particle physics. Watch the EPP Report video.

Click on image to watch Fabiola Gianotti’s CERN Updates & European Strategy presentation.

A session on CERN Updates & European Strategy was presented by CERN Director General, Fabiola Gianotti, who is the first woman to have held this role (appointed in 2016) and the first Director-General to be reappointed for a full second term (in 2021). Gianotti provided an overview of CERN’s current scientific program and the European Strategy for Particle Physics, including recent upgrades and breakthroughs that will allow Europe to maintain a leading role in uniting the global physics research community. Watch the CERN Updates & European Strategy video.

Natalie Roe (right, at the podium) moderates a discussion with panelists (seated from left to right) Hitoshi Murayama, Fabiolo Gianotti, Pier Oddone, and Michael Turner, with Maria Spiropulu engaging remotely via Zoom (onscreen, above right). (Credit: Robinson Kuntz, Berkeley Lab)

In a Panel Discussion moderated by Berkeley Lab’s Associate Director for the Physical Sciences Natalie Roe, Gianotti and the EPP Chairs joined local EPP committee members Hitoshi Murayama, a theoretical physicist at Berkeley Lab and a professor of physics at UC Berkeley who chaired the 2023 P5 (Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel) Report, and Pier Oddone, former Fermilab director and Berkeley Lab deputy director. Watch the Panel Discussion video.

Fabiolo Gianotti and Mike Witherell onstage for a ‘Fireside Chat.’ (Credit: Robinson Kuntz, Berkeley Lab)

In the day’s final session, Gianotti engaged in a Fireside Chat with Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell, in which they shared anecdotes about their respective careers in physics, as well as the importance of science and scientists in facilitating international relations, cultivating public trust, and engaging in science communication and outreach that supports education and new pathways for scientific careers. Gianotti also spoke about her experience performing with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Watch the ‘Fireside Chat’ video.