Dr. Philippe Lebrun

Date: 1^st March, 4:00 PM IST (Saturday)

It's a given that anti-matter exists. But can one prove its existence?

Explanation to several cryptic aspects of the universe hinge on the 'Theory of the Standard Model'. But what exactly is it?

And what makes the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) different from the existing particle accelerators?

And what ground breaking experiments does it lend itself to?

Answers to these questions and several more, will be the definite highlights of the lecture by Dr. Philippe Lebrun, Head of the Accelerator Technology (AT) department at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research).

In 1994, the LHC was started as the brainchild of the AT Division at CERN. The LHC, which is the largest scientific instrument ever made, is being funded and built in collaboration with over two thousand physicists from thirty-four countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories, with Dr. Lebrun at the helm. The LHC which operates at 1.9 degrees over absolute zero and has a circumference of 26.7 km, draws immense possibilities that emerge from creative use of cryogenics and magnetism.

Born on December 28, 1951, Lebrun has dedicated most of his life to CERN, and particle acceleration. He has earned several diplomas from various universities across Europe and North America. Apart from teaching at several universities, he also manages the Accelerator Technology department at CERN. He has written several books and published over a hundred scientific papers on cryogenics, particle acceleration and magnets, which for the best part define the person he is.

Get involved then, on this journey that sets out to make our first foray into this project of such immense importance and such staggering stakes, and to explore the relevance of the 'Standard Model' to this work.

To meet Dr. Philippe Lebrun, in person, be there at NITT during Pragyan'08.