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News Release

Last modified: Friday, March 5, 2010

IU physicist's idea puts women in control at CERN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Thanks to a successful proposal made by Indiana University senior research scientist Pauline Gagnon, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on Monday (March 8) will mark International Women's Day by staffing all control rooms of the world's largest physics laboratory with women.

In addition to originating the idea, Gagnon, a senior research scientist in the IU College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Physics, is also coordinating the effort that will mean the accelerators and detectors of the biggest physics lab in the world will all be run primarily by women. On the day itself, CERN will have live images of the various control rooms and video clips of women talking about this event plus other material. CERN, located near Geneva, Switzerland, is perhaps best known as the home of the Large Hadron Collider.

Gagnon and other scientists from IU work on the ATLAS experiment at CERN. Gagnon is also founder of the ATLAS Women's Network.

ATLAS is a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider searching for new discoveries in the head-on collisions of protons of extraordinarily high energy. ATLAS will learn about the basic forces that have shaped the universe since the beginning of time and that will determine its fate. Among the possible unknowns are the origin of mass, extra dimensions of space, unification of fundamental forces, and evidence for dark matter candidates in the universe.

The idea to celebrate the accomplishments of women in this highly technical field has been warmly embraced. Chiara Mariotti, a scientist who is helping to coordinate the event, said, "When I first came, 20 years ago, we (women) were very few. What we really want to accomplish is to give a positive image, to say to the young girls that they can do physics. The more women there are, the more natural it becomes to have women around and in important positions."

Trends are encouraging for these efforts: CERN"s records show that among ATLAS physicists under 50, women account for 21.3 percent, almost double the fraction of women in the population over 50.

"At CERN, and in particle physics the world over, talent is the only criterion that counts," said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer. "Gender, race and religion have no part to play in finding the right person for the job."

Rick Van Kooten, IU physics professor and department chair, lauded Gagnon for her efforts.

"Dr. Gagnon has made outstanding contributions to outreach efforts on behalf of the ATLAS collaboration," he said. "The department and ATLAS group are proud of her leading this innovative event and being a part of the ever-increasing role of women in the field of physics."

To view the CERN control rooms live on March 8 during this celebration of women in particle physics, visit CERN's International Women's Day link at https://cern.ch/internationalwomensday.

To speak with Gagnon or Van Kooten, please contact Steve Chaplin, University Communications, at 812-856-1896 or stjchap@indiana.edu.

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