Holding a 'Focus conversation' with the Supervisor is an opportunity for staff members to concentrate on their longer-term development perspective, reflect on their career and review personal and professional strengths. The ultimate aim is for the staff member to have a set of realistic and achievable development goals.

Key to a successful conversation with the supervisor is the preparation. Participation in the ‘Balance’ programme by the staff member and the supervisor is a mandatory first step (2 x 1/2 day workshops). This will ensure a good understanding of the overall process and the time and personal commitment needed. 

Entering the programme is voluntary, driven by the staff member and can be initiated at any moment of the year. 

Dates and information concerning the ‘Balance’ programme are published in the CERN Learning Hub.

For staff

For supervisors

Interested to find out more? Talk to your HRA and consult the Admin e-guide for eligibility and key steps in the process.

For the CMS experiment, Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) is like very prolonged open heart surgery. The main goal is to improve the detector’s performance, thanks to innovative, customised components.

In the outermost layer of the CMS detector, new instruments called GEM (gas electron multiplier) detectors will be installed in order to detect muons that scatter at an angle of around 10° in relation to the beam axis. Measuring muons so close to the beam axis is very challenging due to the high number of particles coming from collisions in that area. Muons at higher angles are already covered by different detector technologies in CMS.

GEM chambers comprise a thin, metal-clad polymer foil, which is chemically pierced with millions of holes, typically 50 to 100 per millimetre. Three of these foils combined with two electrodes make up a detector. When the muons pass through, the gas within the detector is ionised and releases electrons. These electrons drift towards the holes, where they cause an avalanche of electrons under a very strong electric field. “The electrons that we collect are not necessarily connected to the passage of a muon,” explains Michele Bianco, technical coordinator for the GEM detectors in the framework of the CMS upgrade project. “To make sure that we really are dealing with a muon, we have to locate its track in the other CMS subdetectors.” GEM detectors are, in a manner of speaking, like a piece of a puzzle. Without all the pieces, it’s impossible to know what the whole puzzle represents.

The GEM detector project for the CMS upgrade is the work of a collaboration of around 40 institutes, with by far the largest contribution coming from doctoral students and postdocs. Detector production sites located all over the world, namely in Belgium, Germany, India, Italy, Pakistan and the United States and at CERN, produced the 144 detector modules and their electronic components. Several training sessions for the external teams were held at CERN. “Kits” containing the individual pieces of the modules were then sent to the various institutes. Electronic boards, currently under production and testing at collaborating institutes, will soon arrive at CERN, where they will be integrated to the modules.

All the detectors have now been assembled and the team in charge of the project is working inside the CMS detector to prepare to install the chambers. “We need to install the chambers, but also the associated infrastructure, such as the gas, electricity and cooling distribution systems,” explains Michele Bianco. “We also plan to install the infrastructure required for the 288 future chambers that will be installed during the 2021-2022 technical stop. Then, during Long Shutdown 3 (between 2024 and 2026), 216 more modules will be added.”

Nearly 650 new detector modules will search for the muons that will be produced in CMS’s very forward region in the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) era. The “new” accelerator will produce between five and ten times more collisions than the LHC. We can expect a fruitful muon hunt.

The Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) is undergoing an overdue overhaul. Its beam dump, which was previously at point 1 of the SPS, will be replaced by a new one located across the ring at SPS point 5. The new beam dump being constructed requires extensive civil-engineering work to house and operate it, which is one of the primary tasks for the SPS team during the second long shutdown (LS2) of CERN’s accelerator complex.

When a beam of protons or heavy ions accelerating through the SPS needs to be brought to a stop, it is redirected into a beam dump that absorbs the particle beam, terminating its flight. “We need a bigger dump for the SPS due to the higher energies of circulating particles following the LHC Injector Upgrade (LIU) project,” explains Jonathan Meignan, who is coordinating the project to replace the SPS beam dump. After scouting for a suitable location, it was decided to install the new beam dump at an opposite point in the SPS ring, where there is sufficient space for the dump and the additional infrastructure it needs.

The task is however a difficult one, involving several related works. The underground cavern that will house the new beam dump, known as ECX5, was the location of the erstwhile UA1 detector, which discovered the W and Z bosons in 1983 when the SPS was operated as a proton–antiproton collider. It will need to be drastically modified to incorporate the services needed for the modifications to the SPS. For example, the transport zone next to the SPS tubes, which is used by both personnel and equipment, will have to be rerouted so it skirts the voluminous beam dump and its large shielding. The SPS tunnel will therefore undergo digging to widen a section of it by about one metre to accommodate the new shape of the transport zone.

Kicker magnets, which are responsible for deflecting the travelling particles into the dump-bound trajectories, have to be installed in Long Straight Section 5 of the SPS leading up to the beam dump. “To prepare for this installation, the beamlines within LSS5 had to be completely removed,” remarks Meignan. Simultaneously with this removal, an intense decabling campaign was conducted to free space for the new cables. More than 135 km of obsolete cables were removed, notes Meignan. New cables, including high-voltage cables for the kickers, have been installed, snaking all the way from LSS5 to the service cavern adjacent to ECX5, where their instrumentation and control systems will be located.

The crane suspended from the roof of ECX5, which can be used to move the large blocks making up the beam dump, has been upgraded as well. “The crane was fitted with cameras during the last year-end technical stop,” says Meignan, “and equipped for remote control from the service cavern, to minimise the radiation exposure of the operators.”

As of early April, ECX5 has been isolated from the rest of the SPS to conduct these civil-engineering activities, which are expected to be finished in December. At the same time, the dump and its shielding, which is made of steel, concrete and marble surrounding the inner core, is being assembled on the surface above its future home. In the new year, the beamline will be reconnected and the dump will be installed before being commissioned.

We will return to the SPS and its many LS2 activities in a future report.

• Easter weekend (from Friday, 19 April, to Monday, 22 April, included): 
  • NOVAE: Restaurants 1, 2 and 3 as well as cafeterias (in buildings 6, 13, 30, 54, 864 and 865) will be closed. Only the cafeteria in Building 40 will be open from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. (including Saturday and Sunday).
  • ÔDELICE : The cafeteria in Building 774 will be closed.
• Wednesday, May 1: 
  • NOVAE: All points of sale (restaurants and cafeterias) will be closed except Restaurant 1, which will be open from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. 
  • ÔDELICE: The cafeteria in Building 774 will be open. 
• Ascension weekend (from Thursday, 30 May, to Sunday, 2 June, included): 
  • NOVAE: All points of sale (restaurants and cafeterias) will be closed except Restaurant 1, which will be open from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
  • ÔDELICE: The cafeteria in Building 774 will be open on Thursday, May 30. 
• Whit Monday (Monday, June 10): 
  • NOVAE: All points of sale (restaurants and cafeterias) will be closed except Restaurant 1, which will be open from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
  • ÔDELICE: The cafeteria in Building 774 will be open.

As May 8 is not an official CERN holiday, all restaurants and cafeterias will be open.

Le Comité de Surveillance des Restaurants (CSR) 

For 3 months, 43 teachers and over 950 pupils have tried to find out what was the content of mystery boxes, in the way CERN scientists look for invisible elementary particles. Classes from Geneva, Ain and Haute-Savoie have conducted investigations using successive hypotheses and experiments.

Thanks to a collaborative website, classes were encouraged to share their progress with each other. They also had the opportunity to visit CERN and the Physiscope.

Some of the classes finally met one another on four final conferences organized at the Globe of Science and Innovation and in Haute-Savoie on Monday 8 April 2019. The children presented their research in the form of talks, theatre, posters and exhibition stands. They also met CERN scientists and asked them all their questions.

Initiated in 2011, the project Be a Scientist is the fruit of a collaboration between University of Geneva, Département de l'Instruction Publique (Geneva) and Education nationale (France). If you are a teacher and want to participate in a future edition, visit this website. 

Arts at CERN announces two key ventures: ‘Quàntica’, an exhibition project at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) from 9 April to 24 September, and a partnership that begins this year with the city of Barcelona as co-host for the Collide International residency award.

‘Quàntica’ is the second iteration of an exhibition project that brings together 10 artworks resulting from art residencies at CERN, juxtaposed with scientific objects to introduce pivotal concepts from quantum physics and the research pursued at the Laboratory. The project is curated by Mónica Bello, head of Arts at CERN, and art curator José-Carlos Mariátegui, with particle physicist José Ignacio Latorre serving as its scientific adviser. The exhibition explores the influence of physics beyond the scientific domain, including its effects on our everyday lives. The artworks illustrate our search to understand the fundamental laws of the universe and investigate the limits of human knowledge through the lens of artists, scientists and educators. The exhibition is designed as a hybrid space, in which visitors will find that the worlds of science and art reflect, echo and transmute ideas through varied means.

“The interdisciplinary nature of Arts at CERN fosters dialogue between scientists and artists, which enriches our understanding of the world around us. ‘Quàntica’ brings forward the creative expression of scientific and artistic endeavours; it allows the public to discover both perspectives and challenges them to explore further,” says Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, CERN’s Director for International Relations.

“Quantum physics reaches out to scientists and philosophers within a realm of speculative thinking that is currently extremely fruitful, and that spreads into diverse artistic and cultural languages,” says Judit Carrera, Director of CCCB Barcelona.

‘Quàntica’ is co-produced by ScANNER (the Science and Art Network for New Exhibitions and Research): CERN, FACT, CCCB, iMAL and Le Lieu Unique. The exhibition has its origins in Collide International, the flagship programme of Arts at CERN, which was created to challenge and transform the way art and science encounters are perceived and how science can affect artistic expression.

The Collide International residency started with Linz’s Ars Electronica as co-host from 2012 to 2015, which was followed by FACT Liverpool from 2016 to 2018. Arts at CERN has now signed an agreement with Barcelona City Council and the Institute of Culture of Barcelona to host Collide International from 2019 to 2021. Within this framework, a three-month residency will be awarded to an artist to extend their research at CERN by working together with particle physicists, engineers, IT experts and laboratory staff. Following this, the artist will be hosted for a month at Barcelona’s Fabra i Coats – Creative Factory, where they can expand their research, test ideas and engage with participant-led community projects.

“Barcelona City Council is committed to science as an engine of economic and social development. That is why it is also important to promote recognition through the dissemination of science, as provided for in Pla Barcelona Ciència (Barcelona Science Plan). We are reinforcing this plan’s goal through art with this alliance with CERN, one of the leading scientific institutions in the world,” says Gerardo Pisarello, First Deputy Mayor, Manager’s Office of the Area of Economy and Work, Digital City and International Relations.

Online submissions for Collide International are open until May 17, 2019 for artists interested in applying. A jury of scientific and cultural experts will select the winning artists who will start their residencies in 2019.

Further information:

Arts at CERN website
Arts at CERN Facebook page
Twitter Arts at CERN
Instagram Arts at CERN

Quàntica CCCB

Barcelona City Council - Pla Barcelona Ciència

For 2018, the average annual exchange rate is EUR 0.87 for CHF 1.

Human Resources Department

You are reminded that the Organization levies an internal tax on the financial and family benefits it pays to the members of the personnel (see Chapter V, Section 2 of the Staff Rules and Regulations) and that the members of the personnel are exempt from national taxation on salaries and emoluments paid by CERN.

The Organization would like to remind members of the personnel that they must comply with the national legislation applicable to them, in particular for any other income they may receive (cf. Article S V 2.02 of the Staff Rules).

I - Annual internal taxation certificate for 2018

The annual certificate of internal taxation for 2018, issued by Finance and Administrative Processes Department, is available since 11 February 2019. It is intended exclusively for the tax authorities.

1. If you are currently a member of the CERN personnel you received an e-mail containing a link to your annual certificate, which you can print out if necessary. 
2. If you are no longer a member of the CERN personnel or are unable to access your annual certificate as indicated above, you will find information explaining how to obtain one at the following link: https://admin-eguide.web.cern.ch/en/procedure/annual-internal-taxation-certificate

In case of difficulty in obtaining your annual certificate, send an e-mail explaining the problem to service-desk@cern.ch.

II - 2018 income tax declaration form in France

The 2018 income tax declaration form must be completed following the general indications available at the following address: https://admin-eguide.web.cern.ch/en/procedure/income-tax-declaration-france

IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SERVICE DES IMPOTS DES PARTICULIERS(SIP, PRIVATE CITIZENS’ TAX OFFICE) DIRECTLY

This information does not concern CERN pensioners, as they are no longer members of the CERN personnel and are therefore subject to the standard national legal provisions relating to taxation.

HR Department

CERN, in collaboration with Lancaster University and the Institute of Physics, will be returning to the WOMAD music and culture festival in the United Kingdom for a fourth year of highly successful physics outreach. This year we will also be heading out to the Roskilde Festival  in Denmark for a brand new space, based on the WOMAD concept and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. 

If you are passionate about communicating your research, we would welcome you as a volunteer to be part of the CERN teams at each of these festivals. There are two ways to be involved :

• Give a presentation on an exciting project or run a hands-on workshop for festival attendees to encourage them to discover and share in the excitement of scientific research. 
• Be part of the team working each day welcoming the public, talking about CERN, helping in the set up and take down of the venues. 

Please note that places are limited.

We look forward to hearing from all CERN members across the Organization before 3 May 2019. Please send an email to Connie.Potter@cern.ch

Each year, nearly 10,000 visitors of all ages and backgrounds attend an event organised as part of the programme of free and public activities at the Globe of Science and Innovation. Last February, the installation of an audio induction loop improved the accessibility of these activities to attendees who are hard-of-hearing. This system provides a magnetic wireless signal that is picked up by hearing aids when they are set to ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting.

Building on CERN’s endeavour to increase accessibility in its public events, this spring, French Sign Language Interpretation (LSF) will be available upon request at the Globe. The first event to benefit from this service will be Philippe Lebrun's conference entitled "From Bourg-en-Bresse to the stars: Jérôme Lalande, astronomer of the Enlightenment" on 13^thMay at 8:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to use it can request it when registering on voisins.cern.

The principle of accessibility prevails at the Globe. Supported by the CERN & Society Foundation, this new measure is part of its efforts to support and promote the dissemination, to the widest possible public, of the benefits of the mission of CERN.

Like a metal python, the huge pipe snaking through a CERN high-tech hall is actually a new electrical transmission line. This superconducting line is the first of its kind and allows vast quantities of electrical current to be transported within a pipe of a relatively small diameter. Similar pipes could well be used in towns in the future.

This 60-metre-long line has been developed for CERN’s future accelerator, the High-Luminosity LHC, which is due to come into operation in 2026. Tests began last year and the line has transported 40 000 amps. This is 20 times more than what is possible at room temperature with ordinary copper cables of a similar cross-section. The line is composed ofsuperconducting cables made from magnesium diboride (MgB₂) and offers no resistance, enabling it to transport much higher current densities than ordinary cables, without any loss. The snag is that, in order to function in a superconducting state, the cables must be cooled to a temperature of 25 K (-248°C). It is therefore placed inside a cryostat, a thermally insulated pipe in which a coolant, namely helium gas, circulates. The real achievements are the development of a new, flexible superconducting system and the use of a new superconductor (MgB₂).

The line is more compact and lighter than its copper equivalent, and it is cryogenically more efficient than a classical low temperature superconducting link that must be cooled to 4.5 K. 

Amalia Ballarino, the project leader

Having proven that such a system is feasible, at the end of March the team tested the connection to the room temperature end of the system. In the High-Luminosity LHC, these lines will connect power converters to the magnets. These converters are located at a certain distance from the accelerator. The new superconducting transmission lines, which measure up to 140 m in length, will feed several circuits and transport electrical current of up to 100 000 amps.

“The magnesium diboride cable and the current leads that supply the magnets are connected by means of high-temperature ReBCO (rare-earth barium copper oxide) superconductors, also a challenging innovation for this type of application,” explains Amalia Ballarino.  These superconductors are called “high-temperature” because they can operate at temperatures of up to around 90 kelvins (-183 °C), as opposed to just a few kelvins in the case ofclassical low-temperature superconductors. They can transport very high current densities, but are very tricky to work with, hence the impressiveness of the team’s achievement.

Tests of the line with its new connection represent an important milestone in the project, as it proves that the whole system works correctly. “We have new materials, a new cooling system and unprecedented technologies for supplying the magnets in an innovative way,” says Amalia Ballarino. 

The project has also caught the attention of the outside world. Companies are using the work done at CERN to study the possibility of using similar transmission lines (at high voltage), instead of conventional systems, to transport electricity and power over long distances. 

Credit: CERN

The Serbian flag was raised today at a ceremony on the Esplanade des Particules to mark the country’s accession as CERN’s 23rd Member State. The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, the President of the CERN Council, Ursula Bassler, and the CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti, together with representatives of CERN’s Member and Associate Member States and the CERN community.

“The 23rd of April is a great day for Serbia and its science, as the flag of the Republic of Serbia is officially hoisted in front of CERN in Geneva, marking Serbia’s accession as its 23^rd full Member. This will allow our researchers to work in higher capacity and on a global level with their colleagues from CERN, while enabling our economy to participate in CERN projects on a larger scale. Membership in CERN presents Serbia in the best light, as a modern, competitive country whose economic development increasingly relies on science and innovation, driven by our young scientists and innovators,” said Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia.

 “This is the moment when the commitment of a new Member State becomes visible: the commitment to support fundamental science, to foster peaceful collaboration and to engage in multilateral initiatives for the benefit of all. We are pleased to raise the Serbian flag among those of our Member States,” said Ursula Bassler, President of the CERN Council.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome Serbia to the CERN family. This day recognises the long history of fruitful scientific cooperation between Serbia and CERN, and Serbia’s commitment to fundamental research. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration in particle physics, innovation, and training and education of the young generations, with Serbia as a Member State,” said Fabiola Gianotti, CERN Director-General.

In order to participate, all you need to do is find three colleagues and register your “Bike to Work” team before 1 May on this website: https://www.biketowork.ch/en/account/company

There are no registration fees and no minimum distance requirement, and part of your journey can be undertaken by public transport. Not a cyclist? Not a problem. Non-cyclists can still sign up: one member of your team is permitted to travel on foot, by skateboard or by any other means of non-motorised transport. 

No time to form a team? Want to meet new people? Sign up on this Doodle poll and we will place you in a team.

You can find detailed information on this event, as well as on “Bike to CERN”, the Organization’s own initiative that takes place all year round, on the “Bike to Work” and “Bike to CERN” web pages. 

But before leaping onto the saddle, consult the safety rules for cycling and complete the online course Road traffic – bike riding. 

Happy cycling!

The 2019 CERN Relay Race will take place on Thursday 23 May. As is the case every year, the race will consist of a round trip of CERN’s Meyrin site in teams of six. The registration will be open starting 2 May on the Running Club website, where you can also find full details about the event. 

Apply to the Simon van der Meer Award for Early-Career Researchers in Accelerator Science - deadline 27 May 2019.

The Simon van der Meer Award aims to recognise outstanding early career contributions (theoretical, experimental, computational or technical) in novel accelerator science.

For more information and eligibility criteria, please visit the Accelerating News page. 

Initiated by the Union of Communications (ITU), the International Girls in ICT Day aims to encourage and empower girls and young women to consider studies and careers in the growing field of ICTs. On 25 April 2019, for its third year participating, CERN held workshops on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for about 100 girls aged 6 to 14 at the Globe of Science and innovation.

A team of almost exclusively female mentors led the workshops: CERN engineers and specialists, members of the Women in Technology community and members of the RightsTech Women association.

The girls were introduced to the programming of the Poppy Ergo Jr. robot, an articulated arm designed for education. They worked in pairs to learn the basics of computing, coding and programming logics. The youngest had the opportunity to discover what is inside a computer and how programming work, thanks to paper, scissors and LEGOs.

The mandate of the CERN Computer Security Team is simple: to protect the reputation and operations of the Organization from cyber risks. But this simple sentence can quickly become complex: what is the risk? What risk must be controlled and what can be accepted? What are good and reasonable protective measures? What is appropriate? What is overdoing it? In particular, in the academic environment of CERN, the academic freedom of research, with CERN’s reputation as an open laboratory welcoming people from all around the world, an acceptable equilibrium needs to be found between “security” and the aforementioned academic freedom, as well as the operation of accelerators and experiments.

The right balance is highly important. CERN is not a bank with money to protect. CERN is definitely not a military site nor engaged in military research. Tilting the balance too much towards bank- or military-style computer security might block academic freedom and the creativity behind it, as well as rendering the operations of the accelerators and experiments much more difficult. The mindsets of our people are accustomed to openness, communication, creativity and freedom of thinking. Too much unreasonable security raises questions and suspicions, and leads to creative ideas as to how to bypass the measures implemented. Rules without enforcement are not taken seriously. On the other hand, being soft on computer security means that evil-doers can sabotage or bring to a halt CERN’s operations or negatively impact its reputation. The right balance is therefore key. The right balance must be able to mitigate real risks, not perceived ones, and not just be a sort of security theatre. And the right balance needs to be transparently communicated and opened to discussion. So here goes:

The “cyber risk” is proportional to the threat scenarios, the vulnerabilities and weaknesses inherent to computing systems, and the consequences of losing those systems and the data stored on them. Like any other organisation, institute or enterprise, CERN is permanently under threat. Our webpages are probed for vulnerabilities, attempts are made to crack passwords, users are approached to click on malicious links in order to get their laptops and PCs infected. The corresponding attackers stem from many different areas: script-kiddies trying out their skills to deface CERN webpages, cyber-criminals trying to extort money or blackmail individuals (https://home.cern/cern-people/updates/2018/03/computer-security-malware-ransomware-doxware-and), attackers interested in misusing our computing power or that of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, for example for crypto-currency mining (https://home.cern/cern-people/updates/2018/01/computer-security-computing-power-professionals-only), jealous insiders trying to sabotage the scientific work of others, potentially even nation states, as CERN is a melting pot of people from all over the world, so why not attack people while they are in an open environment (instead of in a cyber-locked down country)? The threats are therefore not negligible and are real (and all incidents of the past are well documented in our monthly report; https://cern.ch/security/reports/en/monthly_reports.shtml).

Secondly, as is the case for any other user of information technologies, CERN’s hardware and software stack is prone to vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This is an inherent problem of IT. More particular for CERN is the freedom to choose. Within the scope of their work, staff and users can use, test, develop and deploy any kind of application and technology they deem relevant – on the condition that they assume full responsibility for the related computer security. The CERN IT department provides the relevant software platforms for this: centrally managed software packages (https://home.cern/news/news/computing/computer-security-when-free-not-free), virtualisation platforms (“Openstack”), databases-on-demand, web application frameworks (“Drupal, “Twiki”, “Sharepoint”), but their usage is up to the full discretion of the end user. Similarly, the office network is open to accommodating any kind of (vulnerable) devices, through the so-called principle of bring-your-own-device (“BYOD”). Hence, the phase space of potentially vulnerable and weak devices, applications and webpages, etc. is immense.

Finally, there are many consequences. Reputational. Operational. Financial. And legal. Finding a naked teddy bear posted on one of our home pages will lead to negative publicity; malicious mass deletion of physics data or cyber-sabotage of experiments or accelerators can bring our research programmes to a complete halt (http://cds.cern.ch/journal/CERNBulletin/2013/08/News%20Articles/1514590?ln=en); theft of money (“CEO Fraud”) or confidential information has financial implications; and the abuse of computing power to attack external bodies can trigger legal actions against CERN.  

In summary, CERN is under attack. CERN’s hardware and software is vulnerable. The consequences for CERN can be immense. The risk is not zero nor negligible. If you are a regular reader of our Bulletin articles (https://home.cern/tags/computer-security), this should not come as a surprise. The CERN Computer Security Team is committed to controlling and mitigating any risk where it is financially and technologically reasonable to do so and leads to an improvement (and avoids any security theatre). Certain risks have been acknowledged and accepted by the CERN Management not to be mitigated (as they are too intrusive to our academic nature or the benefits do not justify the costs). Implemented measures are well documented on the Computer Security Team’s home page (https://cern.ch/security) and in our Privacy Statement (https://cern.ch/security/home/en/privacy_statement.shtml), and are discussed at the IT users forum (http://information-technology.web.cern.ch/about/meeting/it-technical-users-meeting-itum), the CNIC meeting (https://indico.cern.ch/category/691/) or here in the CERN Bulletin (https://home.cern/tags/computer-security). Just recently, CERN’s computer security stance has been audited and was largely found to be sound, adapted to CERN’s academic environment, and well-balanced with our operational needs. But you might think differently, so were are interested in your feedback. Where are more cyber-security measures needed? Where are we doing too much, making it too restrictive? Where do you need help? Write to us via Computer.Security@cern.ch.

Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report (https://cern.ch/security/reports/en/monthly_reports.shtml). For further information, questions or help, check our website (https://cern.ch/Computer.Security) or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

The management of the ATLAS experiment begins a new term this Spring, with Spokesperson Karl Jakobs (University of Freiburg) continuing to steer the collaboration through Long Shutdown 2 and three new members joining the management team.

Read the article on the ATLAS website.

We would like to inform you that there is a change in the medical follow up of category B (annual dose < 6 mSv/year) employed members of the CERN personnel (MPE) and associated members of the personnel for the purpose of training (MPA-t: doctoral, technical and administrative students or trainees) who are working in CERN Radiation Areas. 

Following a recommendation by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), medical surveillance related to occupational exposure to ionizing radiation it is no longer required for category B radiation workers under European law (Directive Euratom 2013/59) and in Switzerland (decision of Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund, SUVA, of July 2016).  

CERN has decided to follow this trend and to discontinue, medical surveillance related to occupational exposure to ionizing radiation of all category B workers among its MPE and MPA-t population (cf. memorandum [EDMS 2088793]). 

As CERN workers, they will, of course, continue to be subject to medical surveillance by CERN’s Medical Service in accordance with the CERN Staff Rules and Regulations and the CERN Safety rules.

For information, medical surveillance of associated members of the personnel (other than MPA-ts) remains the responsibility of their employer.   

Should you have any questions on the above, please contact dosimetry.service@cern.ch.

Next month, hundreds of CERNois will join the Bike2Work campaign with the aim of doing at least 50% of their commutes by bicycle or other green transport during the months of May and June. In addition, during the summer months the number of CERN cyclists always goes up, with summer students and associates coming from all over the world. Cycling is fun, it’s healthy and it’s good for the planet, but the increasing numbers of cyclists face an increasing density of motor traffic, particularly during rush hours. All of this adds up to a potential source of accidents on the roads – most of which could easily be avoided.

As Bike2Work gets underway, it’s important for all of us to think about road safety. Whether we’re cyclists, motor vehicle users or pedestrians, we all have a role to play in keeping safe. The analysis of traffic accidents shows that the most common causes are lack of attention or lack of respect for other road users.

Much road safety comes down to common sense and mutual respect. If you’re a driver, give cyclists space. If you’re a cyclist, make sure you’re visible, don’t sneak into drivers’ blind spots, and always wear a helmet. And whether pedestrian, cyclist or motor vehicle user just be sensible, for example always respect other road users priority at junctions and crossings. All of this really is common sense and common courtesy, but it’s worth remembering that much of it is also law.

There’s a wealth of online information available on road safety, and there’s an online course in the CERN Learning Management System on safety for cyclists. Stay safe - take the time to read the safety guidance, and if you’re biking, follow the course.