CERN, European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Geneva

CERN, also known as the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, is an international organisation that operates the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. The term CERN is also used to refer to the laboratory, which is host to over 10,000 visiting scientists and engineers, and employs almost 4,000 people. Established in 1954, the organisation is based in Geneva, on the Franco-Swiss border, and has 20 European member states.

The organisation’s main function is to provide particular items for high energy physics research, such as particle accelerators and other such infrastructures. CERN is known for hosting numerous experiments following international collaborations. CERN was also the birthplace of the Internet, or the World Wide Web.

University of Glasgow academics have worked at CERN, particularly the Particle Physics groups in Experiment (PPE) and Theory (PPT) research groups run by the School of Physics & Astronomy.