UCD welcomes today’s news that Ireland has become an associate member of CERN. The contract of membership was today fully ratified by the Irish Government, after being brought to Cabinet for approval by Tánaiste Simon Harris.

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research and home to the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, containing the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is run by 25 European countries which are full members, including Norway, Switzerland and the UK. Ireland is now one of nine associate members, including Brazil, India, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine.

UCD physicists play a leading role in the Irish community that is already active at CERN, and which is now expected to expand due to the opportunities that membership will bring.

Professor Kate Robson Brown, UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact, said: “This is a very important step for Ireland, to take our place in Europe’s largest scientific organisation, which enables collaborations with the best researchers, institutions and companies all over the world.

“UCD and our world leading physicists have been a driver of Irish membership for decades. Members of our particle physics research group were collaborators in the historic discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN. Scientists from UCD Centre for Physics in Health and Medicine have applied sensor technology developed at CERN in real-world healthcare in Irish hospitals. Our university will continue to push the boundaries of fundamental science research and we will maximise the benefits of this membership for the university’s stakeholders, from our students to our researchers, innovators and partners.”

The contract of membership was signed by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, TD, at CERN in Switzerland in February and has now been fully ratified, following its passage also through the Dáil.

A delegation of Irish scientists joined Minister Lawless (pictured centre) at the famed institution for the signing in February, including UCD particle physicist Professor Ronan McNulty (pictured left) and Professor Robson Brown (pictured right).

Professor McNulty said: “Today's announcement that Ireland joins CERN is deeply significant both for the scientific health of our nation and the opportunities it unlocks for physics, engineering, computing and accelerators for health. Now Irish students can study and take internships at CERN, researchers can work with international teams on frontier challenges, and Irish companies will not alone receive CERN contracts, but more importantly, benefit from high-tech knowledge exchange.

“Joining CERN shows the commitment of government, and the vision of Minister Lawless, to investing in the people and the technical base of our nation. The challenge now turns to exploiting the opportunities that have just become available.”

UCD has also announced that, as part of the process of realising the opportunities for Ireland associated with membership of CERN, it will expand its particle physics research and education capacity with a new strategic hire in Experimental Particle Physics at UCD School of Physics. The appointee will undertake a research programme in high-energy experimental particle physics, as a member of one of the CERN LHC experiments.

Head of UCD School of Physics, Professor Dominic Zerulla said: “UCD Physics is looking forward to the opportunities presented by Ireland’s associate membership, to continue and deepen its long involvement with science and technology developments at CERN.”

As well as contributing to the Nobel-prize winning discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, UCD scientists have used sensor technology developed for experiments at the LHC in new medical technologies at St. Luke's and St. Vincent's hospitals in Dublin. UCD computer scientists are using the vast amount of data produced at the LHC to develop data-management strategies and artificial intelligence algorithms.

Professor Seán Cournane, Director of UCD Centre for Physics in Health and Medicine and Principal Physicist at St. Vincent's University Hospital, said: “UCD Centre for Physics in Health and Medicine (CPHM), along with its hospital partners, has used novel detectors developed at CERN, applying them to the characterisation of radiation therapy beams used for cancer treatment and developing new nuclear medicine imaging cameras. With Ireland now joining CERN, this marks an exciting opportunity for further innovation and collaborative research towards improved patient care.”

Peter Stringer, UCD alumnus and Head of Core Technology Development at SuperNode, which was headquartered at UCD as a start-up, received training at CERN and was among a delegation that welcomed the organisation to the university campus last year.

He said: “This is fantastic news for Ireland. SuperNode's collaboration with CERN has enabled us to develop our systems and understanding at an incredible pace. Ireland's membership will give other Irish companies access to CERN's capabilities and knowledge, as well as opportunities to participate in and contribute to its projects. This membership will also enable Irish students and graduates to gain valuable knowledge and experience at CERN which they can bring back to Ireland helping our knowledge base to grow."