A New Physics Frontier

UC Irvine scientists are playing a key role in the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. Built in Switzerland, it seeks to recreate conditions just a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. It will do this by smashing subatomic particles together at very high speeds around a 17-mile underground ring. Scientists hope the LHC will explain basic forces that have shaped our universe.

Seven UCI faculty members and dozens of postdoctoral researchers and staff members are involved with the LHC. They developed electronics, computer systems and software integral to collecting and recording data. Years of hard work by more than 8,000 physicists from more than 85 countries culminate Wednesday, Sept. 10, when scientists will circulate a beam through the entire LHC.