The CERN research centre, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has been located near Geneva in Switzerland for 70 years. With its large particle accelerators, it is constantly pushing the boundaries of our existing knowledge about the components and rules of our universe. Thousands of people from all over the world conduct research here - including scientists from the University of Wuppertal for more than 50 years. What makes their daily work so exciting, which discoveries they have already helped to pave the way for and how the latest developments are progressing will be reported on 16 September at the CityKirche Elberfeld from 1 to 6 pm.

They are inviting anyone who is interested to join them for live experiments, take a look at modern research equipment and ask lots of questions. "Particle physics processes take place on such short time scales and such small spatial dimensions that they are not directly accessible to the human senses. This will change in the CityKirche: Here we are creating exciting opportunities for our guests to immerse themselves in this fascinating world and understand what our universe is made of and how it works," says co-host Prof Dr Wolfgang Wagner from the Experimental Elementary Particle Physics working group.

The university and CERN I: On the trail of particles

Particles are accelerated to very high energies using ring-shaped particle accelerators such as the "Large Hadron Collider", which at 27 kilometres in circumference is one of the largest and most powerful in the world and is CERN's flagship project. They are observed by detectors, which ultimately record the results of the collisions and allow statements to be made about the interaction of the particles. The data obtained in this way helps to answer the unanswered questions about the development of our universe. Under the direction of professors Wolfgang Wagner and Christian Zeitnitz, particle physicists at the University of Wuppertal have been analysing data from the ATLAS detector for many years. The research focuses on measuring the properties of the "Higgs particle" newly discovered at CERN in 2012 and the heaviest of the known elementary particles, the "top quark", as well as the search for new, as yet unknown particles and forces. This research is supported by the university's own high-performance computing centre PLEIADES, with which the University of Wuppertal was one of the first German research institutions to be fully integrated into the CERN infrastructure at the end of the 2000s, allowing ATLAS data to be processed fully automatically.

At a second LHC experiment with the CMS detector, Prof Dr Katerina Lipka and her colleagues are researching the properties of the top quark in relation to the predictions of the stability of our universe and the understanding of the strong force that holds matter together.

The university and CERN II: Inspiring the next generation

Another project at CERN connects the scientists involved with the aim of making research in the field of the smallest particles accessible to the general public, especially young people. Pupils have the opportunity to experience particle physics in workshops, experiments and masterclasses. Pupils from the region also regularly come together at the University of Wuppertal for the latter: By working together with scientists and analysing original data from the LHC experiments, the young people gain an impression of how research is carried out in modern physics. One of the programme highlights is a concluding video conference with simultaneous masterclasses throughout Europe and scientists at CERN to discuss the results.

The university and CERN III: thinking outside the box of physics

In the research group "The Epistemology of the Large Hadron Collider", scientists from three nations investigated research with the LHC particle accelerator from a philosophical, historical and sociological perspective until 2023. The collaboration between the humanities and physics focussed on the question of the foundations on which particle physics can develop more comprehensive and fundamental theories of nature and which new principles of scientific development can be used in the process.