Lia Formenti

I recall asking myself if CERN has a summer student program, and searching on the internet to find the answer. I am so happy that applying to the programme finally lead me here!

What I’ve learned is to appreciate how much work goes into every piece of equipment. I have been helping with the replacement of the New Small Wheel (NSW) in ATLAS, which is part of the muon detection system. This not-so-small wheel is 10 m in diameter, so moving each piece is a challenge!

Five different countries are involved in creating and testing the NSW: Canada, China, Chile, Russia and Israel. In Canada alone, the pieces are sent cross country to three different institutions for assembly and testing, each with their own team dedicated to this project. Though this is only one small part of the ATLAS detector upgrade, there have been teams working on this project for years. It has been a staggering effort. I spent the first two months of my summer at McGill University in Canada helping to prepare their laboratory to perform final tests on the NSW pieces before shipping them to CERN. Actually, in the beginning of August, the piece that I mosly worked on arrived to Geneva!

My favourite part about CERN is meeting people from different countries almost every day. That experience is so unique, and I am so lucky to have had the chance to make friends all around the globe. I’ve been exploring Switzerland and France as much as possible. My favourite adventure was hiking along the tops of the Jura and Salève mountain chains ande enjoying the breathtaking views. Moreover, I went on hiking with wonderful new friends, who I will remember for the rest of my life.