FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chicago Council on Science and Technology presents CERN: What’s it all about?

CHICAGO, Illinois (April 13, 2012) — For over forty years, scientists have been on the hunt for the elusive, theoretical Higgs boson. Scientists at CERN in Switzerland and at Chicago’s Fermilab think they may have at last found evidence of the Higgs.

The Higgs boson particle is the last missing piece in the Standard Model of particle physics, and is thought to give mass to all matter. Researchers have been scrutinizing debris from collisions of particles at Fermilab’s Tevatron collider and CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and have seen hints of possible Higgs boson sightings. Chicago-area scientists play crucial roles in experiments at both laboratories.

While the hunt for the Higgs boson has made headlines around the world, particle physicists at Fermilab and CERN also seek to unravel other mysteries of the Universe, looking at extra dimensions of space, unification of fundamental forces, and evidence for dark matter candidates.

Fermilab’s focus has shifted from collisions at the Tevatron to experiments to the study of elusive particles called neutrinos. The suburban laboratory produces the world’s most powerful beam of neutrinos and sends them hundreds of miles to massive instruments in northern Minnesota. Fermilab scientists have led the construction of the world’s largest digital camera, now being installed on a telescope in Chile, which will help scientists understand the dark energy that is pushing the universe apart.

Please join C2ST and Young-Kee Kim, Deputy Director at Fermilab and a professor of physics at the University of Chicago, as she helps unravel the mysteries of the Higgs boson and other research at CERN and Fermilab, and what particle physics discoveries could mean for science and society.

The event will be held Tuesday, May 1st at the Chicago Club, 81 E. Van Buren Street, Chicago, mezzanine level. Registration and reception begin at 5 p.m., and the program begins at 6 p.m. Non-members $10 in advance, $15 at the door. $5 for students.

C2ST is committed to becoming the preeminent source for current and comprehensive information on science and technology to the Chicagoland community and nation. Contact: Andrea Poet: apoet@c2st.org 312/567-5795  or Krisztina Eleki keleki@c2st.org 312/567-5837