CERN, the creator of the Hadron Collider, stops all contact with Russian scientists - The Insider
This will destroy the entire field of experimental physics in Russia, says a source
On Tuesday, 19 March, a spokesman for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said that from 30 November, it would cease cooperation with scientists affiliated with Russian organisations.
This will affect about 500 specialists, many of whom work with the Large Hadron Collider.
A Russian physicist who has participated in scientific experiments at CERN told The Insider on condition of anonymity that the termination of cooperation would seriously affect Russian science. According to him, it would destroy the entire field of experimental high-energy physics.
"The case is related to the cooperation agreement between Russia and CERN. After the outbreak of the war, the CERN management – representatives of the participating countries – decided that this agreement would not be extended. It expires in November.
About 500 people from Russia have the status of infrastructure users. <...>It turns out that these 500 people are losing access to CERN's infrastructure, we are being kicked out of the international collaborations in which we have been working for many years. I would like to emphasise that this is not about Russian citizenship, but about the fact that cooperation with Russian institutions, but not citizens, is being cut off. In other words, if you are a Russian citizen and do not work for a Russian institution, this does not affect you at all. If you are not a Russian citizen and work for a Russian institute, it does affect you.
This is a serious blow, I would say that it is the destruction of the entire field of experimental high-energy physics. After all, these are scientists who were on the cutting edge of modern science, working at CERN, and now we are being thrown out of there, denied access to experimental facilities and the international scientific community. CERN is the only place in the world where such science is possible. The collider is one of a kind. No access means no science," the Russian scientist commented.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Association of European Universities suspended 14 Russian universities from the organisation. The reason for this decision was that the heads of these educational institutions had signed an appeal by the Russian Union of Rectors in support of the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine.
Background. It was also reported earlier that the European Space Agency (ESA) had terminated its cooperation with the Russian state corporation Roscosmos on the ExoMars-2022 Martian programme.
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