What Are Some Major Research Facilities Like CERN in the US and Europe?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying major research facilities similar to CERN, particularly in the US and Europe. Participants explore various institutions that may not be limited to particle physics but are of comparable scale or significance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest looking into US National Laboratories, including Fermilab and SLAC, as comparable facilities to CERN.
  • Others mention the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the International Space Station (ISS) as potential candidates.
  • One participant notes the importance of considering research universities and commercial labs like Intel and Boeing in addition to national labs.
  • A participant emphasizes the need for careful planning for visits to US National Labs, particularly regarding visitor requirements for non-US citizens.
  • Several European facilities are listed, including PSI in Switzerland, ILL in France, and various labs in Germany, though they are noted to be smaller than CERN.
  • There is a suggestion that most of these European labs may offer guided tours without stringent safety requirements.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the existence of various notable research facilities similar to CERN, but there is no consensus on a definitive list or ranking of these institutions. The discussion includes multiple competing views on what constitutes a facility of similar scale or importance.

Contextual Notes

Some limitations include the varying definitions of "similar scale" and the potential restrictions on visits to certain US labs based on citizenship status. The discussion does not resolve these complexities.

JeremyG
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Hi all! I was wondering if there are any other notable facilities, research organisations or institutes that is similar to CERN, preferably in the US or somewhere else in Europe? Of similar scale or importance, not necessarily in the field of particle physics!
 
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JeremyG said:
Hi all! I was wondering if there are any other notable facilities, research organisations or institutes that is similar to CERN, preferably in the US or somewhere else in Europe? Of similar scale or importance, not necessarily in the field of particle physics!

Look up "US National Laboratories", which include Fermilab, SLAC, etc.

Zz.
 
Here's a list of US DoE national laboratories.
ITER
ISS (I think it meets your criteria.)
I'm sure there are lots more! Consider research universities. And commercial labs. (Intel, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and others.)

Edit: Ninja'd. :<
 
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Great suggestions there guys! A small note though, I did forget to mention that I am planning a short visit for undergraduates! We went to CERN in June 2015, and so I'm looking to organize a visit to organisations of a similar scale to CERN. And I am neither a US Citizen nor a European Citizen.

Haha, but I will look into your suggestions as well! Thanks all!
 
JeremyG said:
Great suggestions there guys! A small note though, I did forget to mention that I am planning a short visit for undergraduates! We went to CERN in June 2015, and so I'm looking to organize a visit to organisations of a similar scale to CERN. And I am neither a US Citizen nor a European Citizen.

Haha, but I will look into your suggestions as well! Thanks all!

You'd better plan well in advanced.

For most US National labs (Fermilab, SLAC, Argonne, Berkeley, Brookhaven, Jefferson lab, etc.), they are used to receiving non-US visitors. I've hosted high school and college student visitors from the Netherlands, Japan, etc. Unless you are a citizen from a country deemed by the US State Dept. as a "Sensitive" country, the visiting requirement isn't daunting. You will need to contact the lab's visitor office several months in advance to clear the visit.

There are other US Labs that are more restrictive (Los Alamos, Sandia, etc.) and will require a lot more work. Unless you are willing to go through months of contacts and going back and forth, I'd skip those.

BTW, just for future reference, you should make sure your first post describes the situation as clearly and completely as possible. Otherwise, you might be leaving out important pieces of information.

Zz.
 
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PSI in Switzerland
ILL in France
LNGS in Italy
Forschungszentrum Jülich, DESY, GSI, BESSY, KIT in Germany

Not a complete list, those are large laboratories that came to my mind. And that's just central/western Europe for particle physics and nuclear physics. They are all smaller than CERN, but picking the largest one makes it hard to find others of the same size ;).
I think most of them have guided tours in some way, without special safety requirements.

As usual, Wikipedia has a list or category (or just physics?)
 
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