Fabiola Gianotti has been CERN's Director General since 2016. The scientist explains that currently “at CERN we study the smallest constituents of matter and the Universe and their interactions. Our accelerators, first and foremost the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), can be considered very powerful microscopes that allow us to study nature and its laws at the most fundamental level. The LHC allows us to address fascinating questions, such as the composition of dark matter, which represents about 25% of the Universe.” And he explains that the scientists at work are strengthening the LHC to increase the intensity of the proton beams: with these “updates” it will operate until 2041. At the same time, we are developing new technologies and thinking about the successor to the LHC: the most accredited “The project is called the Future Circular Collider: 90 km in circumference compared to the current 27 of the LHC”.
The Nerd
Gianotti explains that she was a nerd at school: “I always loved studying. I remember it as one of the best times of the year when, in September, I went with my parents to the stationery store to buy new books for school. Just from the titles, I could imagine everything I was going to learn, and for me it was a great joy. But I also played a lot: from dolls to football.” And he adds: “I was the only woman in a group of men who played football in the courtyard of my house. I even broke a finger, I didn't tell my parents, already stubborn and stoic. And the bone is not completely healed. It's because of a kick to the hand.” She was also an actress: “A few small roles in a few dramas. Instead I did a lot of dubbing: from 8 to 24 years old. Then, when I started my PhD in physics, I couldn't do too many activities anymore and I stopped.”
The expense
Gianotti also does the shopping: “Of course: shopping is essential: the best ideas come when you're queuing at the supermarket checkout. You're there, with the people in front who have full trolleys and you think…”. Even if the Higgs boson wasn't discovered that way: “Not that, but a lot of ideas for my work came to me while I was queuing at the supermarket.” But to be great scientists “you need rigor and method, as in almost all professions. But of course, you also need imagination, to know how to think outside the box, as the Anglo-Saxons say.” She would now like to discover “the composition of dark matter.” I would like to be able to produce it in a CERN accelerator: our knowledge of the Universe would suddenly increase from 5 to 30%.”
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