LU konference
The conference brought together scientists, industry representatives, and decision-makers from all three Baltic countries, offering an excellent opportunity to explore various CERN-related research directions and scientific institutions. Lithuania was prominently represented by several universities and research centers, alongside Riga Technical University. Latvia was represented by researchers from the University of Latvia, Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, and Daugavpils University.
Although UL FPMO maintains broad collaboration with CERN, this time the faculty was represented by only three researchers. In the Atomic and Nuclear Physics section, UL FST IAPS lead researcher Uldis Bērziņš delivered a talk titled “Laser Photodetachment Threshold Spectroscopy of Negative Ions”, presenting results obtained during multiple visits to CERN and at the University of Latvia in preparation for upcoming experiments at the ISOLDE laboratories. Guest researcher Jānis Sniķeris from UL FST IAPS also shared initial results from CERN in his presentation “Spectroscopy of radioactive 221Fr and RaF⁻ in ISOLDE facility at CERN.”
The conference provided a valuable platform for students to showcase their work. Rostislavs Rostovskis, a first-year master’s student at the UL FST Department of Physics, participated with a compelling poster presentation based on his bachelor’s thesis, which explored the application of machine learning methods to study radiation-induced defects in barium fluoride crystals. The research was conducted at the UL Institute of Solid State Physics.
A particular highlight was the participation of several leading European experts, including Professor Maxim Titov, Scientific Director at the Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe (IRFU) and Chair of the European Panel on Future Accelerator Technologies, as well as Professor Manjit Dosanjh from the University of Oxford, a long-time medical advisor to CERN. Their keynote presentations and informal discussions offered participants a unique opportunity to engage directly and gain deeper insight into the forefront of their respective scientific fields.
The conference concluded with the 16th General Meeting of the CERN Baltic Group, where current issues were discussed—including a decision to continue exploring the possibility of constructing a particle accelerator in one of the Baltic countries. The 6th CERN Baltic Group Conference is scheduled to take place next autumn in Riga.
Project funder: Latvian Council of Science (Project No. Lzp-2023/1-0199 “Laser Photodetachment Spectroscopy on Negative Ions”).
, Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), University of Latvia (UL), has recently returned from the 5th CERN Baltic Group Conference, held from October 14 to 16 at the Institute of Materials Science, Kaunas University of Technology.){kind=link}