CERN Ends Collaboration with Russian Experts and Reassigns Roles at the Large Hadron Collider
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, commonly known as CERN, is set to discontinue cooperation with around 500 experts affiliated with Russia by November 30. As a result, CERN is actively seeking qualified scientists to fill the positions left vacant at the Large Hadron Collider, the laboratory’s centerpiece, where high-energy physics research continues to advance.
Officials note that fewer than 500 users remain connected to Russian organizations, and the majority reside outside the Geneva region. The suspension of the cooperation agreement will take effect on November 30 of this year, according to a CERN spokesperson. The representative emphasized that Russia’s funding to CERN has ended and preparations are underway to redistribute tasks at the Large Hadron Collider among other groups in the future. [Source: CERN press remarks, 2024]
In practical terms, this means that ongoing experiments and operational duties will be reassigned to collaborators from other regions. The Large Hadron Collider, a flagship facility for accelerating charged particles such as protons and heavy ions, has historically brought together scientists from many countries for breakthroughs in fundamental physics. It stands as the most powerful accelerator of its kind, achieving collision energies up to 6.5 TeV and drawing significant energy from regional power networks. The collider’s research helped confirm the existence of the Higgs boson, a particle tied to the mechanism that endows matter with mass. [Source: CERN historical records; field overview, 2020s]
At the end of December, Pavel Logachev, director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics within the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences named after Budker in Novosibirsk, indicated that collaboration with CERN was planned to continue through autumn 2024. However, staff transitions began earlier, and the shift was perceived as a move toward broader international cooperation. Logachev noted that several colleagues across countries viewed scientific work as a shared pursuit that should not be politicized, while acknowledging the discomfort surrounding the suspension of Russia’s participation in the project. [Source: institutional statements, 2023]
Historically, CERN suspended Russia’s observer country status in March 2022 and elected not to renew certain cooperative arrangements with Russian institutions in response to the Ukraine situation. The organization has also stated its commitment to respecting international sanctions. In addition, discussions within the scientific community about how to credit Russian and Belarusian researchers in joint papers have surfaced, with some scientists arguing for a different approach to authorship during periods of geopolitical tension. [Source: media coverage, 2023-2024]
The evolving landscape at CERN reflects the balance between maintaining open scientific collaboration and adhering to international policy constraints. It also underscores the ongoing importance of diverse talents and global cooperation in advancing high-energy physics. As staffing and project leadership adapt, the Large Hadron Collider continues to serve as a gateway to exploring fundamental questions about matter, energy, and the forces that shape our universe. [Attribution: CERN announcements; scientific community commentary, 2023-2024]