Frédérick Bordry

Biography

Frédérick Bordry has been Director of Accelerators and Technology at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) since January 2014. He is responsible for the operation of CERN’s entire gas pedal complex, with a particular focus on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and for the development of new technologies for post-LHC projects. He is an electrical engineer, and holds a PhD in energy conversion from the Institut national polytechnique de Toulouse (INPT). After teaching for two years at the Federal University of Santa Catarina de Florian√≥polis (Brazil), he took up a research teaching post in Toulouse before joining CERN in 1986. Since 1994, he has been a key player in the design and construction of the LHC, which led to the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. He has always been convinced of the importance of international exchanges in the cultural, political and scientific fields, and has given thought to the issues of education, research and multilingualism.

Conference: Is the long lead time of large-scale scientific instruments all it’s cracked up to be?

Like the LHC (Large Hardon Collider), major scientific instruments are technological and human adventures spanning several decades. For the LHC, 25 years of design and almost 30 years of operation. These long timescales present challenges in terms of attracting talented young people accustomed to immediacy, convincing politicians, whose mandates are of the order of 5 years, and maintaining funding and covering operating costs. Scientists are thus driven to develop solid international networks and stronger links with public authorities and their supervisory bodies. Major scientific instruments are structuring projects for a broad field. They also stimulate cutting-edge industries. It should be noted that all the revolutionary innovations that shape our daily lives are based on fundamental discoveries made over a long period of research. To decipher the history of our universe and understand the infinitely small, we need to build big and think long term!