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151 ACCU meeting

→ Europe/Zurich
    • 09:00 → 09:20
      Summary for the Norwegian community 20m

      —————————————— 151 ACCU report ——————————————

      News from CERN management - Mark Thomson
      - LHC has been an outshining scientific success, more than 4000 papers
      Priorities:
      - 1. HL-LHC a big step forward with 10 times more data, commissioning in 2030, fully exploit HL-LHC (ALICE and LHCB LS4 upgrades), evolve computing for HL-LHC operation
      - 2. FCC-ee clear second highest scientific priorities, bring to decision point, alternative scenarios to be discussed in the March Council meeting
      - 3. Non collider physics remains a priority, long-term roadmap to be developed, define clearly things we will do and things we will not do
      - Other: Enhance support for CERN’s users (experiment and theory), CERN is a user facility

      Questions:
      - The experiments need more people and the institutes have less funding, how to deal with this to achieve the 2030 deadline for HL-LHC? CERN are pretty confident that they will be deliver the machine on time, worst case scenario is that the experiments will not be ready, no obvious solution, in contact with funding agencies
      - Technical issues can delay HL-LHV, will we need to do descoping? Answer: Have to find a way to deliver on the technology challenges to meet the deadline of 2030, limited options for descoping
      - Question: Wider societal impact - more technology transfer? Very important for the leaders of institutions. Answer: Ongoing review. New plan but must be discussed in council first

      Service Status
      - Cafeteria, no planned price increase, pilots of deliveries of meals - not as high needs as expected but well received, can be put in place if needed during LS3
      NB: Social events need to be declared if they are in the dining areas for more than 10 people, please remember !
      - Still working on the mini-market
      - Housing less occupied last year but still very good, renovation plan to improve electrical outlets N39, heating issues in January with several technical interventions
      - New contract for cleaning company ESEIS
      - Car fleet is being renewed, 5 seat light vehicle or 2-3 seat light utility vehicle, half will be electric
      - Shuttle service improvements and a new pilot for autonomous pilot project on Circuit 1 (with operator)
      - 2nd mobility week 17-19 March
      - Self rescue masks available in CERN store, try to avoid sudden large orders, get in touch
      NB: US custom rules change very often: info is available and also ask custom-advisory@cern.ch they will help
      - A number of construction work, Isolde beam dump replacement ongoing, phase 1 to complete in May 2026

      Main questions:
      - Heating of offices turns on too late in the winter, can this be changed?
      - Opening hours of the restaurant, can it be longer? Answer: Understand this is a need, working on solutions
      - People with health problems and allergies can not trust the food at CERN. Answer: Understand this is a need, working on solutions
      - Shuttle to CERN, when is it back? Can it be rediscussed to bring it back? CERN does not see the need, as there is public transportation, take note
      - E-mail about parking was not answered because many thought it was not a legit survey
      - In peak times could the student/school groups be reduced as it is difficult to find rooms: Answer: The number is already reduced and restrictions in place, but will take it into consideration, usually they do not stay in the hotel Monday-Thursday as users have priority
      - CERN science gateway is closed on Monday but some experiments are only having visits during the week, could this be in
      - What about welcoming children in the hostel? It is possible today but on a case to case basis, and they are working on getting it in place more generally with the legal service
      - Proper lighting is needed, especially now with all the building work

      Work outside CERN
      NB: Gate B development: August 26-March 27, complete closure of gate B for 2.5 months to have two lanes, pedestrians to use gate A, Jura-33 and E, Cyclist A and E, cars from Switzerland to use entrance A and C and from France entrance E, under study
      - Work on the power line at the same time as the entrance B closure
      - Tram extended is turned into a bus extension because else large equipment can not be transferred from Meyrin to ATLAS, ongoing work
      - Porte-de-France, big round-about in France, august 2027 and October 2029, will open other gates, tunnel etc.
      NB: Redevelopment of Prevessin site Entrance as well
      - Roundabout by Prevessin, will start mid-2026 to mid-2027 and allow a bypass
      - New pre-selection entry point at CMS and road repair Route de la Plaine in April/May 2026

      Questions
      - This plan does not seem like an improvement for the traffic? Answer: It is not an improvement for cars, but to encourage people to cycle, walk and use public transport
      - Will this work with the access through different gates? Answer: It is being studied, looks at possibilities to pass through other gates

      IT
      - Pilot: Connections not involving CERN are not passing through the VPN, DNS is done and logged for all traffic, linux, macOS and ms windows supported, Android and iOS are on best effort, will become a service possibly next quarter
      - GMS is now implemented and complete (new e-group), migration continuing until later 2026 and should be transparent
      - E-mail: Exchange ActiveSync versions < 16.1 were blocked by Microsoft 1.3.2026, use outlook or outlook on the web until your client is updated
      - EWS to be replaced by Microsoft Graph API, gradual closing to finish end of 2026
      - New Outlook, will look different
      - Webpages: Wordpress is running smoothly, migration is ongoing, training available (end of Drupal September 2026), non customised websites need manual update, help available if needed. Security is improved and those concerned will be contacted individually
      - Security
      - CERNBox, old macOS and Linux Sync clients will be blocked, please check that you are not running an affected client
      - Window 10 end of lifetime October 2025, up to one year extension but not more, support available for Windows 11
      - MailPrint is replacing Mail2Print, old system retires April 2026
      - And more …

      Questions:
      - Any plan for passport manager to encourage the use for large passwords? No plans at the moment.

      OSI - new CERN department for transversal support
      - Equip CERN for future challenges through increased efficiency, openness and sustainability
      - The department should help all other departments and users
      - Focus on sustainability, organisation resilience for change and establish a culture of continuous improvements
      - Digital campus to drive efficiency (including AI for better service), promote open science for CERN and Europe, efficient information management (all should have access to information you need and distribute findings to the rest of the world)
      - Continuous Improvement through direct input from CERN management, direct input from CERN community (CERN idee), own observations, encouraged to take some risks, e.g. try new ideas

      Question:
      - It sounds like a service desk, what are the ideas submitted so far? Answer: Many spend lots of time waiting for access to microwave - follow up on that. The re-activation of the cards for the electronic locks was raised. No rapid response, work more on longer-term improvements.
      - Will concerns and mitigations be shared with the community? Yes, communication will be important.

      Users office
      - New EDH invitation letters - visa applications are now fully automated
      NB: New short-term health insurance for MPA, new solution implemented 1.4.2026, enhanced CIGNA travel insurance with occupational accident coverage, coverage of 90 days, no age limit, not available for long-term users with Swiss or French card and does not replace health insurance
      Daily costs are 3,17 CHF, 14-90 days (44 CHF to 285 CHF). Subscribe 5-10 days before arrival. Limited to 75 kCHF. Allianz remains the long-term coverage with Host State obligations.
      - New system at Schengen border detects automatically your stay, full implementation April 2026

      Answers: - New tendering process started for Allianz after complains about the increase in costs
      Questions:

      Ukraine
      - Harsh winter in Ukraine, 12 hours of no electricity in December, January/February even worse. Kiev university has gone remote for this reason, institutes have been closed as there were no heating or no electricity. End of February it is getting better. Joint CERN-Ukraine workshop took place as announced and very productive. Travel problems and martial laws encourages and requests joint project ideas which does not require a lot of travel, online is very welcome !