Dark matter researchers selected for CERN innovation program

Australian dark matter researchers will boost their innovative thinking with a pilot program at IdeaSquare, CERN in Switzerland.

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research and one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. It is the home of the Large Hadron Collider.

Five PhD candidates from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics (CDM) were selected to take part in the pilot at CERN’s innovation lab, IdeaSquare, that aims to foster transformative thinking with the scientific and broader community using collaborative methodologies to innovate for the future of humankind.

Over two weeks between May 8 and 19, the researchers will collaborate with innovation coaches and technical experts to build globally relevant innovation skills to expand their interdisciplinary thinking and employability skills.

In teams of between three and five they will participate in a project challenge involving terraforming – imagining how they would adapt another planet for human life - as a method to apply scientific and technical knowledge in new ways to innovate for the good of the planet and its inhabitants.

CDM member and Swinburne University of Technology’s Design Factory Melbourne Academic Director Christine Thong says the program provides a unique opportunity for participants.

“This pilot program offers enormous benefits in both equipping dark matter researchers with the skills to bring an innovation mindset to their work, and to help create a culture of innovation within the wider scientific community,” Professor Thong said.

“Now, more than ever, innovative thinking is crucial to helping us find new ways to tackle some of our most pressing scientific problems, from trying to understand the nature of dark matter to how we adapt to climate change.”

CDM member and University of Melbourne PhD student Owen Stanley, who attended secondary school in Perth at Melville Senior High School, is one of the researchers who will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, for the program and is looking forward to spending time at CERN.

“I decided to join the program because I wanted to get a better understanding on how the work that I have been working on can be translated to non-physics research,” he said.

“I’m hoping to be able to obtain a broader view of the world as well as connections with researchers I otherwise wouldn’t have met.”

CDM member and Swinburne University of Technology PhD student Renee Key will also take part in program.

Ms Key says design and innovation techniques play an important role in her research.

“I'd previously expected that much of my research would build upon the work of others, but I've found myself needing to generate new techniques to reach our science goals, so I'm excited to learn more about innovation in science,” she said.

“I'm especially interested in understanding keys to utilising current technology to build resourceful solutions to unexpected and emerging issues.

“Also, I cannot wait to tour some of the departments at CERN, what a dream to be at one of the most influential facilities in physics!” she said.

Other participating students are The University of Adelaide’s Hitarthi Pandya and Kenn Goh, and Australian National University’s Lachlan McKie.