The Millennium Institute SAPHIR is a scientific research center funded by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID), which is under the institutional framework of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation of the Government of Chile.
Under this context, SAPHIR, throughout its years of execution, has developed cutting-edge research in the area of Subatomic Particle Physics. This has allowed it to publish hundreds of articles in the most prestigious scientific journals in the world, among them Nature.
This work is carried out by physicists, mechanical and electrical engineers, and various technicians who, through on-site work, develop the most diverse types of hardware, focused on strengthening and expanding the work being done in the large colliders and subatomic particle detectors located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), located in Switzerland.
Recently, the director of the National Agency for Research and Development, Alejandra Pizarro, toured Europe to strengthen alliances, generate strategies and outline a roadmap with various scientific and diplomatic authorities. These institutions include ANID's ECOS committee, the Institut Lumière Matière Laboratory, the Laboratoire Matériaux Avancés, INRIA, the French National Research Agency and CERN.
Visit to CERN and SAPHIR Connection
The director of ANID visited the CERN premises, where she met with Joaquim Minch, general director of CERN, and with the Chilean ambassador to Switzerland, Claudia Fuentes. In addition to the meeting with the authorities, Alejandra was able to know in detail one of the projects led by SAPHIR, which was exported to the organization from the institute and built in conjunction with the Technical Universities Federico Santa Maria, Andres Bello and the company Talleres Artificio.
"As SAPHIR Millennium Institute, we value the visit of the National Director Alejandra Pizarro to CERN, since it demonstrates the interest of ANID, the Ministry of Science and the State of Chile in promoting scientific collaboration between our country and CERN. It was an honor for the SAPHIR community to have shown the National Director the work of Chilean engineers and scientists who collaborate there. We appreciate her visit and hope that this sets the tone for the collaboration between Chile and CERN to continue to be robust and increase over time. There are many financial needs to be able to afford the collaborative work at CERN, but with the institutional support of ANID, we are going to achieve it", says Felipe Olivares León, Executive Director of SAPHIR.
SAPHIR researchers Jilberto Zamora and Marco Ayala, as well as the institute's Director of International Affairs, Jack Brady, were present.
"The visit of the National Director of ANID to CERN, accompanied by SAPHIR staff, was extremely important, since she was able to see in the field the participation that our center has in the different CERN experiments. Particularly in NA64 and ATLAS. In the latter, SAPHIR technicians and researchers have had an outstanding participation, which is reflected in future efforts, such as the upgrade of the ITK detector", emphasizes Jack Brady.