IBIC 2026: Consortium including GSI and FAIR receives “Faraday Cup Award” for innovations in LHC beam instrumentation
21.09.2026 |
A consortium comprising persons from CERN, the Cockcroft Institute, GSI/FAIR, and the University of Liverpool has been awarded the prestigious “Faraday Cup Award” for the development of a beam-induced fluorescence monitor, referred to as the “Beam Gas Curtain Monitor.” The award for innovations in accelerator beam instrumentation was presented at the “International Beam Instrumentation Conference 2026 (IBIC).”
The Beam Gas Curtain Monitor comprises a neon or nitrogen gas jet intersecting CERN’s LHC beam, combined with the detection of fluorescence photons using an extremely sensitive image intensifier. It is the only monitor that can determine the beam profile and, hence, the transverse emittance during the entire LHC cycle. The monitor is now in regular operation at CERN.
Serban Udrea and Peter Forck from GSI/FAIR designed the detector system, evaluated the atomic-physics basis, and contributed to the experimental interpretation based on relevant long-year experiences. At the ceremony in Whistler, Canada, Raymond Veness (CERN, project leader), Daniele Butti (CERN, speaker of the award talk), Peter Forck (GSI/FAIR) and Carsten Welsch (University of Liverpool and Cockcroft Institute) accepted the award on behalf of the consortium. It was presented by Kevin Jordan (J-Lab), the chairman of the award committee. (BP)
