The early roots of Big Science, especially in physics, might be traced back to the Great War, which saw the development of aviation science and sonar. Subsequently the Second World War hinged on the development of radar and most famously, on the Manhattan Project’s development of the atomic bomb, which is widely considered to be the advent of the Big Science era. Following the end of the Second World War, globalisation has led modern science with the foundation of international laboratories such as CERN in Switzerland and later LIGO in the USA as well as many international collaborations led by NASA and other Big Science organisations worldwide. This conference will review the rise of Big Science in physics across the decades and consider its future trajectory.

Confirmed speakers are:

Professor Helge Kragh (Niels Bohr Institute) – Big Physics: The Manhattan Project and What Followed

Dr Isabelle Wingerter (CERN, Geneva) – CERN, the LHC, the Higgs Boson and the Rest

Dr Bernard Bigot (Director-General, ITER Organization) – The ITER Project: The Way to New Energy

Professor Carole Jackson (ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy) – Big Science and the Universe: Mega-projects in Astronomy

Dr Michael Banks (Physics World, Institute of Physics Publishing) – Big Science in Physics: A Look at the Decade Ahead

The full programme will be available shortly at: www.stx.ox.ac.uk/the-happ-centre

Registration for the conference (and dinner) can be made at the following webpage:
www.oxforduniversitystores.co.uk/conferences-and-events/st-cross-college/events/the-rise-of-big-science-in-physics-oneday-conference