Dr Seth Zenz presenting his work at CERN to the Science Society

On Thursday 9 November, Science Society welcomed Dr Seth Zenz, a research associate at Imperial College London, to share his vast knowledge and expertise in the field of particle physics. He discussed his research on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, Switzerland, enthralling an audience from both the Boys’ and Girls’ School. He focused on the story of three years of work by a team of over 1000 scientists that lead to the discovery of the Higgs Boson, as well as discussing his contribution towards this scientific achievement.

The audience asked some excellent questions, which ultimately led to an explanation of how he reached a research position through academic study. He also enlightened the audience as to how one could become involved in STEM subjects and why the big questions that science attempts to answer matter to us all. The talk ended on a philosophical note leaving much of the audience questioning their understanding of science, as Dr Zenz left us to ponder how much we do in fact know about our Universe.

Overall, the event was a success, providing the pupils with an excellent insight into cutting edge research and provided inspiration to aspiring scientist.