Finally, it's time for my recap of the steemSTEM meetup at CERN/the LHC. It was so great, I barely know how to start, so I'll give you a rundown of the events on the 8th and 9th of February!
The full list of participants was (alphabetically ordered):
- @alexs1320
- @ana.luiza
- @aurel.proorocu
- @bendelgreco
- @ceybiicien
- @dber
- @ertwro
- @fredrikaa
- @galotta
- @grandpere
- @howo
- @justtryme90 (+1 guest)
- @kerriknox (+2 guests)
- @lemouth
- @reggaemuffin
- @saunter
- @scienceangel
- @suesa
- @tristan-muller
22 people!
8th of February
In the evening, @reggaemuffin and I met up with @grandpere , @fredrikaa , @lemouth and @galotta at the Geneva train station to then drive to the restaurant "Le Casanova" where we met everyone but @tristan-muller , @saunter and @ceybiicien .
@tristan-muller was supposed to arrive the next day, but @saunter and @ceybiicien were stranded in Freiburg! For them, an odyssey began, about which they'll probably write themselves.
The rest of us ordered some food and socialized, aided by the personalized name badges I had previously created for everyone.
@dber , the MVP, drove @reggaemuffin and me to our Airbnb. We had brought him some Kinder Eggs as a thank you (he's from the USA and Kinder Eggs are illegal), which resulted in the shadiest transfer of Kinder Eggs ever.
9th of February
At 10 am, we met at the "Globe of Science" and went inside to look at the exhibition.
They had multiple animations, interesting things to look at and a short movie every half an hour.
Look at all these people listening to @lemouth explain cool physics stuff!
At 11 am, @saunter and @ceybiicien finally arrived, exhausted from their complicated journey but happy to join us!
Outside of the globe, there was a model version of the LHC which looked quite cool.
After that, we went into the "microcosm" exhibition, which had even more info on the LHC, awkwardly dancing recordings and this neat thing:
Oh, and we shouldn't forget the cosmic ray detector, which detects cosmic rays and sends a representation of that to the "floor" of the entrance, which then lights up:
Lunch followed, where we ate at some Indian place I forgot the name of, maybe someone else remembers. They had cheese naan! It was so great!
Then we all got into the cars and drove to the LHC, the highlight of our meetup.
First, @lemouth held a short presentation (you can find it split into several posts on his blog).
And then, lead by the wonderful @freyablekman , we went ... down.
"This is elevator is your only way up, in case of a problem."
Not really something I wanted to hear (can you spot me?).
We saw smart, hard-working people ...
... blinking warning signs ...
...server farms to mine bitcoin collect data...
...something I really wanted to touch ...
... and finally, the CMS detector!
So many cables! Am I right, @howo and @reggaemuffin ? :P
I even got to take a picture of myself ;)
And an even better picture with the wonderful @scienceangel <3
After all that, several people left but the majority continued to spend the evening together.
We had a small scare, as suddenly @saunter and @ceybiicien vanished into thin air, nobody knew where they were and nobody was able to reach them. After all that had happened to them on their way to Geneva, it was a horrible thought that they were standing somewhere alone, in the snow.
Luckily, that wasn't the case, they had just checked into a hotel and @saunter even joined us a bit later.
All in all, it was a wonderful 2 days and I've still not fully recovered from all the positive emotions I've felt. I've never been surrounded by so many lovable nerds smart people who were just genuinely happy to be there and see each other.
Shout out to:
@dber who was always willing to drive people where they needed to be, despite sneaky speed bumps, small roads and a less than cooperative navigation system.
@howo whose first reaction upon seeing me was "SUESA! I CAN SEE YOUR FACE!" and will come visit together with @fredrikaa in March.
@scienceangel who's a biologist too and shared my missing knowledge of particle physics. We had a lot of fun anyway <3
@lemouth , for organizing all of this despite being already held together only by extreme stress and some bubblegum (and a super stylish red jacket :P )
I'm looking forward to repeating this, meeting everyone who was there again. Preferably as soon as possible!
EDIT: @alexs1320 reminded me of my favorite quote from that meetup:
STAY WITH THE GROUP OR YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!
Looking so beautiful in those pics @suesa! I had the best time of my life, I still cannot believe that I had the honor to meet and spend 2 incredible days with so many smart, young and successful people! I honestly hope that we can repeat something like this in the near future! ❤ ❤ ❤
And all the above inside the most sophisticated scientific tool ever built!
Absolutely <3
Looks like a interesting trip...hope to visit there someday!
You too are looking dam cute in the pics as your name suggests you might be a brilliant science student
Wow,you all had mad fun.. U look good in ur pics, I love steemit meet-ups and hangout, my team also is arranging a massive meet-up for Saturday.
Nice
Let's cool this one down a little bit, before start preparing plans for episode 2 :D
Are you kidding, I'm already planning meetups for 2030, you're never going to get rid of me again!
That is fine, don't worry :D
This is golden and looks much different than what I imagined. Seems like this may have been one of the Best meet ups thus far.
I agree with you @jpederson96. All have read brings a measure of nostalgia and you would just wished you were there to experience firsthand.
Really it seems like one of the best meet ups thus far.
Thanks for sharing @suesa
Super comment
Which is your favorite CERN phrase: "Don't touch!" or "Stay with the group!"
STAY WITH THE GROUP OR YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!
"If you can't see me, you're doing it wrong." - Freya
Exactly!!!! :)
It is also totally warranted, one of the main problems we have on those tours is that people get so distracted by all the amazing technology that they lose the group. And it is a maze there, 100m underground. Also, you could only get out with my help :)
It was a pleasure to have made your acquaintance. Thank you for taking time out of your day to show us all around Freya.
I loved Freya so much, she made the whole trip even better
She was the unexpected bonus. She was supposed to be busy until the tour. And theorists suck in explaining experimental stuff :D
[still waiting for her username before creating her steemit account]
Tell her I think she's super great and inform me when she joins here, yes? :)
I will met her in person on Friday. We have to work together. I will insist a little bit :p
I'm here now :)
Looks like you had a fantastic time, envious! The amount of cables is phenomenal..most of them look like network cables so maybe serial/network outputs from sensors/instrumentation?
Most of the cables are optic fibre in parallel and all individually tuned and synced. That alone is crazy!
You guys are very smart i am just lost in this subject...😂
Check out @lemouth 's blog David, crash course on particle physics parts 1-4.
A crash course on particle physics to get prepared for the steemSTEM meetup at CERN - 1 - the structure of matter
A crash course on particle physics to get prepared for the steemSTEM meetup at CERN - 2 - interactions and symmetries
A crash course on particle physics (for the steemSTEM meetup at CERN) - 3 - All about the Higgs
A crash course on particle physics for the steemSTEM meetup at CERN - 4 - Theory predictions
Wow, Thank you this info i will check out @lemouth
Kind regards
They have a lot of info they need to transmit so yeah, you're pretty correct.
When is the next meetup? That looks so exciting. Wish i was there. I love the pic with the cables. Makes me glad I'm in on crypto. Cheers!
We don't have a date or place yet, but it will happen!
Looks like a blast, sure you mustve been psyched to check it out. Wish I couldve come, definitely a one of a kind trip!
It was wonderful!
awesome little experience, yea? Some of those pics gave me the goose tbh. Too many cables it all looked scary!
This is so good and looks much different than what I imagined. Seems like this may have been one of the Best meet ups so far .
i always wanted to be a part of steemit meet up , allthough i miss one chance .
when is next one
steemit like a family for us now
Did you also take a picture of CERN's most reliable detector - the flapping tape strip hanging from the air vent? :D
(Our group's tour guide was a hilarious Russian physicist with stoic humor)
Oh my, I didn't even see that! Do you have a pic?
And I'd be jealous of your guide if our guide hadn't been so great. :D
I have a picture indeed, but I have a lot of sorting to do first
I'll be patiently waiting
Is he Russian? I thought he was Hungarian?
I might have misheard that then, in any case he was quite a funny guy ;)
saucool. :) Da wird man ja instant neidisch nicht dabei gewesen zu sein. ^^
Mich wundert, dass ihr dort vor Ort so viele Fotos habt machen dürfen, dass ist ja nicht mal in meinem Laborbereich richtig erlaubt. :D :D :D
Das ist alles komplett öffentlich, keine Geheimnisse :D Nur schwierig reinzukommen wegen Sicherheitsvorschriften. Wir durften ÜBERALL die Kamera draufhalten.
Ja, die Gefahr das schnell mal zu Hause nachzubauen ist ja überschaubar. xD
LHC up close! One of the finest pieces of engineering. A dream unconquered.
So, green hair eh! Finally, i've seen everything. I had this image of @lemouth looking a bit like Lawrence Krauss. Glad to know that i was in the wrong.
Confused btw!
lol!
This sure was one hell of a trip and an amazing experience :)
Was really cool meeting you and all the others. Too bad you didn't stay for a full weekend, but I guess we'll manage to catch up when I and @howo come to Germany next month ;)
Glad you chose a picture from the lecture where I look fully awake and not one from 10-15 minutes later :D. I'll be putting together all of my own pictures and should have a post up soon enough.
Till next time!
There is always one guy who sleeps... ;)
I just didn't have a pic of that :P
Looking forward to having you here! (And your post)
That is so cool. I think it's awesome that they sent you guys there. I want to visit there sometime in the near future. I'm not super intelligent with those sorts of sciences, however, I am more than eager to learn. Until then, I live vicariously through these pictures. Thanks for sharing the experience!
Thank you for this report.
It was really nice to meet you! :)
Thank you. I will do my post soon after adaptation to jet lag!
WOW just amazing how this all Looks..
I am not a hightech Guy but i read a few times about CERN and its hadron collider and for me its just scary but maybe thats just because i dont fully understand these things.
Loved your blog and i would love to see all that with my own eyes..
UPVOTED & RESTEEMED
Kind regards
That's... beautiful.
Look at all those cables and machines. This is like porn for engineers.
Great post @suesa ! It was great meeting you and I'm looking forward to seeing your face again in march with @fredrikaa :D
Same! It was so fun and I can't wait for March!
Someone is facing the wrong way to the camera :)
Well, I'd say the LHC looks just the way I imagined it. What is kinder egg?
It looks like a toy. Pretty cute.
Looks like you guys had loads of fun .. awesome !!
and it's finally nice to match some more names to faces ...
how could you reveal your identity @suesa ... or was it really you in the pics? :P
Who knows ;)
Saw thumbnail and got disappointed that suesa didn't show her face again :/
Scrolled down... Now I am fine. Lol :)
Only those who scroll through the full post get the reward :P
I even read comments. Can't miss anything you say :)
I didn't understand what it was and was afraid I might die.
Additionally, our guide, Freya, had two rules:
"Stay with the group and don't touch anything! If you can't see me, you're doing it wrong!"
That's three, isn't it? :D
No, the last part is just a emphasis of the first rule
This is a very interesting story, but i have to say: The Kinder Eggs part is the most interesting part.
Long story short:
I'm thinking about dealing Kinder Eggs in one of America's shady neighbourhoods.
You guys had it all adventure, science, humour, fashion (red jacket!) and even got to see suesa's face and I now get too as well finally:)
You are gorgeous suesa!!!, the blue hair is Wicked cool!!!!!
Those cables are ridiculous, WTF!
Blue? My hair is green Ôo But thanks ^^
This can be fixed for the next time ;)
D:
Didn't I comment on this already? Well, I'll comment the second time if I did.
The sheer amount of cables and machines in the pictures make my engineer heart pound. Oh my <3
And gasp so that is what you look like! What a surprise to me.
You're pretty, ass always.
Wow! What an awesome experience that must have been :)
I honestly cannot believe you didn't wear a mask through the whole thing :P
Might have been a bit uncomfortable
This depends on the shoes, no? :D
Yes, but such an AWESOME opportunity to cultivate mystique :P
Wow! That was an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing. I am also fascinated by the amount of cabling.
While I do not mind elevators, I get uneasy when they are crowded ...looks crowded to me, but worth it in this case. I doubt you would want to take the stairs :-).
--3D
100 meters down? You don't want to take the stairs :D
Aww! glad to see so manny happy faces! @lemouth musht have done a great job in organizing this great trip!!
t.
Those are awesome pics! Lol I love that its the back of your head in group photo, just a playful trademark at this point.
Glad you had a lot of fun, its often needed to get a sort of recharge from events like that.
This is my fave photo, looks so sci-fi, well just sci I suppose :)
@scienceangel had the idea with the cover photo and I loved it!
Such a great weekend - super awesome to meet the whole steemstem gang - and really nice getting to know you, @reggaemuffin and @galotta - in the many adventures of not getting killed while being driven around by @dber - although @lemouth and @saunter also got a brief, slightly less harrowing taste of my impeccable driving.
As I said when we parted ways, what are the chances of meeting a bunch of people on the internet and not only surviving, but finding out they're all super cool? Low, by my estimation, but we managed it!
Plus, the added benefit of seeing one of the heights of human technical achievement - and some very pretty lichens to boot - and you've got one hell of a meetup IMO.
I didn't tell you at the time but I've driven with people who made me fear for my life a lot more than you did 😂💚
I know much worse drivers than you, don't worry... :D
What cables? Suesa!!! There you are :)
Disappointed? :P
Never. Love you :)
Yay! No Bat-Masks!!! xD and no swim Suits and bikini. :( Wow finally your face, You are too pretty <3. and I don't know why, but I have always pictured you fat. but damn you're hot. :P I wish i was there. :(
Tell me, did it remind you of Half-Life? Black-Mesa?
Also, did you secretly wish to use that Emergency elevator. xD
and Oh! I am pretty sure that you Touched the geodetic benchmark thingy. ;)
Wow, thanks arrjey 😂 sorry I'm not fat :P
I never played half life but Portal is in the same universe.
And no, too many people were watching to touch it.
Woa, it's like everybody I've been working with this whole time are real people. Such a surreal series of posts I'm working through, quite a cool experience in itself!
Hope you'll make it next time!
What an incredible experience. I've seen pictures before but it must be almost overwhelming to see it in person. So many cables! Such complexity!
When you said your friends disappeared I thought maybe they had traveled into an alternate dimension, or collapsed into one of those wormholes the conspiracy folks were warning us that CERN would open up. Maybe that's what happens if you touch the geodesic point.
Maybe they did, we didn't consider it. Maybe we're being infiltrated by now!
Or maybe, just maybe, we all went to the alternate dimension, and they were just late catching up!
Seems like you had the time of your life there, i'm filled with envy. I'm quite sad, that you guys and girls didn't paw that Geodetic point thoroughly though.. Also, it's nice to put a face to some Steemers eventually!
It was really hard not to touch it. Like it was placed in a way that screamed "Touch me"!
Probably a decoy to lure out the hooligans before the main attraction :)
It was in the same room as the CMS ^^
lol
lol
her face says it all. :P why else would you be soooooooo happy. xD
So lovely to see your smiling face! You look like a kid in a candy store 😀
Thanks for sharing!! "A picture is worth a thousand words" indeed you all had an amazing time to meet and learn/share.
Wow I think it's a wonderful place.......images are great thanks for sharing
Wow! Very nice meet ups. That's a great way to promote steem and steemit to the community. Keep it up @suesa.
FTFY...
and oh my gawd... so many cables :P
Excellent pictures, you people look so sexy sophisticated scientist. 😘😘😘😘
Damn, sounds like a great deal of knowledge and fun combined. I cant help but be a little jealous. I really wish i could have been there. Anyway congrats.
This is the golden moment. Oh really its a very exited moment becz everyone hope like this meetup .
It appears this are the industry leaders in steemstem. Nice to have you together, I bet they made random discussion on how to help science minnows grow and participate more. More power to your elbow.
Industry leaders? Wow, I didn't know that :)
So beautiful girls very nic post.
a very good post @suesa
This is beautiful.
Thanks for the update @suesa
This is the difference of @steemstem. We want to be there next time, as a scientist.
wowww....... its really great....
love love..... its 100% love for steemstem Meetup.
thanks for the share
Awesome, you must have enjoyed lot, As you mentioned that one person was from USA and the other members were all from Germany or from different countries, I guess u have little greenish hair, you ate Indian food being an Indian I think I should ask how was the food
nice i think that this meetup is held every month
and you share your experience and knowledge about your work
You think wrong. This meetup was a unique event.