Women at CERN

To mark International Women's Day on 8 March, the Weekly Bulletin has looked at the careers of six female physicists, engineers and administrators working at CERN.

A frequent question on the lips of newcomers to CERN as they take a quick look around them is 'But where are the women?' However, while it's true that the Laboratory has never had a huge number of female personnel, a closer look reveals that there are in fact quite a few around. To mark International Women's Day, the Bulletin has interviewed six women working at CERN to find out how they see the Organization, what they do and what they think about their daily working lives.

Creating a link

'Maybe because I grew up during World War II, my parents always taught me to respect people of other nationalities, religions, colour, etc., so one thing I have always appreciated about CERN is that it promotes this tolerance and understanding by giving us the great privilege of working side by side with colleagues from many cultures and walks of life.'
Peggie Rimmer came to CERN as an applied physics fellow at the end of the 1960s. She subsequently moved into computing and worked on the design of data storage software. Having explored the physics/computing interface for some twenty years and led the Public Relations Service for a few more, since 2000 she has been at the interface between physics and finance as scientific secretary to the LHC Resources Review Board. With retirement now only a few years away, Peggie is very positive about her long career at CERN: 'It has been a very enriching experience to bring physics into contact with other fields.'

Peggie Rimmer

A chance encounter with CERN

Before joining CERN's Finance (FI) Department, Cristina Lara worked in London and then in an investment management and marketing company in her hometown, Madrid. 'I didn't know CERN and had never worked in purchasing before. It was therefore somewhat by chance that I came to work at CERN.' Initially commercial manager for computer equipment contracts, she is currently in charge of the commercial side of industrial services contracts. 'What has kept me at CERN for the last nine years is an exciting profession, the fact that CERN has given me the opportunity to work in several fields (computing, machines then industrial services) in a team of highly qualified professionals and the knowledge that the purchasing service plays an important role not only in signing new contracts but also in the management of existing ones that are crucial to the success of the LHC.'

Cristina Lara

Elementary!

'The purity and the elementary nature of particle physics has always appealed to me. Given the high quality of its installations, CERN seemed the ideal place for my research.' First a summer student, then a visiting scientist, then a fellow at the UA2 experiment from 1986 to 1988, Lucie Linssen, who is now technical coordinator for the HARP experiment and also works on the CMS crystals, has always seen her projects through to the end. Even if, at the age of 30, when she was still a fellow and pregnant with her first child, her request to work part-time raised more than a few eyebrows. 'At the time I was able to demonstrate that it was possible to do research and organise my time differently. Other than on this occasion, I have never experienced any kind of negative discrimination at CERN, in fact quite the reverse, because the Organization's efforts in the area of equal opportunities have helped to ensure that women are represented on certain committees, thus creating the opportunity for new responsibilities.'

Lucie Linssen

A dream come true

Not even the Atlantic is enough to stop Maria-Elena Angoletta! Although currently on detachment at Brookhaven in the United States for three weeks, Maria-Elena, an electronics engineer from the AB Department agreed to answer the Bulletin's questions. 'Our team is currently developing a new fully digital beam control system for LEIR, which is one of the components of the LHC injector chain. This involves the use of equipment recently designed in collaboration with the Brookhaven Laboratory. It is very interesting to see how things are done in other laboratories, so as to experience new ideas and to step back to take a different look at one's own approach.' Maria-Elena's dream of working at the 'crossroads of languages, cultures and state-of-the-art technologies' came true in 1998 after she had worked in industry and on digital control systems for fusion research at JET (the Joint European Torus) near Oxford. 'My work at CERN has given me the opportunity to interact with a variety of staff and to sample all the many different facets of my field.'

Maria-Elena Angoletta

A unique experience

'Working at CERN, in the administration of one of the physics experiments is a unique experience. Human relations within the LHC collaborations are both complex and exciting because of the diverse backgrounds of the people involved. Physicists are driven by a fierce common passion which they communicate to others and which helps the administrative staff to feel more involved as they are part of a project' says Catherine Decosse. Having worked at CERN since 1991 and currently assistant to the resources coordinator of the ALICE experiment, she appreciates the 'diversity of her work, which frequently demands a high level of precision and flexibility.'

Catherine Decosse

Taking part in the scientific adventure

'The feeling that I am working in a huge collective concern and contributing to the advancement of knowledge' is what motivates Eugenia Hatziangeli, an engineer in the Controls Group of the Accelerators and Beams (AB) Department. Her task, which is firmly centred on support for physics, consists of providing the tools and software for accelerator control equipment. 'I joined CERN 15 years ago to take part in the setting-up of the first control system for LEP and have been working in this field ever since. I find working in the Control Room in close collaboration with my colleagues responsible for operating the machine an exhilarating experience as I feel I'm contributing to CERN's 'core business' by improving the quality of the beams produced for the physicists'.
In both her professional and her private life, Eugenia has to be highly organised. With three young children and such a demanding job, you can't let events get the better of you!

Eugenia Hatziangeli