On 28 January 2026, the inaugural meeting of the CERN/ALICE-CIAE Joint Lab for Detection Technology (JLAC), jointly established by CERN and the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), was held at Beijing Science and Technology Park. The event brought together more than 80 leading experts, scholars, and institutional representatives from the field of particle physics. Attendees included representatives from CERN, Heidelberg University in Germany, the Netherlands National Institute of Subatomic Physics, the Chinese Nuclear Society, Beijing Nuclear Society, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, Fudan University, the University of Science and Technology of China, East China Normal University, Shandong University, Lanzhou University, Central China Normal University, and the China Institute of Atomic Energy, all gathering to witness this milestone in international cooperation.
Group photo at the Inaugural Meeting of the CERN/ALICE-CIAE Joint Lab for Detection Technology
The inaugural meeting was chaired by Professor Li Xiaomei. Vice President Guo Bing of the China Institute of Atomic Energy announced the establishment of the Joint Lab and highlighted in his address that CERN, as the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, is a global leader in quark-gluon plasma detection, high-precision detector technology, and large-scale data analysis. Building on a long-standing history of high-level collaboration, the China Institute of Atomic Energy and the ALICE experiment have signed the Implementation Agreement on Detector Upgrades and Physical Research of the ALICE Experiment during LHC Run 3 and Run 4. The agreement focuses on establishing the CERN/ALICE-CIAE Joint Lab, developing silicon pixel detectors and micro-pattern gas detector technologies and equipment, and making core contributions to ALICE detector upgrades and related physics research. The launch of JLAC represents a concrete step in fulfilling this cooperation agreement. In his speech, ALICE experiment spokesperson Kai Schweda acknowledged the important contributions of the China team to ALICE and expressed expectations for the joint detector technology laboratory to play a key role in future upgrades toward ALICE3.
Leadership Address at the Joint Lab Inaugural Meeting
Vice President Guo Bing announced the appointments of Chen Dongfeng, Chief Scientist of the China National Nuclear Corporation, and Luciano Musa, former spokesperson of the ALICE experiment, as the Chinese and international directors of the laboratory, respectively. Ruan Xichao, Deputy Director of the China Nuclear Data Center, and Li Xiaomei, head of the ALICE experiment at the China Institute of Atomic Energy, were appointed as deputy directors, with Li Xiaomei also serving as Executive Deputy Director. Liu Jianqiao, Vice Chairperson of the Chinese Nuclear Society; Vice President Guo Bing; Shen Yangping, Deputy Director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics (acting in charge); and spokesperson Kai Schweda presented the letters of appointment to the directors and deputy directors of the laboratory. In his address, Director Chen Dongfeng outlined that the Joint Lab will pursue multiple research directions, including detector development, electronics R&D, and experimental data analysis, focusing on core technology breakthroughs and scientific research tasks. Director Luciano Musa highly praised the contributions made by the China team to the ALICE experiment. Currently, ALICE 3 is in a critical R&D phase, and the launch of JLAC not only injects new collaborative momentum into ALICE 3 but also builds a new bridge for international collaborative innovation in particle detection technology.
Issuance of appointment letters to the Director and Deputy Director of the Joint Lab
The JLAC Technical Advisory Committee comprises leading domestic and international experts and scholars, including several academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences. Speeches were delivered by Academicians Zhang Huanqiao and Ma Yugang, Professor Zhou Daicui, and Jochen Klein, head of the ALICE3 ITS project, serving as honorary director, director, deputy director, and member of the Joint Lab Technical Advisory Committee, respectively. Academician Zhang Huanqiao emphasized that the CERN/ALICE experiment is a world-class, large-scale scientific facility and that it is essential to seize the opportunity of the ALICE experiment upgrade to build JLAC into a top-tier detection technology laboratory within 5–10 years, thereby setting a benchmark for international cooperation. Academician Ma Yugang reviewed the significant contributions made by CIAE as an initial member of the ALICE experiment in areas such as experimental facility construction, upgrades, and physics analysis, and clarified the responsibilities of the Technical Advisory Committee. He noted that such cross-border, interdisciplinary, and high-level collaboration not only provides a crucial pathway to overcoming major scientific challenges but also drives technological progress and talent development, further highlighting the sharing of global scientific resources and win-win cooperation. The honorary director of the Technical Advisory Committee, Academician Peter Braun-Munzinger of the European Academy of Sciences, Zhou Shuhua, co-founder of the ALICE experiment China team, as well as Technical Advisory Committee member Johanna Stachel, former president of the German Physical Society, and Johan Alme, professor at the University of Bergen, Norway, all sent video congratulations.
Issuance of appointment letters to the Honorary Director of the Joint Lab Technical Advisory Committee
Issuance of appointment letters to the Director and Deputy Director of the Joint Lab Technical Advisory Committee
Issuance of appointment letters to members of the Joint Lab Technical Advisory Committee
The launch of this Joint Lab marks the official implementation of in-depth cooperation between the China Institute of Atomic Energy and the CERN ALICE experiment. It establishes a dedicated collaborative platform for breakthroughs in particle detection technology and cutting-edge physics research. JLAC will serve as a key bridge connecting scientific research efforts from China and abroad, enabling deeper exchanges between Chinese researchers and over 2,000 top scientists from more than 40 countries and 170 research institutes, thereby integrating Chinese expertise into the global scientific endeavor. Moving forward, both sides will use the laboratory as a base to build a platform for technical cooperation and talent cultivation for ALICE, advancing the coordinated development of particle detection technology and frontier physics.