CERN has inaugurated IdeaSquare, a new facility based in refurbished shipping containers, where people will get together to turn the technologies that underpin advances in particle physics into ideas suitable for spin-out to the wider world.
The facility, sitting within CERN’s Development and Innovation Unit, is modelled on the Design Factory at Aalto University in Finland. Aalto University assisted in the planning and implementation of the project.
IdeaSquare was set up by Markus Nordberg and Marzio Nessi, to facilitate collaboration between researchers, engineers, people from industry and young students. The aim is to “encourage them to come up with new ideas that are useful for society, inspired by CERN’s ongoing detector R&D and upgrade projects,” said Nordberg.
CERN wants the space to become a place that nurtures innovation, and where creative ideas can meet established expertise. Projects will be provided with, “office space and a ready-to-use technical infrastructure and can also take advantage of the great networking and idea-sharing opportunities,” Nordberg said.
The only requirement is to have an idea that combines innovation with usefulness in particle physics and for society. Projects must win the backing of all the parties involved, including the CERN management and the relevant experiments.
The new infrastructure currently houses two EU-funded projects and 46 students have already enrolled and participated in the Challenge-Based Innovation courses based there. Also, over one hundred new ideas have been gathered at IdeaSquare, and CERN plans to develop prototypes of a few of them.
For example, IdeaSquare is currently considering a project that aims to use Gas Electron Multiplier detectors from CERN’s CMS experiment in a new type of engine for spaceships. At the launch event, CERN also announced the release of augmented reality software, which uses detection technology to help with autism research.
“IdeaSquare is an example of the many connections existing between ‘Open Science’ and ‘Open Innovation’. It is the common ground where creativity coming from research infrastructure meets society at large,” said Sergio Bertolucci, CERN’s Director for Research and Computing.
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