One part of CERN’s fundamental mission is to maximise its positive impact in society by finding opportunities for the transfer of the Organization’s considerable knowledge and technology to their many applications. Under this comprehensive objective, the first HSE-KT Innovation Day was held on 16 December 2020, organised by the Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Protection (HSE) Unit in collaboration with the CERN Knowledge Transfer group. In contrast to past Knowledge Transfer (KT) innovation days with the Accelerators and Technology Sector (ATS) and the Experimental Physics (EP) department, the event was held virtually, with over fifty participants joining to discover new technologies with potential applications in the Safety field.
The HSE-KT Innovation Day kicked off with an introductory address from Giovanni Anelli, head of the CERN Knowledge Transfer group, and Manuela Cirilli, head of Medical Applications in the same group, followed by Benoit Delille, the current Head of the HSE Unit.
During the event, participants had the opportunity to watch the HSE personnel present the potential applications of their activities. As expected from the scope of the HSE Unit activities, many speakers described innovative solutions and tools to help with chemical and radiological risk assessment or mitigation. Among these were Andriy Bocycheko, presenting CERES, the CERN Chemical Register for Environment, Health and Safety, a centralised inventory project; Saverio Mendola discussing the outcomes of the FYRIA beyond CERN project; and Jose Carlos Gascon with a project to develop radiation-resistant polymer compounds.
Another remarkable solution was the Rail Runner, a suspended monorail robotic carrier for use in industries requiring autonomous fire and safety solutions, presented by Vaclav Lhota. Likewise, Jordan Minier proposed a low-cost monitoring solution, used for pro-active control of CERN’s noise footprint, to be employed in industrial plants and airports; and, with the health emergency present in all the Organization’s activities in current times, Andre Henriques introduced the CARA project, aimed at better understanding and quantifying the risk of long-range airborne spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in workplaces. (Editor update 13/3/23: Please note that since September 2022 CARA is now called CAiMIRA - CERN Airborne Model for Indoor Risk Assessment.)
The enthusiastic exchange of innovative ideas and solutions between participants and speakers made for the positive outcome of the first HSE-KT Innovation Day. For the future, speakers were encouraged to discuss their ideas with the Knowledge Transfer group, in case they are eligible for support from the Knowledge Transfer fund or Medical Application budget to further their potential.
Read more about the projects and their applications in the event’s page (CERN login required): https://indico.cern.ch/event/959462/