Finland’s CERN70 anniversary event was organised in March 2024 at the excellent Think Corner of the University of Helsinki in the city centre, which brought together around 70 – thus almost a full house – of in-person participants, accompanied by some 100 people following the live stream.
The event consisted of talks by key representatives of the Finnish participation in CERN research, as well as by professors in other disciplines of natural sciences. The opening talk was given by the Vice-Rector of the University of Helsinki, Jouni Hirvonen, which was followed by the most anticipated part of the event – a talk by CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti, who was also made an honorary doctor of the university during her visit. The other talks were on experimental particle physics, on cosmic rays and micro-particles, and on neutron stars and gravity waves by Professors Mikko Voutilainen, Katrianne Lehtipalo and Aleksi Vuorinen, respectively.
The talks were followed by an open question-and-answer session with all the presenting professors on stage answering the curious attendees from the general public. There was also a representative of the leading Finnish news outlet, Helsingin Sanomat, in the audience, who published a CERN-related news article the next day, including comments from Fabiola Gianotti.
