CI expert Professor Carsten P Welsch from the University of Liverpool was invited by CERN to contribute to this year’s KIMIKO Festival in Aachen, Germany, as part of the CERN Science Hub at the festival’s Science & Tech program.
KIMIKO brings together music, culture, technology and ideas on RWTH Aachen’s Campus Melaten. Through the CERN Festival Program, cutting-edge science was brought into the heart of the festival environment, giving visitors the opportunity to meet researchers, take part in interactive activities and explore major questions in modern physics in an informal setting.
Prof Welsch contributed a public talk entitled “Hollywood Physics”, using popular films and series as a starting point to explore what science fiction gets right, what it gets wrong, and where real accelerator science can be even more surprising than the movies. The talk used examples from superhero films and popular culture to introduce audiences to particle accelerators, antimatter, new technologies and the real-world applications of accelerator research.
The presentation moved from familiar screen references to some of the most exciting areas of modern physics and technology. Topics included the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the use of proton and ion beams in cancer treatment, the creation of new elements, particle traps, antimatter experiments and medical imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography.
By connecting these ideas to film and television, Professor Welsch showed how accelerator science is central to discovery science, and at the same time underpins technologies that can benefit society, from healthcare to advanced materials and future research infrastructures.
Prof Welsch said: “Popular culture gives us a wonderful way to start conversations about physics. Many people may never choose to attend a traditional science lecture, but they are curious about films, superheroes, antimatter or the idea of parallel worlds. Events such as KIMIKO allow us to meet audiences where they are and show that accelerator science is creative, relevant and full of human stories.”
The invitation reflects the long-standing commitment of Prof Welsch and his QUASAR Group to communicating accelerator science to broad and diverse audiences. Based at the University of Liverpool and the Cockcroft Institute, the group has developed a wide program of outreach and public engagement, including accelerator workshops, public lectures, school activities, symposia and imaginative formats such as “Physics of Star Wars”.
These activities aim to make the benefits of accelerator research accessible and understandable, while inspiring young people and non-specialist audiences to engage with science. The group’s outreach work highlights how accelerators help researchers investigate the fundamental structure of matter, develop new technologies, support medical innovation and address wider societal challenges.
Prof Welsch’s KIMIKO contribution is part of this wider effort to take accelerator science beyond specialist settings. By presenting physics in a festival environment, the event created space for conversations with audiences who might not normally encounter CERN research, and demonstrated how science communication can be engaging, inclusive and rooted in everyday cultural experiences.
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