News - The Cockcroft Institute

April 11, 2025

AEgIS transforms smartphone sensors into an unprecedented resolution antimatter camera

Did you know that the camera sensor in your smartphone could help unlock the secrets of antimatter? Scientists working together in the “Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy” (AEgIS) developed a detector using modified mobile camera sensors to track in real…

April 9, 2025

EuPRAXIA selects ELI for second Laser-Driven Accelerator Site

EuPRAXIA is one of the Cockcroft Institute’s flagship projects in the field of novel accelerators. Cockcroft partners STFC, the University of Liverpool and the University of Strathclyde are heavily involved in the network. STFC participates in the design of RF,…

A group of people talking to an audience.

April 7, 2025

2025 Particle Physics Masterclass

On the 11th and 12th March, ASTeC and the Cockcroft institute hosted the annual Particle Physics Masterclass (PPMC) at Daresbury Laboratory, an event for A-level and GCSE students to give them an introduction to the grand world of particle physics…

April 2, 2025

AI-Driven Particle Accelerators

We are delighted to announce that an article on “Artificial Intelligence for Advancing Particle Accelerators” was just published in Europhysics News. It describes how cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning solutions are revolutionizing the design, optimization, and operation of…

March 28, 2025

PACRI Project kicks off in Trieste

The new EU-funded project PACRI (Plasma Accelerator systems for Compact Research Infrastructures) started officially with a kick-off meeting in Trieste (Italy) on 12 – 14 March 2025. The €10 million PACRI project aims to revolutionize plasma accelerator technologies for next-generation…

March 24, 2025

Position-Reconstruction Methods for Beam Losses Measured with an oBLM at CLEAR

While the basic principles of particle accelerators may be simple, using electric fields to accelerate particles and magnetic fields to steer them, actually operating them is highly complex. Even small changes in the starting conditions or shifts in the relative…

March 19, 2025

Advanced accelerator research at the Cockcroft Institute: Commissioning and status of the laser-driven ion acceleration platform at SCAPA

Cockcroft Institute researchers at the University of Strathclyde are at the forefront of cutting-edge research into high power laser-driven ion acceleration. Located at the university, the Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma-based Accelerators (SCAPA) facilitates the development and application…

A sculpture outside with a circular structure

March 3, 2025

Voice of Science: Prof Welsch puts Cockcroft Research into the spotlight at CERN

Last year, CERN celebrated 70 years of groundbreaking scientific collaboration and innovation, with science communication playing a pivotal role in highlighting these achievements. As part of this CERN launched an exciting series of events "The Voice of Science" centered on…

February 28, 2025

Research on radiation therapy at the Cockcroft Institute

Cancer-related research at the Cockcroft Institute (CI) is a collective endeavour spanning all stakeholder institutions, each contributing uniquely to the development of advanced radiation therapy techniques. The Institute’s commitment to improving cancer treatment integrates expertise in beam physics, accelerator design,…