Lane: LHC As Opportunity to Advance Public Understanding of Science

“I look forward to a lasting partnership that advances discovery, learning, and cooperation across our entire society.” -- NSF Director Neal Lane

At a December 8 ceremony, the U.S. signed an agreement to participate in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (see FYIs #148 , #152 .) All the speakers at the ceremony lauded the precedent-setting international cooperation, and the scientific and technological discoveries that will arise from building and operating the particle accelerator. National Science Foundation Director Neal Lane also chose to emphasize “another frontier that the LHC offers us the opportunity to advance and explore...public appreciation and understanding of physics in particular and science and engineering in general.” He expressed concern that science literacy was “disturbingly low,” but said undertakings like the LHC provide an opportunity for progress by capturing the public’s interest. The main text of Lane’s speech is quoted below:

* * * * * As is clear from our gathering here this morning, the LHC promises to expand frontiers of many kinds. Foremost, of course, is its scientific potential. The desire to discover the deepest secrets of the physical universe is beyond question the ultimate driving force behind the project.

We also know that the LHC marks a quantum leap forward for international cooperation in science and technology, and it also represents a technological challenge of grand scale and proportion.

Today, I want to say a few words about another frontier that the LHC offers us the opportunity to advance and explore. This frontier lies in the area of public appreciation and understanding of physics in particular and science and engineering in general. Here, too, the potential for progress is both exciting and unprecedented.

According to a recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, virtually all of the world’s major industrialized countries share one troubling trait. Interest in scientific news and events is surprisingly high, while understanding of scientific concepts and methods is disturbingly low.

-- On the one hand, a majority of citizens have a high level of interest in science and technology, especially when it affects their lives directly.

-- But, when it comes to understanding scientific methods and concepts, the numbers drop precipitously, to levels on the order of one-in-five and below.

Some refer to this difference between interest and understanding as a gap or a divide, or even a barrier. I prefer to think of it in another way, as a “potential.”

The term potential takes on a special meaning within the realm of physics. It describes a situation where one energy source is a high level and another is at a low level. We see this in the “plus” and “minus” signs on the batteries that power our flashlights, not to mention the injectors at CERN that accelerate particles to velocities that approach the speed of light.

Needless to say, when it comes to particle physics, there is a great reservoir of potential we can tap to raise public awareness and understanding. Interest without question is very high. Major discoveries like the top quark and antimatter make headlines on the front pages of the world’s major newspapers. Whether readers fully appreciate the significance of these breakthroughs is another matter altogether.

That is why this agreement places such a high priority on public education and outreach. Each of the U.S. detectors has named an education coordinator to its senior project management teams. You’ll also see that the integration of research and education stands out as a primary objective and responsibility within the overall U.S. investment strategy -- just as it now guides NSF’s programming in general. I often say that NSF is involved in everything from elementary schools to elementary particles, and it’s not always clear which are more complex or more challenging.

To close therefore, let me restate that the LHC will help us to realize the potential that lies along all of these challenging frontiers. That gives us many reasons to celebrate this historic occasion. With all of you, I look forward to a lasting partnership that advances discovery, learning, and cooperation across our entire society.