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Nimbus Marks Historic Role in Ireland’s New Partnership with CERN

October 28, 2025
An exciting milestone for Ireland 

As Ireland formally joins CERN today (22 October), Munster Technological University is proud to highlight its pioneering role in one of the world’s most significant scientific collaborations.

In 2024, MTU became the first Irish university to join the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland as a Technical Associate Institute. The ATLAS experiment is one of the world’s largest scientific instruments, built to explore the fundamental nature of the universe. Of the 246 organisations worldwide analysing ATLAS data, only 17 hold Technical Associate Institute status — placing MTU among an elite group operating at the frontier of global physics and engineering research.

This milestone comes ahead of Ireland becoming an Associate Member State of CERN in October 2025 and underscores MTU’s expanding contribution to international scientific discovery.

Nimbus Supporting the Future of High-Energy Physics

ATLAS is a vast particle detector that has played a central role in discoveries such as the Higgs boson in 2012. The next major upgrade to the Large Hadron Collider — the High-Luminosity LHC — will further increase the machine’s power and data capacity, enabling scientists to probe unanswered questions about dark matter, the early universe, and the laws of nature.

Nimbus researchers and engineers are directly contributing to preparations for this new era.

Two MTU-led projects are already underway:

  • Powering the Detector: Led by Nimbus research engineer Manuel Caballero, MTU is assembling and testing the electrical distribution panels and cabling systems that will deliver power to one of ATLAS’s upgraded detectors. These highly specialised components must meet extremely demanding engineering and reliability standards.
  • Precision Engineering and System Design: Under the leadership of Paddy McGowan of the Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering Department (MeSSO group), MTU is developing precision supports to hold thousands of delicate sensors in place within the detector. The team is also contributing to the design of the key cooling system required to manage the extreme operating conditions inside ATLAS.

The MTU CERN programme is coordinated by Dr. Niall Smith, Head of Research and Head of the Blackrock Castle Observatory, with Dr. Seán McSweeney, Dean of Engineering, acting as deputy lead. Support from the Nimbus Research Centre and the Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering has been instrumental in the progress to date.

“We are thrilled to welcome Munster Technological University to the international ATLAS Collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider,” commented previous ATLAS Spokesperson and CERN physicist Dr. Andreas Hoecker when MTU joined the collaboration. “MTU’s innovative engineering expertise will be a tremendous asset while we prepare for the high-luminosity phase of the LHC. MTU is the first Irish research institution to join ATLAS, marking an exciting milestone.”

Benefits for Ireland, Students, and Industry

MTU’s involvement opens the door to new opportunities in:

  • Advanced research and PhD pathways
  • Staff and student placements at CERN
  • Industrial partnerships in high-tech manufacturing, computing, and engineering
  • Public engagement and STEM inspiration for future generations

This collaboration ensures that Ireland — and MTU — play a direct role in shaping the next chapter of scientific discovery.

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