Find Higgs particle and face layoffs

An Italian institute heavily involved in the discovery of the Higgs particle is facing layoffs as the state slashes public spending on science to balance the budget.

Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) was informed of the budget cuts two days after the Higgs particle was spotted. The discovery is considered one of the greatest scientific achievements in the past century.

“We have contributed heavily to these experiments,” the institute’s president, Fernando Ferroni, told EUobserver from Rome.

The INFN devoted around 450 researchers to Cern’s large hadron collider (LHC) that runs underground through France and Switzerland. INFN scientists and students were working on a number of projects, including the Atlas and compact muon solenoid (CMS) experiments. Both Atlas and CMS helped track down the elusive particle…

via EUobserver.com / Economic Affairs / Higgs particle researchers face layoffs.