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We’ve received the sad news that former CERN director and experimental physicist Herwig Schopper has passed away at the age of 101. He was considered the grandfather of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, helped promote peace through a Middle Eastern science hub, and voiced his concerns about the Nobel Prize. In 2024, just before his 100th birthday, we had the chance to visit him at his home on Lake Geneva. We spoke with him about some of the highlights of his career and his personal thoughts on research and its potential to contribute to peacebuilding.

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