The Epistemology of the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

The research unit has taken up work

The work of the newly founded DFG research unit “The Epistemology of the Large Hadron Collider” has officially begun with a kick-off workshop on 8-9 December 2016 at the University of Wuppertal.
The research unit will investigate the research at the world’s largest measuring instrument, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, using methods from the philosophy, history and sociology of science. Each of the six projects is directed jointly by a physicist on the one hand, a philosopher, historian or sociologist on the other. The University of Wuppertal is the center of the research unit, housing four of the principal investigators (PIs). Other PIs are based at the RWTH Aachen, the Technical University Berlin, the University of South Carolina, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the California Institute of  Technology (Caltech), and the University of Klagenfurt in Vienna.
Prof. Dr. Gregor Schiemann from Wuppertal is the speaker of the research untit; he states: ``This research takes place at a possibly groundbreaking time for particle physics. The next few years could bring about a breakthrough in our understanding of the very foundations of matter. On the other hand, the standard model might be confirmed yet again, despite higher and higher energies and yet more precise tests. Against this background, we will witness and analyze research that is torn between normal science and revolutionary science.’’ This will make it possible to produce important contributions to some of the most pressing questions of contemporary philosophy of science.
Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) the group has managed to recruit highly qualified young researches from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. Four of them will conduct their research at the University of Wuppertal, which supports the research unit in a multitude of ways; especially by establishing an Assistant Professorship in philosophy of physics, a unique position in all of Germany.
The research unit consists of experts from philosophy of science, sociology of science and history of science, who are based in Germany, Austria and the USA. The six projects are directed by Prof. Dr. Robert Harlander (theoretical physics, RWTH Aachen), Prof. Dr. Dr. Rafaela Hillerbrand (philosophy, KIT Karlsruhe), Prof. Dr. Michael Krämer (theoretical physics, RWTH Aachen), Prof. Dr. Dennis Lehmkuhl (history and philosophy of science, Caltech), Prof. Dr. Peter Mättig (experimental physics, University of Wuppertal), Prof. Dr. Martina Merz (sociology of science, AAU Klagenfurt), Prof. Dr. Gregor Schiemann (philosophy, University of Wuppertal), em. Prof. Dr. Erhard Scholz (history of science, University of Wuppertal), Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinle (history of science, TU Berlin), Prof. Dr. Michael Stöltzner (philosophy, University of South Carolina), Dr. Adrian Wüthrich (history of science, TU Berlin), and Prof. Dr. Christian Zeitnitz (experimental physics, University of Wuppertal).

Deutsche Version