Pole chosen to lead CERN 'God particle' research team

A handout computer generated image provided by CERN shows Real CMS proton-proton collision events in which 4 high energy electrons (green lines and red towers) are observed in a 2011 event.

CERN hosts the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and is researching the origins of the universe.

Zalewska beat three other candidates in the selection process and is the first central and eastern European, and the first ever woman, to hold the prestigious title.

“This is a great success for science in Poland and an expression of enormous recognition, not only for the irrefutable scientific achievements of Professor. Zalewska, but also for the achievements of Polish scientists and engineers who have, for more than half a century, been working at CERN on the most ground-breaking theories and experiments,” Prof. Barbara Kudrycka, Minister of Science and Higher Education told the PAP news agency.

Professor Zalewska is a specialist in the field of high energy physics, researching into neutrinos and dark matter.

She has participated in the groundbreaking research at CERN and has been the representative on the Polish Council at CERN in Geneva since 2010.

Most of the activities at CERN are concentreated around the Large Hadron Collider, located between Geneva International Airport and the nearby Jura mountains.

This summer, scientists announced that they thought they had discovered the Higgs Boson particle, the elusive 'God particle' by which elementary building blocs of the universe are created from. (pg)