Stemiverse 0061 – Jeff Wiener discusses CERN Teacher program, next-gen scientists 

In this episode, Dr. Peter Dalmaris talks with Dr. Jeff Wiener.

Jeff is a staff scientist, managing CERN’s national and international teacher training programs and investigating teachers’ conceptions of particle physics.

He completed his Ph.D. in physics education research in cooperation with the University of Vienna through the Austrian Doctorate Programme at CERN.

Previously, Jeff worked as a high school physics, philosophy, and psychology teacher in Vienna, Austria.

Aside from his postdoctoral research projects and the coordination of CERN’s Teacher Programmes, Jeff is also heavily engaged in CERN’s S’Cool LAB.

This is Stemiverse Podcast episode 61.

Stemiverse podcast is brought to you by Tech Explorations, a leading provider of educational resources for Makers, STEM students, and teachers. Go to techexplorations.com to see a complete list of our books and courses covering the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and electronics.

Show Notes

• [0:00:00] Introduction – Introducing Jeff Wiener, Staff Scientist at CERN
• [0:02:26] What happens at CERN?
• [0:03:44] The invention of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee
• [0:05:26] The Large Hadron Collider
• [0:08:15] CERN Teacher Programmes
  • [0:19:56] Who are the CERN Teacher Programmes for
  • [0:24:30] Application process
  • [0:28:04] Success stories
• [0:31:58] CERN Open Access Policy and CERN Document Server
• [0:33:47] CERN Resources
  • [0:34:42]  Big Bang AR app
  • [0:34:55]  Artist mockup of a microscopic black hole at ATLAS – Arts at CERN
• [0:41:27] Particle physics fundamentals and understanding the Universe – Limitations of the standard model of particle physics
• [0:48:16] Is the Universe a Simulation?
• [0:51:49] Thanks to CERN we have open internet and free web
• [0:53:04] CERN’s budget, funding and return of investment
• [0:57:25] How to apply to CERN education programmes
  • [0:58:37]  Summer Student Programme
  • [0:59:26]  Visit CERN
  • [0:59:42]  Permanent exhibitions
  • [0:59:59]  CERN Tours
• [1:00:28] Reading material recommendations on Particle physics research
  • [1:01:19]  Introduction to Elementary Particles, by David Griffiths
  • [1:02:15] Scientists and Science communicators on Twitter, Forums, and Quora
• [1:03:34] Jeff’s influences: His teachers, books by Feynman and Heisenberg
• [1:06:44] Karl Popper’s theory of knowledge and epistemology
• Jeff’s contact information:
  • Email
  • Website
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • YouTube