Fundamental research is a journey into the unknown to answer questions like how the universe began. This quest for new knowledge sometimes requires scientists to ask fascinating and provocative questions that challenge the cornerstones of scientific theory as it is taught in classrooms and universities the world over. Challenging these cornerstones means pushing the boundaries of our knowledge and, thanks to smart technologies, an opportunity to bring together the best minds irrespective of their geographical location. But more importantly it means gaining an appreciation of what scientific discovery in the past means to us today and what it might mean for future generarions.

Electricity - an outcome of fundamental research

Let's take electicity as an example of how fundamental research lays the foundation stones for applied research. The discovery of electricity is the outcome of what we call fundamental, basic or pure research, as it is also called. The electricity we use in our daily lives is the outcome of what we call 'applied research', because it has taken discovery to change the world in which we live.

CERN as the hallmark of Europe’s world leadership for global scientific discovery

CERN has always been renowned for its support of scientists from across the world that has also been captured in popular novels but it wasn't until last year that it embraced associate members to now include 97 countries. In Rolf Dieter's mind, big science projects play an important role in demonstrating that we are able to work together globally by pulling at the same strings and moving together in the same direction. Over the next two decades, CERN's Large Hadron Collider, or LHC for short, will serve as a discovery machine spurring investigations into the next steps for fundamental research.

The LHC has taken 30 years from idea to implentation, demonstrating that fundamental research inevitably means long or uncertain time-frames. Yet we need to retain this virtuous circle to boost long-term innovation and satisfy our curiosity for the unknown. Researchers at facilities like CERN and across the world are the drivers behind some of the major changes that the next generation will witness. Funders and researchers alike should be encouraged to use investments as wisely as possible while pushing the boundaries beyond our imagination for the benefit of the many.