Graduation Ceremony 19
Friday 4 December 2015 at 1630hrs – Jesuits Church Valletta
Graduand’s Speech
Nicholas Aquilina
Just graduated!! That will be the post on facebook that most of us will have just after finishing this
graduation ceremony, if not during the ceremony itself!!
The ceremony that we are attending today marks the final step to a number of years of studying, work
and dedication, a journey, which for me started about 5 years ago. I had the privilege to be part of a
collaboration set up between the Department of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at
the University of Malta and CERN. CERN is the European Organisation for Nuclear Research. CERN is the
largest particle physics laboratory in the world, located on the Franco-Swiss border just outside Geneva.
For those of you who are still wondering what happens at CERN, let me take you back to the film Angels
and Demons, the place where the anti-matter was created, that was taking place at CERN.
CERN’s main research field is to better understand the laws of nature, particularly what matter is made
of and the forces that act on it. How is this achieved? How do you understand what matter is made of?
Simple, how would you discover what your phone is made of? You smash it against the wall and you see
what comes out of it. Likewise, you take a proton, accelerate it as fast as you can, and smash it with
another proton and see the outcome of the collision.
In order to create these collisions, a specific machine is used at CERN. This machine, which is one of the
most important projects at CERN, is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This is a circular particle accelerator
with a diameter of around 9 km (circumference of around 27 km), that is equivalent to the distance
between Valletta and Siggiewi. The principle of operation of an accelerator is very simple. You have a
pipe, which is under vacuum, through which the particles are circulating. These particles need to be
accelerated; this is done by giving the particles a push once every cycle they go through. These kicks are
given thanks to the RF cavities. On their own, the particles will go in a straight line, therefore it needs
some elements to guide the particles around. This is achieved by magnets, which in case of the LHC are
superconductive electro magnets. Finally, one needs to bring the particles in collision and observe the
outcome of the collisions; this is achieved by dedicated detectors.
My work was mainly related to the steering mechanism of the LHC, the superconducting magnets. These
magnets have a model, based on which the powering of the magnets is determined. My work was to
improve this model in order to achieve better control of the magnets, and therefore the particles. This
model was developed based on the behavior of the magnets as observed during tests done on the
individual magnets before they were installed in the LHC. On the other hand, my work was to measure
the magnetic behavior of the whole machine and improve the model accordingly. All this work would
not have been possible if it was not for the help and guidance of my supervisors, Dr Ing. Nicholas
Sammut from the Univerity of Malta, and Dr. Ezio Todesco from CERN. Actually all my work was a
continuation of the work done by Dr. Sammut for his Ph.D. Dr Sammut was part of the team who was
responsible for all the magnetic measurements and developed the model.
Having the opportunity to study at CERN was a big reward for me. CERN, being at the cutting edge of
technology, is the best place to find a number of expertise in their field, scientists, physicists and
engineers are at CERN working together to make it possible for such a complex machine to work. Apart
from this, CERN is also an international research centre, with people coming from over 100 different
countries. This was the best place to meet people from all over the world. There is no better way to get
to know about different cultures and places than that of meeting the people themselves.
To describe my Ph.D. journey only from the studying point of view would seem like a single jigsaw puzzle
piece out of the complete picture. Like every one of you here, who had to do part of his or her studies
abroad, we know the number of additional challenges that need to be faced. One of the most obvious
challenges is from having almost everything done for you, to becoming completely independent. The
saying, necessity is the mother of all inventions is perfect to explain such situations.
If becoming completely independent overnight was not a shock enough, the social situation was not
very favorable in the beginning of my journey. When I moved to CERN, I was the only Maltese person
there for a few months and needless to say, I didn’t know anyone. This is when I realized the meaning of
the phrase, “life begins outside your comfort zone.” This is not easy especially in a foreign country,
however one needs to leave the comfort zone in order to make the best of what life has to offer.
I believe that apart from the scientific part my Ph.D. has also equipped me with experiences and skills
that will stay with me throughout my life. This is what University and our education system is all about.
You don’t just get a degree, you should also gain skills for the rest of your life, skills which you keep on
developing with the daily challenges that life offers.
That is why it is a pity when you hear about childish debates in confrontation to the university, in
particular, the perennial discussion about the lack of parking spaces on campus. Such discussions make
me wonder, are we being too spoilt as students?
Before closing, I would like to thank once again my supervisors, Dr. Ing. Nicholas Sammut and Dr. Ezio
Todesco, without whom I would not be here today. I would also like to thank all my friends back at
CERN, thanks to them, this journey was much more enjoyable, especially during various adventures we
had together. The last but most important, special thanks go to my dearest ones. My parents, Carmel
and Victoria, my sisters, Joyce and Marija, who have always encouraged me and with whom I have spent
hours of conversations thanks to Skype, and my better half Katyana, who was brave enough to go
through the painstaking task of proof reading my thesis and this speech itself.
One final word, we are all gathered here because we were ambitious enough to complete this journey.
Let’s keep this ambition and combine it with our intelligence as this is what drives us, as Salvador Dalì
said, “intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.”
Thanks.