The international Any Light Particle Search (ALPS) II collaboration installed the first of 24 superconducting magnets in mid-October, marking the start of the installation of a unique particle physics experiment to look for dark matter. Located at DESY, the German research center in Hamburg, it is set to start taking data in 2021 by looking for dark matter particles that literally make light shine through a wall, thus providing clues to one of the biggest questions in physics today: what is the nature of dark matter?

At its 195th session, the CERN Council selected Fabiola Gianotti, the organization’s director-general, for her second term of office. The appointment will be formalized at the December session of the Council, and Gianotti’s new five-year term will begin on January 1, 2021. This is the first time in CERN’s history that a director-general has been appointed for a full second term.

Cryomech, Inc. (CSA CSM) recently broke ground on their new 76,000-square foot manufacturing facility in DeWitt NY. The custom designed building will provide space for continued growth and innovation in the cryogenics industry. Cryomech also plans to grow staff in both manufacturing and administration. According to the current build schedule, the company hopes to be in the new facility by the end of 2020.

On November 14, the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (CSA CSM) joined with its international partners to break ground on a new beamline that will help scientists learn more about ghostly particles called neutrinos. The beamline is part of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), which will house the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), an international endeavor to build and operate the world’s most advanced experiment to study neutrinos.

Using nothing more than a $10 magnet, José Ramón Galán-Mascarós and his researchers at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Spain have doubled the hydrogen output of a water-splitting electrolyzer. If the approach can be scaled up, it has the potential to slash the costs of producing hydrogen from water, making the clean-burning fuel greener.

Pakistan’s first private LNG shipment, comprising approximately 130,000 cubic meters, is scheduled to arrive at Karachi by the end of November, according to Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, chief executive officer of Universal Gas Distribution Company. He stated that he appreciated the government’s approval for the private sector to import LNG and set up LNG terminals in Pakistan, expressing confidence that it would help meet the country’s growing energy needs.

RUAG Space (CSA CSM) has successfully developed and tested a new, low shock jettison system funded by the Future Launchers Preparatory Program (FLPP) of the European Space Agency (ESA). The program develops technologies for future European launch vehicles and upgrades of existing launch vehicles. This system enables a quieter and smoother journey to space for satellites or other payloads.

GEA, an Australian electrical component company, has now launched a nitrogen freezing pilot plant for bacteria which takes a novel approach: freezing the bacteria in droplets using a liquid nitrogen bath outside the freeze dryer, then drying the pellets via the normal procedure. By freezing bacteria into pellets before drying, food processors are provided with greater flexibility, a higher active cell count and reduced costs through better use of fermentation lines and freeze dryers.

NASA has awarded the cryogenics department at Thales, Eindhoven two recognitions at its 2019 Honors ceremony held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena the week of November 11. Both were awarded for Thales’ contribution to the success of the ongoing ECOSTRESS mission. The group received the NASA Group Achievement Award while the Exceptional Technology Achievement medal went to Roel Arts, Thales’ product line manager for linear cryocoolers, for his work as program manager on the ECOSTRESS project.