26/08/2026
🧬🔭 Science brings us together!
Michael Sullivan, Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, visited DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) in Hamburg to celebrate the “Centauri Stars” from Centaurus High School in Lafayette, Colorado, who were among the five teams selected as winners of this year’s Beamline for Schools ( ) competition! 🎉🔬
Sullivan encouraged the students to keep doing what scientists do best: asking difficult questions, testing ideas, and following where the evidence leads. He also highlighted the importance of working alongside people from different countries and backgrounds, sharing ideas and learning from one another.
That spirit was on full display in Hamburg. The U.S. Centauri Stars shared the spotlight with the UK’s winning team, “Mobile MIPs” from Liverpool Maths School. 🇺🇸🇬🇧🤝 Both teams conducted their experiments at DESY’s particle-physics beamline, turning their ideas into real experiments alongside professional scientists.
And they were part of something much bigger: this year’s BL4S competition received proposals from 712 teams in 89 countries, representing more than 4,500 high school students around the world. 🌍
Organized by CERN in collaboration with DESY and the ELSA accelerator at the University of Bonn, Beamline for Schools gives high school students the opportunity to design and conduct real particle-physics experiments. It is a powerful example of how scientific curiosity can bring people together across borders and help build the international partnerships that drive discovery.
As the United States celebrates 250 years of independence this year, we are proud to celebrate a long tradition of American experimentation and scientific ambition—and, above all, the young people who will shape what comes next.
Congratulations to all five winning teams, their teachers, and everyone who made this year’s competition possible! 👏
