{"id":1431,"date":"2024-10-21T14:56:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T12:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lpsc-wordpress.in2p3.fr\/?page_id=1431"},"modified":"2026-08-13T14:59:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T12:59:05","slug":"cptga-copy-3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lpsc-wordpress.in2p3.fr\/?page_id=1431","title":{"rendered":"FairouzMalek"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"FM-ATLAS_2026\"\n\t<\/figure>\n

\n\t\t\tFairouz Malek CV, Research and Publications\t<\/h2>\n

Research summary, Curriculum vitae and\u00a0 Publications<\/h1>\n\t

Last update September 2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t\tSummary\n\t\t\t\tEducation and awards\n\t\t\t\tResearch topics\n\t\t\t\tCarrer and Distinctions\n\t\t\t\tLeading positions\n\t\t\t\tSupervision, Internships\n\t\t\t\tExamination, Jury\n\t\t\t\tProfessional grants and Awards\n\t\t\t\tConsultancy & Committees\n\t\t\t\tPublications\n\t\t\t\tGiven talks at conferences \n\t\t\t\tOrganisation of Events\n\t\t\t\tCommunication, Outreach, Dissemination \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSummary\n\t\t\t\t

Summary\u00a0<\/h2>\n

1- Education<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I was born and raised in Algeria where I completed my undergraduate university studies in physics. After obtaining\u00a0 my bachelor and the diploma of higher specialized studies in\u00a0 in nuclear physics at the Science and Technology University\u00a0 (USTHB) of Algiers (Algeria) in 1987, I\u00a0 had the opportunity to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Grenoble in France. I have been awarded a Master in 1988, then a PhD in nuclear and particle physics from the University of Grenoble in 1990. I obtained my \u00ab\u00a0research habilitation\u00a0\u00bb at Grenoble University in 1999.<\/p>\n

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2- Research activities<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The CERN Journey<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I have been hiredt at at CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France) in 1991. I am currently a senior research scientist,\u00a0 physicist in the experimental field of nuclear physics, particle physics and cosmology. I worked\u00a0 at CERN<\/a> (European Organization for Particle Physics) since 1989, first on my PhD work, then I took part in a heavy ion collision experiment at CERN’s super proton synchrotron (SPS), the NA50 experiment that in year 2000 contributed to the discovery<\/a> of the quark-gluon-plasma state, the QGP<\/a>.\u00a0 I did a short \u00ab\u00a0passage in a NASA space experiment, AMS<\/a>, for the search for antimatter in space. I joined the ATLAS<\/a> experiment on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)\u00a0 in 1999. There, I contributed to the major discovery of this century in particle physics, the Higgs boson (Phys.Lett.B 716 (2012) 1-29<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0 I held positions of coordination, as team leader of the ATLAS Grenoble team, member of the publications committee\u00a0 then as physics office coordinator. In parallel, I served as\u00a0 scientific manager of the National LHC Grid infrastructure (LCG-France<\/a>) and the scientific coordinator of the international research network with Morocco, P2IM<\/a>. My journey in ATLAS is slowly coming to an end with the long shutdown of the LHC starting June 2026.<\/p>\n

Jumping onto the unknown to explore the dark side of the universe<\/strong><\/h5>\n

In 2022, I launched a collaborative project on a future underground laboratory in Africa, PAUL for Paarl Africa Underground Laboratory (arXiv:2306.12083 [hep-ex]<\/a>). In January 2024, at the SSP<\/a> sumposium, the PAUL collaboration was officially endorsed and it obtained a seed-funding to explore its feasibility inside the Huguenot Tunnel in the Cape Town region, South Africa. The concept design of the future laboratory has been contracted to the Tunnel operating company (SMEC) who delivered it April 2025.\u00a0 I have also obtained 5-year CNRS international research network, the IRN PAULINE<\/a>\u00a0 which started in 2024. More recently, I have been awarded a Horizon Europe MSCA Staff Exchange project, NEXUS<\/a>, kicked off January 2026 . NEXUS aims to advance research by improving detector performance, refining instrumentation, and broadening theoretical perspectives through a sustainable network of experts. In partnership with world-renowned laboratories in Europe [CNRS research labs(LPSC Grenoble and LS Modane, IP2I Lyon, LP2I Bordeaux, LPNHE Paris, IJCLab Orsay, Subatech Nantes), INFN (LNGS and LNF), LS Canfranc, Boulby UK], the United States (SURF), Canada (SNOLAB), Australia (Melbourne and Adelaide Universities), and South Africa [PAUL project: Stellenbosch University, University of the Western Cape, University of the Witwatersrand and SKAO], NEXUS will tackle exceptional experimental and theoretical challenges to track dark matter, among other subjects of interest in astroparticles.<\/p>\n

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3- Physics for developpement and gender balance<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my efforts to promote science, technology and know-how for developing countries, I served in the \u00ab\u00a0physics for development\u00a0\u00bb committees of the European Physical Society<\/a>\u00a0 and the IUPAP<\/a> (C13 commission). I co-founded with the French Physics Society<\/a>, a series of fundamental physics schools for the Maghreb region called EPAM (Advanced physics schools in Maghreb) from 2009 to 2012. I directed the school, which took place in Morocco\/Taza<\/a>. In 2019 and I co-founded the African strategy for fundamental physics and its applications (ASFAP<\/a>), a pan-African strategy project. In 2020, I was elected \u00ab fellow<\/a>\u00a0\u00bb of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS<\/a>) . The ASFAP final report has been submitted and will be published by UNESCO in 2026.<\/p>\n

My activities in science mediation and outreach are about physics for development and gender balance. In particular, I coordinated the exhibition \u00ab\u00a0La Science taille XXelles\u00a0\u00bb<\/a> which took place in Grenoble. I founded the association \u00ab\u00a0Parit\u00e9 Science\u00a0\u00bb<\/a> in the Alps and I was member of the board of administration of the association \u00ab\u00a0Femmes et Sciences\u00a0\u00bb<\/a> and the EPWS<\/a> (European Platform for women Scientists).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEducation and awards\n\t\t\t\t

Education and awards<\/h2>\n1986<\/strong>: Bachelor in Physics @ Houari Boum\u00e9dienne University (USTHB), Algiers, Algeria.
\n1987<\/strong>: Master <\/em>in subatomic physics @ USTHB, Algiers, Algeria.
\n1988<\/strong>: Master of Advanced Studies (DEA) in nuclear and particle Physics @ UGA, France.
\n1990<\/strong>: PhD in Nuclear and Particle Physics @ UGA, France. (tel-00724115<\/a>)
\n1999<\/strong>: Research Habilitation diploma @ UGA, France. (tel-00001406<\/a>)\n

Languages skills<\/strong>: Algerian and French (native), English (proficiency), Arabic (professional), Swedish and Italian (basic).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tResearch topics\n\t\t\t\t

Research topics<\/h2>\n

1988-1991<\/strong>: My PhD in nuclear physics was about\u00a0 measuring the lifetime of hypernuclei as part of the CERN PS177 experiment. Antiprotons at rest, sourced from the LEAR storage ring (CERN<\/a>\/PS), interact weakly with heavy targets, inducing the fission of these heavy nuclei by transforming a nucleon into a hyperon within one of the two fission fragments. The project aimed to measure the lifetime of these hypernucleus. <\/p>\n

1991-1996<\/strong>: I participated in the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) research program involving ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions at CERN (experiments NA38<\/a> and NA50<\/a>);\u00a0 These experiment found evidence<\/a> of the deconfinement of quarks and gluons from the charmonium suppression pattern which is a proof of the existence of the QGP state<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1997-1998<\/strong>: I was involved in preparing Phase 2 of the AMS<\/a> experiment, which entailed constructing a Cherenkov detector for the AMS instrument installed on the ISS. The primary goal of the AMS experiment is the search for antimatter in space. My work is detailed in my habilitation thesis (tel-00001406<\/a>). <\/p>\n

1998<\/strong>-: Member of the ATLAS<\/a> collaboration on the CERN\/LHC<\/a>. From 1998 to 2008, my research focused on constructing the presampler for the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter-a project led by the LPSC. I subsequently participated in feasibility studies using simulations of B-physics. Once data-taking began, I contributed specifically to the search for the Higgs boson<\/strong> in the diphoton channel; the discovery of this particle was announced in 2012<\/strong>. From 2003 to 2013, I served as team leader for the ATLAS Grenoble group. From 2015, I focused on searching for a graviton signal in the diphoton channel (mass > 1 TeV)-as predicted by extra-dimension models-and from 2019, I contributed to data analysis for determining beam luminosity. Concurrently, starting in 2004, I established the LCG-France<\/a> project (LHC Computing Grid in France), which I coordinated for 10 years. <\/p>\n

2015-2018<\/strong>: Coordination of the \u00ab\u00a0P2IM\u00a0\u00bb International Research Network (IRN) with Morocco. <\/p>\n

2019-2024:<\/strong> participation to the study and design of the Future Circular Collider (FCC<\/a>).<\/p>\n

2023-present<\/strong>: Shift in research focus: underground laboratory science and the search for rare events (dark matter and neutron background studies). <\/p>\n

2023-present<\/strong>: Co-founding an steering the underground laboratory project (PAUL<\/a>) in South Africa.<\/p>\n

2024-2029<\/strong>: Scientific coordination of the IRN PAULINE<\/a>, a research network with South Africa. <\/p>\n

2026-2029<\/strong>: Scientific leader for the NEXUS<\/a> project (North-South Exchange for Underground Science), a Horizon Europe project bringing together underground laboratories from the Global North and South for the first time to collaborate on dark matter research (17 partners).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCarrer and Distinctions\n\t\t\t\t

Carrer and Distinctions<\/h2>\n

Carrer@CNRS<\/strong><\/h4>\n

1990-1991:<\/strong> Teaching assistant at UGA, France.
1991:<\/strong> CNRS research assistant.
2007:<\/strong> \u00ab\u00a0Hubert Curien\u00a0\u00bb promotion of CNRS future leaders.
2010:<\/strong> CNRS research scientist.
2022:<\/strong> CNRS senior research director.<\/p>\n

\n

Distinctions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

2023<\/strong>: Extraordinary professor at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
2022: <\/strong>Associated member of the Acad\u00e9mie Delphinale<\/a>, France.
2020: <\/strong>Fellow <\/a>of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLeading positions\n\t\t\t\t

Leading positions<\/h2>\n

@CNRS<\/strong>
2026-2029<\/strong>:\u00a0 Coordinator of the Horizon Europe MSCA Staff Exchanges NEXUS <\/a>project.
2024-2029:<\/strong> Founding-director of PAUL International Networking PAULINE<\/a> .
2023- : <\/strong>\u00a0PAUL project Steering Committee chair<\/a>.
2020-2026<\/strong> : Co-founder and steering committee member of ASFAP<\/a>
2015-2018<\/strong>: Founding-director of the International Research Network with Morocco, \u00a0P2IM<\/a>.
2004-2014:<\/strong> \u00a0Scientific Director<\/a> of the National Computing and Grid<\/a> for the LHC.
2003-2013:<\/strong> ATLAS collaboration Grenoble LPSC Team Leader.
2003-2004:<\/strong> ATLAS Physics France<\/a> committee member.
2001-2010:<\/strong> ATLAS Computing France<\/a> committee member.
2001-2003: <\/strong>Grenoble LPSC Lab. communication coordinator.
2000-2003:<\/strong> Grenoble LPSC Seminars organization chair.<\/p>\n

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@CERN<\/strong>
2025-2027: <\/strong>ATLAS collaboration EDI office coordinator.
2016-2020:<\/strong> ATLAS collaboration Physics Office coordinator
2016-2018:<\/strong> ATLAS experiment Publications Committee member.
2008-2014:<\/strong> CERN-WLCG<\/a> Overview board member.
2003-2013:<\/strong>\u00a0 ATLAS collaboration board member<\/p>\n

\n

Professional and Learned Societies<\/strong>
2020-2026:<\/strong> Co-founder and steering committee<\/a> member of the African physics strategy<\/a> project.
2020-2026:<\/strong> Board of administration member of \u00ab\u00a0Femmes et Science<\/a>\u00a0\u00bb association.
2016 2026:<\/strong> Board of administration member of Parit\u00e9 Science<\/a> association.
2021-2023<\/strong>: Board of administration member of the European Platform for Women Scientists, EPWS<\/a>.
2010-2014:<\/strong> Board of administration member of the EPS <\/a>Physics for development group.
2009-2014:<\/strong>IUPAP<\/a> physics for development committee member
2000-2009:<\/strong>\u00a0Board member\u00a0<\/strong>of the\u00a0French Physics Society\u00a0<\/a>(SFP) Particle Physics branch\u00a0
2003-2007:<\/strong> French Physics Society<\/a> National Council elect.
2002-2004: <\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Co-founder and 1st<\/sup> President of the association Parit\u00e9 Science<\/a>.
2000-2002<\/strong>: President of the Alps branch of the French Physics Society.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupervision, Internships\n\t\t\t\t

Supervision, Internships<\/h2>\n

Post-Doctoral<\/strong><\/h4>\n