LECOQ INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

This major symposium is in honor of the distinguished work and lifetime achievements of Dr. Paul Lecoq, a very well-known professional with deep impact in physics, technology and interdisciplinary research for sustainable development.

Professor Paul Lecoq is a worldwide recognized expert in scintillator sciences. During his scientific career at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the largest particle physics laboratory in the world, Paul Lecoq was deeply involved in the development of detector technologies based on scintillator crystals. He has been in particular responsible for the development and the production of 100 tons of scintillating crystals and for their integration in the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the large hadron collider (LHC) at CERN, which contributed significantly to the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. His work on detector instrumentation and particularly on heavy inorganic scintillator materials has received strong support from Nobel Laureates, Carlo Rubia, Samuel Ting and Georges Charpak.

In parallel with this work on particle physics detectors, Paul Lecoq focused on applications in medical imaging. His research findings continue to inspire several groups around the world working on improving the sensitivity and performance of PET scanners (Positron Emission Tomography).

In the frame of a European funded project, he developed the disruptive concept of metascintillators, combining the high radiation stopping power of already known dense scintillators to considerably enhanced scintillation performance of quantum confined excitons in nanophotonic structures.

After his retirement from CERN, he founded and became the CEO of the Swiss company METACRYSTAL SA to industrially develop this concept. Indeed, through their unique timing properties, at least two orders of magnitude faster than standard scintillators, metascintillators introduce a paradigm shift in detector technologies, in particular for time-of-flight measurements. The impact in some application domains, such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is considerable, increasing their sensitivity, and therefore their potential to diagnose diseases at an early stage, sometime even before they become symptomatic, and therefore improving their prognosis.

A new generation of PET scanners can therefore bring a significant contribution to the 3d sustainable goal of the United Nations: Good Health and Well-Being.

Moreover, PET scanners are increasingly used for plants to simultaneously measure the space-time dynamics of metabolism and high-resolution plant morphology. This allows the extraction of new digital biomarkers correlated with early signs of plant stress before symptoms become obvious and irreversible, and trigger fertilization and phytosanitary measures early enough to preserve the crops. From this point of view, metascintillators contribute also to the 2d sustainable goal of the United Nations: No Hunger.

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS

A round table discussion open to everyone interested will be organized during the symposium. This will allow high level representatives of various industries, technologies, and academic disciplines to discuss and debate freely, without reservations, all topics of this symposium and identify possible research and development pathways towards a future industry with increased sustainability.

You are cordially invited to actively participate in this symposium by submitting and presenting a paper, or by attending the round table. We look forward to meeting you at this world class symposium.