Recently honored with the highest civilian award for Indians living abroad, by the Government of India, the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman, Dr. Archana Sharma is a Principal Staff Scientist at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland active in the field since 1989 in high energy physics. A Ph.D. from Delhi University in 1989, a D.Sc. from the University of Geneva in 1996, and an MBA from the International University in Geneva Archana has worked at CERN experiments on R&D and commissioning of large-scale radiation detectors.
She is the founder and Project Manager of CMS GEM Collaboration since 2008, bringing a new technology GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) – for exploiting one of the most sensitive detectors with the highest discovery potential. The GEM project spanned about 40 institutions in 17 countries yielding over 75 PhDs under her leadership. Archana also serves as Senior Advisor for Relations with International Organisations at CERN, in support of CERN’s objective of integrating and highlighting fundamental research towards Science Diplomacy, and Sustained Development Goals.
Dr. Sharma is Head of the Engagement Office for the ‘Compact Muon Solenoid’ Experiment at CERN which connects her with a collaboration spanning 57 countries and about 250 institutions.
She has collaborated with events at the ILO Geneva and World Communication Forum Davos as a spokesperson for diversity and excellence in scientific communication. She is also well known for her relentless efforts in mentoring young students particularly girls in STEM, via her NGO based in New Delhi. Archana is also a patent owner of a family of gas detectors, an author of over 1200 publications and 3 popular science books:
https://tinyurl.com/IndiaScienceGeniuses