Supercluster's Erik Kuna has won a CERN community award for photography

CERN has announced the winners of the CERN Photowalk 2025, a behind-the-scenes photo competition held at the massive Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland. The three winners – two chosen by a local jury, one selected by the CERN community – will now be submitted to the Global Physics Photowalk and judged alongside submitted pictures from all around the world.

Erik Kuna, representing Supercluster in competition, won the CERN community award. Specifically for the above header photo, titled Threading the Future. "Winners were chosen based on how well they fit with the theme and how they represented the facility depicted, as well as on their artistic and aesthetic merit," said a release from CERN.

At CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, a facility 17 miles long in circumference, scientists explore the fundamental building blocks of the universe by smashing particles together at nearly the speed of light. These high-energy collisions recreate conditions similar to those just after the Big Bang, allowing researchers to study the smallest components of matter and the forces that govern them. The LHC has already led to major discoveries, most famously the Higgs boson in 2012, which helps explain why particles have mass. By analyzing the debris from these collisions using massive detectors, physicists at CERN aim to investigate origins of the universe.

On May 27th, CERN opened its doors to 17 photographers from around the world and invited them to explore the advanced facility through their lens and creative style. This year’s competition, entitled “CERN Photowalk 2025: Future Colliders”, took them to four unique locations, from the galleries of the High-Luminosity LHC – the successor to CERN’s current flagship accelerator, the LHC – to the Laboratory’s main workshop.

And Erik will be returning in the fall. His winning photograph will be exhibited in the Esplanade des Particules, an open space and welcome area for CERN visitors. Below, explore the Large Hadron Collider through our 10 submitted competition photos with commentary from Erik. We'll publish a part II with more photos later this summer.

Seen from above, this complex assembly in the SM18 facility stands as the proving ground for superconducting technology that will shape the next generation of particle physics. Illuminated by ambient work lights, the test string here is part of the HL-LHC’s “cold powering” system, nicknamed the python for its winding superconducting link. These modules are cooled to near absolute zero and pushed to their physical limits before being greenlit for CERN’s most ambitious upgrades. I was drawn to the symmetry, the contrast of neon greens with industrial reds, and the way the testbed seemed to pulse with potential.

This is CERN’s main mechanical workshop, where raw materials become high-performance components for some of the world’s most advanced scientific instruments. The space hums with purpose: state-of-the-art CNC machines line both sides of the hall, technicians fine-tune code, and intricate parts are measured, adjusted, and perfected. I composed this shot to showcase both the scale and rhythm of this industrial symphony, the yellow tracks guiding the eye, the fluorescent lights tracing the ceiling like particles in alignment. This isn’t just manufacturing; it’s detailed engineering with mission-critical stakes. Every detail here, down to the smallest thread or curve, must be perfect, because in particle physics, down to a nanometer matters.

This newly constructed tunnel at CERN’s Point 1 is part of the infrastructure that will enable the High-Luminosity LHC, the most ambitious particle accelerator upgrade to date. It may look quiet now, but these galleries will soon host cutting-edge systems—superconducting magnets, cryogenics, and power converters, designed to deliver ten times more collision data than the current LHC. For me, this shot felt cinematic: the symmetry of the overhead ducting and cable trays, the converging lines of conduit and light, and the lone blue container glowing at the vanishing point. It was a moment of engineered stillness, hinting at the high-energy chaos it will someday contain. This is what the future of discovery looks like: neatly routed, precisely lit, and ready for the unknown.

This is the HL-LHC cold powering test string at SM18, an essential proving ground for the superconducting links and magnets that will define the next era of CERN’s accelerator technology. The long, winding conduit in the center delivers cryogenic current from the power supplies to the magnets under extreme test conditions. I was struck by the sheer complexity and cleanliness of this setup: bright color-coded elements, precisely routed cables, and a scale that feels almost architectural. This is what high-energy physics looks like when it’s still grounded—before it bends particles or unlocks cosmic secrets, it starts here, in this facility, under bright lights and careful calibration.

In this tighter moment from the sterile chamber at SM18, a technician delicately maneuvers a crab cavity, one of the HL-LHC’s most innovative and alignment-sensitive components. These cavities tilt the particle beams ever so slightly to maximize collision rates within the detectors, a feat that requires ultra precision and absolute cleanliness. Through the glass, I was drawn to the human scale of high-energy physics: the focused eyes behind the mask, the gloved grip on the frame, and the mirrored polish of the metal reflecting a world of exacting standards. Data may drive science at CERN, but it’s powered by people, often unseen, but always essential.

A close-up look at the TAURUS CNC machining center in CERN’s main workshop, caught mid-operation. Streams of coolant cascade over the workpiece as the bit carves into a massive slab of metal, each pass guided by micrometer-precise instructions. These are not ordinary parts: the materials shaped here must endure ultra-cold, high-radiation, high-magnetic-field environments inside CERN’s accelerator systems. I wanted to frame this not just as a machine, but as a moment, one where heat, pressure, software, and steel converge in a choreographed sequence. The bright red housing and the chaos of metal chips below echo a theme you see often at CERN: science at full throttle still starts with a spark of creation.

This machined test block from CERN’s main workshop demonstrates just how precise the team’s fabrication capabilities are, two interlocking metal pieces milled so perfectly they fit seamlessly without bonding agents. These tolerance-defying joints are essential in components that must remain structurally sound in environments subject to magnetic fields, radiation, and cryogenic temperatures. I composed this macro-style shot to highlight both the scale and the stakes: the block sitting casually on a white cloth, a finger nearby, hints at how human hands and minds guide atomic-scale precision. With the background of massive machinery, this is the precision craftsmanship at the core.

A safety technician makes a solo pass through the HL-LHC tunnel at Point 1, a critical part of protocol before new personnel or equipment enter. The space is cavernous yet controlled, the lines of piping and cable trays sweeping along the arc of the tunnel like the veins of an artificial artery. Moments before this, the tunnel felt stark and lifeless. But the bright orange vest, the purposeful stride, and the human scale instantly reframed it. This is the front line of operational readiness at CERN, where even the quietest steps are part of the system that enables world-changing science. I captured this just before we moved deeper into the gallery, grateful to walk in step with innovation.

Inside the HTS Magnet Laboratory, this intricate cabling machine twists together unreacted strands of niobium-tin (Nb₃Sn) into a Rutherford cable, destined for use in next-generation superconducting magnets. These cables must carry tens of thousands of amps in cryogenic conditions, bending magnetic fields with surgical precision. I was captivated by the controlled chaos here: fine strands fanning together in elegant symmetry, a droplet of coolant hanging from the extruder like a moment frozen in time. This is superconductivity in the making, where even before reaching absolute zero, the energy is electric. It's the kind of scene where physics and art briefly agree.

Amid coils, wires, and a tangle of superconducting test equipment, this physicist’s focus cut through it all. In the High-Temperature Superconducting Magnet Lab, she was fine-tuning a new magnet prototype while taking a moment to share her passion with visiting photographers. You could see it in her eyes, an eagerness not just to experiment, but to explain, to connect, and to inspire. It was a rare portrait opportunity in a deeply technical space, and she embraced it. The photo captures a moment of intense precision, as well as quiet pride. At CERN, some of the most powerful magnetic fields on Earth are shaped by hands like these, curious, capable, and deeply committed to pushing science forward.

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You don’t just visit CERN…you feel it. It’s a reminder that the universe is both vast yet tangible, large and small at the same time. And I got to photograph that tension, something I love to do and I’m excited the whole team at CERN connected with the images I made.