Archives of Robert Lévy-Mandel

Identity Statement [Top]

Reference code(s)

CERN-ARCH-RLM-*

Title

Archives of Robert Lévy-Mandel

Date(s)

1967 to 1983

Level of description

Sub-fonds

Extent of the unit of description

1 lm

Context [Top]

Name of creator

Robert Lévy-Mandel

Biographical history

In 1947 Robert Lévy-Mandel obtained a diploma in Engineering from the Institut Polytechnique in Grenoble.

In 1948 he worked at the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) on the development and construction of Saclay's first particle accelerator, a Van de Graaff machine.

From 1954 to 1957 he was responsible for the coordination, development and construction of the CEA’s Saturne synchrotron, which entered service in 1958.

In 1963 he was appointed as head of the Saturne Synchrotron Department. The team led construction of the Gargamelle bubble chamber, which was installed at CERN, and contributed to other major facilities, including the Big European Bubble Chamber (BEBC).

In 1971 the CERN Council approved construction of a second laboratory (in Prévessin, France), with a Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator, adjoining the existing site Laboratory I (in Meyrin, Switzerland). Lévy-Mandel arrived at CERN as group leader of SPS Site Installation (SPS-SI), appointed by John Adams, Director-General of Laboratory II. Administratively separate since 1971, the two CERN laboratories were united in 1976. Laboratory II was renamed the SPS division and Robert Lévy-Mandel joined the Directorate, with responsibility for technical services and site management.

In 1980 Emilio Picasso asked him to produce a safety report for the Large Electron–Positron Collider (LEP) project. He also produced the INB (Installation Nucléaire de Base) reports submitted to the French authorities to obtain approval. He set up a programme for consultation with the French and Swiss municipalities and organized numerous briefings for the local authorities.

In 1983, the LEP Division was created and Robert Lévy-Mandel was appointed Project Safety Officer. Lévy-Mandel retired in 1988, just before LEP started up, but continued to contribute to the Laboratory’s work.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Robert Lévy-Mandel

Content & Structure [Top]

Scope and content

This collection covers the period between 1967 to 1983.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Nothing was destroyed.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

System of arrangement

The original order has been preserved.

Conditions of access and use [Top]

Conditions governing access

See file level description and the CERN operational circular No 3: rules applicable to archival material and archiving at CERN. In general, records on any subject that are over 30 years old, and all records of a purely scientific nature, may be consulted.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright is retained by CERN, no reproduction without permission.

Language / scripts of material

Most of the material is written in English or French.

Finding aids

Listed to file level in the CERN Archives Database.

Allied materials [Top]

Related units of description

CERN-ARCH-LEP-2-09-001 to 025 for the period 1970-1998 when Lévy-Mandel was appointed as assistant to the LEP Project Leader on questions of security.

Note

 

Description control [Top]

Archivist's note

Description prepared by Sandrine Reyes

Date(s) of description

Geneva, the April 2020