ST PETER PORT deputy Mike Collins (pictured) has been remembering the decade he spent helping to build the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva.

He was part of the team that helped to build the control system between 1972 and 1982, something which he said was one of the highlights of his life.

‘The experience of being there definitely changed my life. I think the skills I learnt, especially those of teamwork, have helped me back over here in Guernsey and in the States.’

He said how things had changed in the past quarter of a century due to technological advances. ‘Back then there were only about 40 computers being used for the whole system, whereas there would be hundreds now. I helped to make sure that each computer worked with one another.’

The collider, which is located beneath the Swiss-French border, has caused international debate, with a case being put before the European courts by scientists who believed that the switch-on would lead to the end of the universe.

Deputy Collins knew that was never going to happen.  ‘There is never any risk of ending the world, despite all of the furore. They are trying to find out what happened moments after the start of the universe and I think they will come up with a definitive answer.’