GENEVA: In its quest for research in pure science in one of the foremost institutes of the world, India on Wednesday signed a letter of intent with the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) here.

India's association with the institute is not new but the country's intent to improve cooperation comes at a time when CERN is building its most powerful machine ever. The Large Hadron Collinder (LHC) is being installed in a 27-km tunnel that runs across neighbouring France before returning to Switzerland.

``The tunnel runs 110 metres deep and you cannot find out when you are in France and in Switzerland," CERN Director-General Robert Aymar told President Abdul Kalam at the institute.

The letter of intent, signed by Dr. Aymar and Anil Kakodar, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, was one of the highlights of Mr. Kalam's visit to Switzerland.

It aims at extending scientific and technical cooperation, between India and CERN, in particular in novel accelerator and information technologies, as well as through training and education of scientists and technical experts.

The LHC project is scheduled to become operational in 2007. Besides doing research, scientists were working on grid computing that would enable them to draw on data generated by those associated with the project,

Dr. Kakodar told correspondents. Indian scientists were associated with this world famous institute for decades.

Even as he made this observation, some 20 Indian technical personnel were working on NM-18, a project which would test magnetic studs being used in the LHC.

Mysteries of universe

CERN documents said the scientists, through the LHC project, aimed at studying collisions at higher energies than ever before and making further progress in understanding the mysteries of how the universe was made. ``The (LHC) project aims to find out the conditions that existed at the time of the Big Bang and understand them," Dr. Kakodar said.

"I see signatures of borderless international scientific community working on a common vision. I am very happy to be with you, especially during the International Year of Physics", Mr. Kalam told the scientists at CERN.

Earlier, during his interaction with captains of industry, the President met those engaged in pharmaceuticals, re-insurance and software and those associated with the World Economic Forum.

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