 The majority of the research activities are done through international collaborations with institutions like CERN.The laboratory has about 180 members, among which are professors and scientists affiliated with the University of Coimbra, the Lisbon University, the Technical University of Lisbon, the New University of Lisbon, the University of the Minho and the University of Beira Interior.LIP is involved in scientific research on issues related to high energy physics and instrumentation, working heavily with CERN, of which Portugal is a full member.