They had to design a reference standard quality nanovoltmeter because HP/Agilent could not keep up with volume & cost. And it was only one among scores of side quests.

https://hackaday.com/2021/02/26/homebrew-metrology-the-cern-...

The fallout from CERN is incredible. It really shows what's possible with these kinds of multiple decade projects.

Reminds me of the Civilisation Wonders you could build.