They’re on a roll: Scientists working on all aspects of the International Linear Collider have gathered momentum like never before. The Reference Design Report is nearing completion, a recent international cost review was very successful and the physicists working on the detectors have defined clear goals for the future that will bundle all R&D efforts and ensure that they get the best possible – and most exciting – physics out of it.
The global International Linear Collider machine and detector community are currently gathering at DESY in Hamburg. A new management structure with three project managers marks the entrance of the project’s next phase, during which an Engineering Design Report will be produced. The project managers, one per region of the ILC, will be the interface between the organisation’s Executive Committee and the scientists and engineers working at the base, managing the projects R&D, monitoring cost and prepare for industrialisation. At the end of the three-year Engineering Design phase, the ILC scientists expect to start a site selection process, a construction proposal and first steps towards international governance and funding. A new roadmap defines the future of the detectors, and the community will appoint a new Research Director to coordinate efforts. The excitement and momentum within the community is almost palpable,” said Director Barry Barish. “The ILC is a great scientific project being developed by a unique global effort. This next phase will put us in the best possible position to successfully propose the project to our governments.