I was thrilled to learn that the American Institute of Physics had awarded the Tate Medal for 2011 to Jean Trân Thanh Vân. Tran epitomises global science, and both physics (especially high-energy physics) and his native country of Vietnam are greatly indebted to him for his dedication to bringing leading physicists from around the world […]
The two detector concepts for the ILC
Since the inception of the ILC design effort, we have been developing the concepts for detectors to do the science as an integral part of our work. The interactions between the accelerator and the detectors are complex and demanding. For that reason, we have a group of accelerator and detector experts working together on machine-detector […]
Baseline Technical Review 4 – conventional and unconventional facilities
The fourth Baseline Technical Review, held at CERN on 22 and 23 March, focused on conventional facilities and siting. All significant changes to the 2007 Reference Design Report (RDR) baseline were reviewed and evaluated for impacts on performance, cost and related systems. This was the last of the formal reviews of the Technical Design Report […]
The role of professional societies
The breadth of activities carried out by professional societies is truly impressive, from publishing and organising conferences to affecting physics education, science policy and public outreach. Most of us belong to a professional society that serves as a professional home in our county. I have belonged to the American Physical Society since I was a […]
HEPAP: advising DOE on the particle physics programme
As US Regional Director, Mike Harrison usually covers US High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) meetings as a way to stay abreast of developments in and the direction of the US high-energy physics programme. This time, instead of Mike, I attended the recent HEPAP meeting in Washington DC on 12 and 13 March. At this […]
KILC12 in Daegu: a preview
The Linear Collider Physics/Detector Group of ACFA (Asian Committee for Future Accelerators) and the Global Design Effort (GDE) of the ILC are sponsoring a joint ACFA physics and detector workshop and GDE meeting on the International Linear Collider. The meeting, called KILC12, will be held in Daegu, Korea from Monday April 23 through Thursday April […]
GDE Executive Committee meets face to face
The Global Design Effort (GDE) Executive Committee met face to face in Washington, DC, from 8-9 February at the offices of the American Physical Society. The GDE Executive Committee is the senior responsible body for the GDE and advises me on the broad range of science and policy issues involved in directing our efforts. Being […]
ILC Project Implementation Planning: the prequel / the draft
In order to make our ILC design as realistic as possible, we have considered many of the issues that will need good solutions when the ILC is built. As a result, we have developed and submitted a draft document to the International Linear Collider Steering Committee (ILCSC) as a starting point towards an actual ILC […]
The International Linear Collider Steering Committee plans for the future
The International Linear Collider Steering Committee (ILCSC), a subcommittee of the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA), provides oversight to the Global Design Effort. As we approach our final milestone, the publication of the ILC Technical Design Report, the ILCSC is in the process of creating a new organisational structure and mandate for future work […]
GDE Executive Committee visits Washington DC
The Global Design Effort (GDE) Executive Committee met for a face-to-face meeting in the Washington DC offices of the American Physical Society from 8-9 February. At that meeting, we invited some guests to inform us about how science policy and funding work in the US government. Our mandate for the GDE is soon approaching its […]