Do you enjoy explaining to friends and family what you do and why you do it? Would you like to share your knowledge about superconductivity, string theory, governance, the Higgs, beam steering, particle detectors or whatever else you are an expert in? With the LHC running and delivering the first physics results, more people wonder what will come next – and some of them use the 'Ask a scientist' service on www.linearcollider.org. We are looking for experts from all areas of the ILC who would like to volunteer to take part in the 'Ask a scientist' service.

Experts wanted! Sign up now to answer questions from the general public about the ILC. Image: Nobu Toge.

Depending on your area of expertise, you probably would be called upon something like once a year (unless of course you'd like to reply more frequently) to answer questions like "Why will the next machine be linear?", "How does particle acceleration work?" or "Will the ILC produce black holes?" The questions are directed to the ILC communicators and we forward them on to you. You can then reply directly to the person asking the question, or send us your answer and we will reply. If you agree, we'll also put questions and answers up on the page so other readers can benefit.

People enjoy talking to real scientists, and they will be pleased to get a reply to the questions many people might have had but didn't dare ask. You get a chance to share your passion and help us in generating support for the ILC. And who knows – maybe you can inspire a student to become an expert on the ILC as well?

Send an email to communicators@linearcollider.org if you'd like to take part. We are looking forward to getting to know our pool of experts!

-- The ILC communicators