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WEEK OF JUNE 10, 2024

What’s Ahead

digital illustration of the FCC versus the LHC.jpg — An illustration of the circumference of the proposed Future Circular Collider compared to that of the current Large Hadron Collider.

(CERN)

Planning for Future Circular Collider Heats Up

Plans for a major new European particle accelerator described as a “factory” for producing the elusive Higgs boson particle are the subject of a conference in San Francisco this week. Known as the Future Circular Collider, the project is currently the subject of a CERN-led feasibility study due for completion in March 2025 that will inform the next update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics. If approved, the 91-kilometer collider would straddle the Swiss and French countryside near CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

The U.S. has already expressed support for the plans, stating in April that, if the project receives the backing of CERN Member States, the U.S. “intends to collaborate on its construction and physics exploitation, subject to appropriate domestic approvals.” Regina Rameika, director of DOE’s Office of High Energy Physics, said last month that work to establish a national consortium that will bring together experts to explore Higgs factory development efforts is already underway. Nevertheless, it is far from certain that such a collider will be built. Questions about the project’s scope, size, and cost have already raised concern in the German government, one of CERN’s biggest European funders, with a representative stating the country cannot support funding the project at this time, according to reporting by Nature.

NIST Leaders Talk Safety, Facilities, Climate, and AI

Leaders at the National Institute of Standards and Technology will discuss priority initiatives in workplace safety, facilities repair, and climate and AI research on Tuesday at a meeting of NIST’s main advisory committee. NIST Director Laurie Locascio will respond to the committee’s latest annual report, which offers recommendations for addressing NIST’s facilities and safety issues as well as other challenges, such as better competing with the private sector for workers by using special hiring authorities. The report emphasized that NIST’s ability to meet its mission is “at immediate risk” due to facility decay and insufficient funding to shoulder the increased responsibilities placed on the agency by recent executive orders and the CHIPS and Science Act. As a part of the meeting, NIST’s chief safety officer will provide an update on efforts to reset the agency’s safety culture in the wake of high-profile accidents, and NIST’s chief facilities management officer will provide an update on facility repair efforts. The committee will also be briefed by leaders of the new U.S. AI Safety Institute, which is tasked with helping develop safety, security, and testing standards for AI, and will hear presentations on the agency’s climate and clean energy research portfolio, including the new Center of Excellence for Climate Measurements.

Astronomers to Reflect on ‘Dark and Quiet Skies’ Advocacy, Eclipse Outreach

The American Astronomical Society is hosting sessions on science topics that intersect with policy at its biannual conference this week in Madison, Wisconsin. Among the plenary speakers are the co-chairs of AAS’s Committee for the Protection of Astronomy and the Space Environment (COMPASSE), who will present Tuesday on efforts to mitigate the effects of light and radio pollution on astronomy. This campaign to preserve “Dark and Quiet Skies” has gained traction globally, with the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space set to discuss the issue later this month. The committee may vote to formally study the impacts of satellite interference on astronomy, a step toward possibly creating international standards on satellite interference. The AAS conference will also feature events reflecting on the 2017, 2023, and 2024 solar eclipses that transited North America, with, sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday reviewing efforts to increase public awareness and promote citizen science. Separately, a special session on Wednesday will discuss the future of historic observatories and the value their preservation provides for education and research. (AAS is an AIP Member Society.)

DOE Fleshes Out Fusion Energy Strategy

The Department of Energy published a new Fusion Energy Strategy last week during an event co-hosted with the White House to highlight progress made since the launch of the Biden administration’s “Bold Decadal Vision” for accelerating development of commercially viable fusion energy two years ago. DOE also used the event to launch a $180 million funding opportunity called Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE) Collaboratives that will aim to create a “fusion innovation ecosystem” and bridge the gaps between foundational science and practical applications. DOE also announced the finalization of agreements with eight companies that are participating in the new Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. To further explore the potential for public-private partnerships, DOE released a request for information on a proposed Fusion Energy Public-Private Consortium Framework that would bring together commercial, local government, academic, and philanthropic entities to finance and operate testing facilities in pursuit of a pilot power plant. The framework will be the subject of a webinar on July 11.

UN Declares 2025 as International Year of Quantum S&T

The United Nations passed a resolution last week that proclaims 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology , to coincide with the 100th anniversary of key scientific advances that underpin modern quantum mechanics. The year will consist of a global campaign to increase public awareness of the value of quantum science and its applications to society. The American Physical Society will administer the campaign through an international consortium and will invite partner organizations to contribute. The other founding partners are Optica, the German Physical Society, the Chinese Optical Society, and SPIE. (APS and Optica are AIP Member Societies.)

Hubble Telescope Transitioning to Single-Gyro Operation

NASA announced last week that it will transition the Hubble Space Telescope to operate with only one of its six gyros. Half of those gyros were taken offline in previous years, and now one of the remaining three has been suffering increasingly serious faults. NASA plans to shut off that gyro and one of the properly functioning ones to reserve as a backup. The telescope is expected to resume operations after switching to single-gyro operations in mid-June. This shift does come with minor drawbacks, reducing Hubble’s scheduling efficiency for science observations by 12% and preventing it from tracking objects closer than Mars, though those are rare targets for the telescope. During a press conference about the gyro change, NASA officials also revealed that they have decided not to imminently pursue a proposed plan to reboost Hubble to a higher orbit. Hubble is currently in its 34th year of operation, more than double its expected lifespan.