AIDA-2020 3rd Annual Meeting
Romain Muller (CERN), 05/07/2018
Participants to the 3rd Annual Meeting of AIDA - 2020 project (Image: CERN)
From 25 to 27 April 2018, 123 participants of AIDA-2020 gathered in Bologna, Italy under the auspices of INFN for the third Annual Meeting of the project.
This was preceded by an Academia Meets Industry (AMI) Symposium organised on the same premises on 23 and 24 April. Academia and industry representatives gathered to discuss the current and future needs and solutions in non-destructive testing, which links with the AIDA 2020 technology portfolio.
Right after this AMI Symposium, all groups involved in AIDA 2020 at Work Package (WP) and Task levels met to take stock of the progress of the project and reflect on future activities. The Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) members were present in these 15+ meetings to form their views on the current threads of work and to provide advice for the benefits of the project.
Everyone then gathered on the second day for the plenary in the library of the Covent San Domenico. Paolo Giacomelli from INFN, the host of the event, warmly addressed the audience: “It is an honour for me to welcome the distinguished participants of the AIDA-project in this magnificent venue whose history goes back nearly 800 years. What a community can create in developing and compiling knowledge has been demonstrated within these walls. Let this be a source of inspiration for all of us.”
Also welcoming the participants, Felix Sefkow as Project Coordinator addressed the meeting with a presentation on the main highlights since the previous Annual Meeting held in Paris in April 2017.They are all of a different nature but all clearly outline the progress towards the project’s objectives.
Highlights range from common micro-chip development to common test beam data acquisition as well as common software frameworks. Advancing in a coordinated manner are also the test beam instrumentation and test infrastructures in a large spectrum of technologies such as mechanics, cooling, optical materials, electromagnetic equipment, and irradiation. And of course this is all happening in a movement to join forces for novel detectors development such as for the LHC tracker technology and LC calorimetry.
With respect to the key performance indicators of the project, there are slight delays in the delivery times for milestones and deliverables but this is closely monitored and a catch-up is in sight.
Looking further down the line towards the end of the project and beyond with the possibility of a follow-up project after 2020, the Governing Board (GB) approved a one-year extension of the AIDA-2020 project to:
- factor in some external and unforeseen events which already happened
- provide flexibility for some of the deliverables subsequently under threat of not delivering in time
- increase the impact by extended the usage or the scope of some deliverables
- move the end of the project towards a time where the European Strategy has been updated and the detector community can set the course towards new goals on European level
A Grant Agreement Amendment is in preparation to be timely submitted to the European Commission to enact the extended project duration.
The Governing Board also approved the location of the next Annual Meeting in Oxford. Daniela Bortoletto, who submitted this candidature, was “thrilled to offer to the AIDA-2020 community the great opportunity to gather in a place so much dedicated to the pursuance of research at its highest standards. I am sure Oxford will inspire the AIDA partners before entering into the last year of the project to stimulate the delivery of the final results that will be so important for the future of detectors in Europe.”
Closing the meeting, Felix Sefkow thanked “all the partners, the Work Package (WP) Leaders, the organisers and the SAP members for their dedication in advancing the project at a steady pace and for providing clear guidance on how to maximise the impact for the benefits of the detectors’ community and beyond. We are set for a successful remaining of the project. Keep up the good work!”