November 19, 2013

SLAC to Host Particle Physics Planning Meeting

On Dec. 2-4, scientists from around the United States will meet at SLAC to discuss some of the most pressing scientific questions in particle physics and the experiments needed to answer them. You’re invited!

On Dec. 2-4, scientists from around the United States will meet at SLAC to discuss some of the most pressing scientific questions in particle physics and the experiments needed to answer them.

Hosted by the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5), the meeting is part of the process of planning the next decade of US particle physics research. After studying the research opportunities and getting feedback from researchers across the United States, P5 will recommend research priorities for the United States.

This town hall will focus on the Cosmic Frontier, which uses particles from space to explore new phenomena including dark matter and dark energy. The meeting is open to anyone who would like to attend and will be live-streamed online. (Streaming details will be posted to the P5 meeting page as soon as they are available.)

P5 held the first town hall at Fermilab in early November, and will follow the SLAC meeting with another at Brookhaven National Laboratory Dec.15-18.

In addition to the three town hall meetings, P5 is receiving input from the US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. It will also take into account the roughly 300-page report that came out of the “Snowmass community summer study,” a months-long grassroots exercise that assessed opportunities for discovery in particle physics.

The end goal is a new strategic plan for US high-energy physics investments over the next 10 to 20 years. The plan will offer a coherent path forward, building a strong position from which the US high-energy physics community, working with the international community, can answer grand scientific questions and improve our understanding of nature.

If you plan to attend the meeting at SLAC, please register in advance. While registration is not required, it will help the meeting organizers’ logistical planning. There is no charge for registration.