U.S. ATLAS HL-LHC Upgrade Level 2 and Deputies-NSF only Management Mailing List

[Michael Tuts <tuts AT pmtuts.net>]

Dear Colleagues,

Below is a message from Mark Coles that today the NSF’s National Science Board voted to authorize the award for MREFC construction funding. This is a great achievement made possible by all of you and the hard work you have put into the project! Congratulations to all, and please pass this along to all those in your subsystems.

 

While we are on track for April 1, 2020 funding for the MREFC, we still need to satisfy the remaining financial reviews carried out by NSF, so we will be calling on you over the next couple of months to help answers any questions that may arise as they complete those reviews. We are almost at the starting line for the construction project.

 

Once again, congratulations to all,

Project Office

 

From: Coles, Mark W. <mcoles AT nsf.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, February 5, 2020 2:14 PM
To: Blaise Stephanus (Blaise.J.Stephanus AT dartmouth.edu) <Blaise.J.Stephanus AT dartmouth.edu>; Bob Tschirhart <tsch AT fnal.gov>; David Goodman <goodman AT tmt.org>; George Angeli <gangeli AT gmto.org>; llockled AT nrao.edu; Liang Yang (liangyg AT illinois.edu) <liangyg AT illinois.edu>; Paul Padley <padley AT rice.edu>; Pavel Murat (murat AT fnal.gov) <murat AT fnal.gov>; poc (poc AT bnl.gov) <poc AT bnl.gov>; Rob Semper <rsemper AT exploratorium.edu>; Tony Beasley (tbeasley AT nrao.edu) <tbeasley AT nrao.edu>; wayneabba AT aol.com; Blaise Stephanus (Blaise.J.Stephanus AT dartmouth.edu) <Blaise.J.Stephanus AT dartmouth.edu>; David Goodman <goodman AT tmt.org>; David Strom (dstrom AT uoregon.edu) <dstrom AT uoregon.edu>; George Angeli <gangeli AT gmto.org>; Julie Whitmore <jaws AT fnal.gov>; Michael Begel <begel AT bnl.gov>; Pavel Murat (murat AT fnal.gov) <murat AT fnal.gov>; poc (poc AT bnl.gov) <poc AT bnl.gov>; Rob Semper <rsemper AT exploratorium.edu>; Su Dong <sudong AT slac.stanford.edu>; Tony Beasley (tbeasley AT nrao.edu) <tbeasley AT nrao.edu>; wayneabba AT aol.com; Amber Boehnlein <amber AT jlab.org>; Benedikt Hegner <Benedikt.Hegner AT cern.ch>; Bill Christie <christie AT bnl.gov>; Bill Wisniewski <wjw AT SLAC.Stanford.EDU>; Blaise Stephanus (Blaise.J.Stephanus AT dartmouth.edu) <Blaise.J.Stephanus AT dartmouth.edu>; David Goodman <goodman AT tmt.org>; Greg Rakness <grakness AT fnal.gov>; Hasan Jawahery (jawahery AT umd.edu) <jawahery AT umd.edu>; llockled AT nrao.edu; Mary Convery <convery AT fnal.gov>; Tony Beasley (tbeasley AT nrao.edu) <tbeasley AT nrao.edu>; wayneabba AT aol.com
Cc: Caldwell, C. Denise <dcaldwel AT nsf.gov>; Dmitri Denisov (denisov AT bnl.gov) <denisov AT bnl.gov>; Smith, Robert C. <robsmith AT nsf.gov>; Van Citters, Wayne <gvancitt AT nsf.gov>; Dmitri Denisov (denisov AT bnl.gov) <denisov AT bnl.gov>; DiGiovanna, Deanna <DDIGIOVA AT nsf.gov>; Gonzalez, Saul <sgonzale AT nsf.gov>; gusbroo AT nevis.columbia.edu; Hal Evans <hgevans AT indiana.edu>; John Hobbs <John.Hobbs AT stonybrook.edu>; Jon Kotcher (kotcher AT bnl.gov) <kotcher AT bnl.gov>; Simona Rolli <Simona.Rolli AT science.doe.gov>; Stein, Erica M. <estein AT nsf.gov>; tuts AT nevis.columbia.edu; Yasky, Rebecca Kay <ryasky AT nsf.gov>; Anders Ryd <anders.ryd AT cornell.edu>; Steve Nahn <nahn AT fnal.gov>
Subject: National Science Board approval of the high luminosity upgrades to the ATLAS and CMS detectors
Importance: High

 

Dear Everyone:

 

Earlier today, the National Science Board authorized the award of MREFC funding to begin construction of the high luminosity upgrades to the ATLAS and CMS detectors. This is an extremely important event. It crowns well more than a decade of planning by the ATLAS and CMS teams, and five years of formal design and development activity within NSF’s framework for preconstruction planning.

 

I want to thank all of you for your many contributions that made today’s National Science Board recommendation possible. It’s been very gratifying to see firsthand the maturation of project planning by each detector collaboration, and the enormous amount of effort that they’ve applied to satisfy NSF’s project planning criteria. I want to recognize Anders Ryd, Mike Tuts, and their many colleagues in ATLAS and CMS  (too many to mention here individually) for their outstanding efforts over a very long period.

 

I also want to thank the members of all of the NSF review panels (beginning with the Conceptual Design Reviews in 2016!) who carefully evaluated the materials that were prepared, and gave thoughtful and constructive advice. A few of these reviewers have been key participants in the entire review process (CDR, PDR, and FDR for both ATLAS and CMS).  I would especially like to recognize them and thank them for their invaluable contributions:  Paul O’Connor, David Goodman, Wayne Abba, and George Angeli. (Apologies if I overlooked anyone else in that category!) There are many others that participated in most of the reviews, and you have my thanks as well.

 

I also and especially want to recognize the absolutely invaluable efforts of Tony Beasley, who chaired all of these reviews and coordinated the preparation of the 12 different panel reports that were provided to the National Science Foundation during this process.

 

We expect that NSF will wrap up the financial and administrative oversight activities that remain to be completed so that MREFC funding can be made available April 1. This is the starting line for each project rather than the finish line, so I hope to be able to call upon many of you again to continue NSF’s oversight as  construction gets under way.

 

With best regards,

 

Mark