Flanders installs Einstein Telescope steering committee
At a meeting in Genk on 13 February, Flemish Minister for Science and Innovation Jo Brouns established a Flemish Steering Group for Einstein Telescope. With this steering group, the Flemish government wants to bundle and streamline existing activities to deliver a strong bid book for Einstein Telescope in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, the border region of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
The underground Einstein Telescope will be a world-class European research facility, with which researchers aim to capture gravitational waves from the distant universe to learn more about processes from the creation of black holes to conditions shortly after the Big Bang.
Einstein Telescope offers opportunities, minister Brouns stressed in the presence of rectors of Flemish universities and research institutes, concerned captains of industry and policymakers, among others: “[The border region] is one of the few places in the world that has the opportunity to host the new CERN.”
According to Minister Brouns, the Einstein Telescope offers opportunities to strengthen both research, education and economy in the host region. “In addition to a scientific added value that can hardly be estimated today, the huge economic boom in our region should also be paramount. With a steering committee in which we gather all the expertise – scientific, policy and industrial – we guarantee the best future for this enormous process.”