‘Research is paying off already’
Technological breakthroughs for the Einstein Telescope can be applied much more widely than just for measuring gravitational waves. R&D coordinator Jürgen Van Gorp is bringing scientists and companies together to market research results as quickly as possible. ‘Really fantastic to be able to follow this process.’
The Einstein Telescope is scheduled to make its first observations in the next decade. Do we really have to wait so long for results? Luckily, no we don’t. Research for the Einstein Telescope is already producing results that we want to bring to our companies as soon as possible.
‘Consider, as early as possible, how companies can benefit from your research.’ That is the sound advice we received from two other ‘Big Science’ projects. At the CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland and the ITER nuclear fusion project in France, they have many years of experience in translating basic research into marketable technology.
In the case of the Einstein Telescope, too, we want to use fundamental research more widely as early as possible. This can even be done now, long before we actually start building. A great example is the design of a new machine to weld vacuum tubes in the tunnels. The resulting solution will also be useful for pipe systems in other sectors, such as the gas industry.
All three EMR countries contribute to it: a German company provides the technology to weld in a vacuum; a Belgian company makes the machine to bend stainless steel into pipes; and a Dutch company studies how we can quickly and flexibly pull branches and flanges from those pipes. The work is done in close collaboration with universities from the three countries and with direction from CERN.
We want to see more such breakthroughs. We’ve therefore brought together valorisation experts from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands at the Maas-Rhine Euregio (EMR) project office in Maastricht. I’m a member of the Flemish team in the club. That’s just one of my tasks. As R&D coordinator, I also talk to researchers at the Flemish universities to find out what the challenges are. We then coordinate that research with the R&D coordinators from the Netherlands, Germany, and Wallonia.
It’s really fantastic for a techie like me to be able to follow this process. I’m constantly finding out from universities and companies what is being developed and what we’re still up against. That works both ways. We use companies from the region to develop top cutting-edge technology for us. In turn, those companies benefit from the research done at universities and knowledge institutions. This allows them to further improve their products.
Examples? There are already plenty of those. The Netherlands is working on new vibration-free cooling systems that may be useful for future quantum computers. Belgian research on mirror coatings may be applicable in chip technology, or in UV filters for construction or solar cells. And German laser research is of interest to the automotive industry, in LIDAR systems to measure distances.
The Einstein Telescope requires research in a variety of technologies, from geology and materials science to control theory. Research topics include theoretical models, quantum theory, the practical technology of mirrors and lasers, or the ecological impact once drill heads go into the ground.
It’s a wonderful job to bring all those specialists together and see how new ideas emerge from that collaboration. And to pass that information on to businesses and schools. Because that’s also one of my tasks in the team: to promote the telescope to companies, organisations, and schools. When we explain the enormous technological challenges to companies and schools, the response is often: ‘How can it be done?’
Well, that’s what we’re working on.
—Jürgen Van Gorp
