Although the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is still years away from completion at CERN in Geneva, the particle-physics community is already mobilizing to push through the funding for its next project ― a US$6-billion linear collider to study collisions between electrons and anti-electrons. The announcement by the US Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday of its funding priorities for scientific facilities over the next 20 years is grist to their mill: the proposed Linear Collider ranks 13th out of 28 projects, in a list headed by the fusion experiment ITER (see page 108). The Linear Collider is classed first among the 'mid-term' priorities ― mid-term being an indication that construction of this facility is still some way off. But plans are progressing. In Paris next week, a steering committee will meet to establish a panel of 'wise men' to oversee the choice of accelerator technology for what is usually known as the International Linear Collider (ILC). Throughout 2004, the panel will review four competing accelerator designs, all at varying stages of development in laboratories around the world. By the end of the year, they will make their choice, and an international design project will be founded.
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