Carsten Welsch appointed as member of I.FAST Scientific Advisory Committee

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The Innovation Fostering in Accelerator Science and Technology (I.FAST) project was selected for funding within the Horizon 2020 programme. With a total project budget of almost 20 M€, the research innovation action benefits from 10 M€ support from the European Union.

I.FAST aims to enhance innovation in the particle accelerator community, mapping out and facilitating the development of breakthrough technologies common to multiple accelerator platforms. The project involves 49 partners, including 17 companies as co-innovation partners, to explore new alternative accelerator concepts and advanced prototyping of key technologies. These include, among others, new accelerator designs and concepts, advanced superconducting technologies for magnets and cavities, techniques to increase brightness of synchrotron light sources, strategies and technology to improve energy efficiency, and new societal applications of accelerators.

In the meeting of its governing board on 5 October 2021, the project has appointed the three members of its Scientific Advisory Committee. Composed of scientists with long-standing expertise in the activity areas of the project, the I.FAST Scientific Advisory Committee advises on technical and strategic matters. It is composed of:

  • Akira Yamamoto, Head of Linear Collider Project Office at KEK, an expert in applied superconductivity, and member of EuCARD2, ARIES and AMICI SAC with long standing experience in EU projects.
  • Carsten Welsch, Head of the QUASAR Group and Head of Physics Department at the University of Liverpool who has been partner and often leader in many accelerator projects with wide expertise in beam instrumentation and optics, as well as science communication and outreach.
  • Michiko Minty, Head of Accelerator Division at the BNL Collider Accelerator Department, with wide experience in accelerator design and beam optics.

“We are now ready to face the challenges of this complex project”, notes Maurizio Vretenar, the coordinator of I.FAST. “The high level committee will allow us to efficiently connect the accelerator programmes in Europe, Japan and the US.”