COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DUSEL Experiment Development and Coordination

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ABSTRACTThe proposed Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) will house an extensive portfolio of experiments in physics, biology, geosciences and engineering to address important science questions across these disciplines. An Initial Suite of Experiments (ISEs) must be assembled to address these questions and to present a compelling, safe and cost-effective plan for their implementation. A fully developed suite of ISEs will be a major component of the MREFC document to be assembled for the DUSEL in December 2009 for subsequent implementation in 2012.Objectives and Intellectual Merit: To address the development of the ISEs this proposal seeks support for activities of the DUSEL Experiment Development Committee (DEDC), representing the physics, biology, geosciences and engineering communities. This Committee will: Develop the framework for a superset of the ISEs consistent with the community-driven efforts reported in the S-1 and other plans, and consistent with the capabilities of the proposed activity.Coordinate the activities of the community in defining the portfolio of ISEs and in completing the necessary design and evaluation of experiments to ensure safe and successful operation within a DUSEL.Liase between the scientific community and both NSF and the Homestake design team to ensure on-schedule development for the superset-ISE plans and for the timely completion of an MREFC application.Approach: These objectives will be met through a series of workshops and meetings detailed in the following proposal. The DEDC will: (1) Review key ISEs identified within the site-independent activities conducted to-date and identify any new ISEs through workshops with key proponents and the broader community; (2) Organize working groups around ISEs or logical groupings of experiments towards developing a compelling science plan for DUSEL; (3) Organize this superset of ISEs into a coherent framework and galvanize the working groups to develop detailed science and engineering plans for these experiments to reach readiness for an MREFC application anticipated for December 2009; and (4) Coordinate these activities throughout with NSF and the Homestake design team, to insure engineering feasibility, to maximize efficient use of multi-user facilities and to guarantee that the ISEs are mutually compatible within the Homestake environment, and be responsible for articulating the science vision to the community and to government.Expected Results and Broader Impacts: These activities will contribute to the form and quality of the science plan for the superset of ISEs and to the timely submission of an MREFC application. These are essential components in the path to the development of a successful long-term multi-user facility developed at optimal cost and schedule that will serve the physics, biology, geosciences and engineering communities.