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From Champions League volleyball to one of Europe's biggest science projects: Kevin Klinkenberg sees striking parallels. Teamwork, planning and perseverance are as indispensable for the Einstein Telescope as they are in sport. In his column, Kevin explains how he uses his experience in top-class sport for this groundbreaking project.

How do you get students excited about the techniques and technologies used for the Einstein Telescope during their vocational training? Agnes Berendsen is putting together an introduction programme about this topic with the Einstein Academy for senior secondary vocational and higher professional education students in Dutch Limburg. In a new living lab at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, students, researchers and companies will soon collaborate on innovations that will take the region forward. 

In July, the Walloon government announced its own task force to boost the candidacy of Belgium, the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia for the Einstein Telescope. This was followed very recently by the Walloon government's announcement that it would set aside 200 million euros for the Einstein Telescope. The members of the new Walloon team, which also supplies the Project Office with knowledge, skills and manpower, met recently for the kick-off. A first introduction in pictures.

With a podcast series and a roadshow that will visit all Flemish universities, physicists Daniel Mayerson and Bert Vercnocke (Research Foundation - Flanders, FWO) are bringing the story of the Einstein Telescope to life. Through the 11-part podcast series and the roadshow, they will introduce Flanders to gravitational waves and the importance of this unique project for the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. The two first episodes of the podcast are now available on Spotify and etpodcast.be.

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Gravitational waves are vibrations in spacetime that are so weak that you need incredibly precise lasers to measure them. In LIGO – the precursor of the Einstein Telescope – a laser with a wavelength of 1064 nanometres, just outside the visible spectrum, is used. That light reflects back almost perfectly on the silicon mirrors, making every tiny ripple measurable. Still, one laser is not enough to capture all types of waves. That is why the Einstein Telescope will have two lasers: one for the higher tones and one for the lower ones. Together, they make it possible to capture a much wider 'sound range' of the universe – like switching from a single instrument to a full orchestra.

Photo: Aurore Simonnet (SSU/EdEon)/LVK/URI

Ministries, provinces and municipalities in Belgium, the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia are promoting the candidacy of the Einstein Telescope in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. To get all officials of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) in The Hague involved in the initiative, a mini-exhibition has been set up at the Ministry until the end of this month. Based on a scale model and information panels, interested officials can read and learn about and get a feel for the Einstein Telescope project.

The Einstein Telescope's triangle of pipes – with each side measuring 10 kilometres – is indispensable for measuring gravitational waves, with vacuum technology playing a key role. Professor Achim Stahl (RWTH Aachen University) and his team are developing an innovative welding robot that can build this system of pipes faster and cheaper, using techniques that are also of interest to other sectors and entrepreneurs. This is part of the BeamPipes4ET project, which also involves Flemish and Dutch companies and universities.

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Research into the Einstein Telescope is generating valuable technological knowledge. The new ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab in Maastricht makes this knowledge accessible to entrepreneurs. With training modules, it especially helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to upskill their workforce.

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From Wallonia, Flanders, Germany, the Netherlands, England, and even Australia, 25 physics teachers gathered last August to receive a week of intensive training on gravitational waves and the Einstein Telescope from Associate Professor of Physics Gideon Koekoek (Maastricht University).

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The German federal government has placed the Einstein Telescope on the national shortlist for major scientific infrastructures. The project is considered a priority and is seen as an instrument with the highest scientific and innovation potential.

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Wallonia will invest 200 million euros in the Einstein Telescope if the telescope is built in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. This financial boost for the scientific instrument can be deployed from 2028 onwards. The Walloon government has made this decision.

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This newsletter is a publication of Einstein Telescope - Euregio Meuse-Rhine
Editors: Nicole Vijgen and Henk Schroen

Photos: Jonathan Vos and Celine Poel | Video: Poney Illustrations

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