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23-01-2024
LOFAR ERIC: Distributed Research Infrastructure for European Astronomical Research Launched
| Submitter: | Rene Vermeulen |
| Description: | LOFAR ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) has been officially launched at its first Council meeting on 22 January 2024. This follows the decision establishing LOFAR ERIC as legal entity in all countries of the EU, taken by the European Commission on 20 December 2023. LOFAR ERIC assures long-term access to a wide range of cutting-edge science research services for the European and global community. LOFAR ERIC will foster further collaborations and empower researchers to pursue large-scale innovative projects across scientific domains. In an era of increasing consolidation, LOFAR ERIC will give this world-leading observatory, centrally operating distributed stations, processing, and data centres, optimal visibility to science policy makers and science funders across Europe. The Council, Chaired by Dr. Jacqueline Mout of the NL Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science, has adopted a portfolio of policies extending those of the International LOFAR Telescope Foundation (ILT), ensuring that LOFAR ERIC will smoothly become its full legal successor. The Council has appointed Dr. René Vermeulen as the LOFAR ERIC Founding Director, concurrently with being the ILT Director, in order to expedite the transfer and prepare for the dissolution of the ILT. LOFAR ERIC's Founding Members are Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland. Collaborations with institutes in France, Latvia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom secure further participation in the LOFAR distributed infrastructure and research programme. The LOFAR ERIC statutory seat is in Dwingeloo, the Netherlands, hosted by NWO-I/ASTRON (the original designer of LOFAR). The launch of LOFAR ERIC is a great milestone. René Vermeulen is immensely grateful that the idea, launched more than five years ago, has received so much support from the countries, organizations, and individuals in all of the LOFAR countries, and beyond. |
| Copyright: | ASTRON |
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