The Department of Energy’s High Energy Physics (HEP) Institutional Review was held on June 25-27, to assess Berkeley Lab’s physics programs across a broad spectrum of research groups, experiments, and facilities in the Physics and Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Divisions.

Focusing on the Lab’s alignment with the 2023 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) Report, the external review committee evaluated the Lab’s physics research program, the quality and significance of the recent scientific and technical accomplishments, the feasibility of planned future developments, the performance and effectiveness of specific Berkeley Lab’s HEP facilities (e.g BELLA), and the multi-disciplinary structure of the Lab and its synergies and impacts on the HEP program. The Lab was also evaluated on its effective management of strategic planning, its development of a diverse and inclusive workforce, and its effective promotion and implementation of safe work environments.

“The presentations, posters and discussions were well prepared and conveyed the strength and breadth of our work in this area, and the strong complementarity of our broad programs,” said Cameron Geddes, director of the ATAP Division, with special appreciation for the staff and student participants who “inspired the reviewers” with their engagement and enthusiasm.” (Photo left: Geddes engages with poster session participants on June 25, 2024. Photo credit: Thor Swift)

Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, director of the Physics Division, also applauded staff members’ “commitment and hard work,” adding that “The efforts we’ve put into preparing this review have paid off. The review panel enjoyed their time at LBNL, listening to the outstanding science we do, visiting our labs, discussing posters, and chatting with our postdocs, project scientists, and graduate students.” (Photo right: Palanque-Delabrouille at the podium during the plenary session on June 25, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Mueller, Berkeley Lab.)

“A lot has happened since the last review in 2017, and Berkeley Lab has made considerable progress on many fronts,” said Natalie Roe, Associate Laboratory Director for the Physical Sciences, in her welcome address (Photo left: Roe at the podium during the plenary session on June 25, 2024. Credit: Paul Mueller, Berkeley Lab). “Amidst the challenges presented by the worldwide pandemic, we’ve completed the LZ and DESI construction projects, and both are now producing leading scientific results. Berkeley Lab’s innovative LArPIX readout system is now the baseline for the DUNE Near Detector at Fermilab, we are contributing to the ATLAS upgrades (pixels and strips) and HL-LHC magnets, BELLA is reporting exciting new results, and ATAP’s WarpX exascale modeling program has been honored with the Gordon Bell prize.” Berkeley Lab is also already pursuing new programs in alignment with the recent P5 recommendations, including TESSERACT, Spec-S5, and support for future colliders. Roe also applauded Berkeley Lab’s advantage in having a successfully matrixed Engineering Division and the excellence of Berkeley Lab engineering staff, including their facilities and project management expertise, as well as the comprehensive safety and quality controls that they have implemented Lab-wide.”

“We are grateful to the committee for their thorough evaluation of our programs and their helpful comments and recommendations,” continued Roe, “and these reviews are an excellent opportunity for us to take stock of our achievements and articulate our values and our vision for future contributions to the HEP program.”