Proposal to hold a DUNE Collaboration Meeting at the University of - PDF document

Proposal to hold a DUNE Collaboration Meeting at the University of Manchester The University of Manchester’s Particle Physics Group proposes to hold a DUNE Collaboration Meeting in the North West of England, at the University of Manchester. This meeting would be jointly sponsored by all local DUNE universities, namely Sheffield, Lancaster, Liverpool, Daresbury Laboratory, and Manchester. Manchester is one of the most vibrant cities in the UK, with an important history as one of the first cities of the industrial revolution. It also has a long physics tradition that ranges from the discovery of the nucleus by Rutherford to the discovery of graphene. The Particle Physics Group comprises both experimentalists and theorists, and is involved in a range of physics experiments (ATLAS, LHCb, DUNE, SBND/MicroBooNE, IceCube/PINGU, SuperNEMO, Detector Development). The Particle Physics Group has experience in organizing large meetings and would be happy to welcome the DUNE Collaboration. Possible dates (and whether weekends are an option). While all dates are in principle possible, dates outside regular term time (approximately 15 June – 15 September, 1-20 Jan) are preferred. Weekends are an option. Possibility of smaller satellite meetings before or after the main meeting. We can organize smaller satellite meetings before or after the main meeting. Space could be available in the early morning or evenings to accommodate IB or EC ,etc. meetings yes, such space is available. Access to the location (closest major airport and local transportation options – e.g. are rental cars needed/desirable/unnecessary/a bad idea). By air: Manchester airport is the second largest airport in the UK with direct flights from many international destinations, including daily non-stop flights from Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and other US cities, as well as most major European airports. The University can be reached within 30 mins from the airport by public transportation. By train: Manchester is at the centre of the UK rail network. Trains from London take about 2 hours and go every 20 minutes during the day.

There is no need for rental cars since the University is in the city centre and within walking distance of most accommodation (or can be reached by public transportation). A car park is available at a price of about £9/day. Have you (personally, or in the department as opposed to anywhere in the university) hosted a meeting of ~300 participants previously (is there a web site we could look at)? The following meetings were held at the University of Manchester, organized by the Particle Physics Group (approximate participants): • IOP Particle Physics, Astroparticle, Nuclear Physics Groups Meeting 2015 (300), http://www.iop2015.manchester.ac.uk/Home.html • SUSY 2014 (700), http://www.susy2014.manchester.ac.uk/ • EGI Community Forum 2013 (500), https://indico.egi.eu/indico/event/1222/ • Charm 2013 (100), http://www.charm2013.manchester.ac.uk/participantslist.html • Tau 2010 (100), http://www.hep.manchester.ac.uk/TAU2010/ • Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics (EPS2007) (700), http://www.hep.man.ac.uk/HEP2007/ • Dzero Collaboration Week, 2006, (200) The PI has been on the organizing committee of all these meetings. Will local administrative staff be available to help with registration and other assistance for participants? [Maxine will provide support from the DUNE office.] The local organization would be supported by Catherine Duffy (Group Administrator) and Sabah Salih (Computing Administrator). Both have significant experience in conference organization. Further administrative support will be provided to handle finances. We would also provide support letters for visas. Facilities that would be available –room size available for plenary and sizes and number of rooms for parallels and proximity to each other. Most meetings will be held either in the Physics Building (Schuster Laboratory), which has three lecture theatres and several smaller meeting rooms, the largest with a capacity of 258, or in the neighbouring Roscoe Building which has a 474- capacity lecture theatre. There are several other building within walking distance (<5 mins) which can be used to provide further rooms if needed. Technical support for AV and IT availability (good WiFi is very important to most of our collaborators!). Local computing staff will provide local support for all AV and IT needs. Every lecture theatre is set up with state-of-the art AV equipment. The University

supports EDUROAM. Additional WIFI guest accounts will be made available for all delegates. Estimate of registration fee that (to cover any facility fees) if possible. We estimate £10/day for coffee breaks, including snacks/fruits. Rooms will be free. Lunches could be provided at a cost of £10 day. For a 5-day meeting, we therefore anticipate a registration fee of £50-100. If lunches are not provided in registration, availability of nearby locations for food Within walking distance (<10 mins), there are about 10 restaurants and pubs, several fast food places, 5 university cafeterias, and a supermarket. Typical lunch prizes are £5. Since the University is close to the city centre, there are many more places to eat in the surrounding area. Potential location/cost of collaboration dinner The following options have been successfully used for similar events: • Whitworth Hall (main neo-gothic university hall) • MOSI Power Hall (Museum of Science and Industry exhibit with 19 th century steam engines) • Gorton Monastery (former monastery) • Manchester United (overlooking football pitch) Depending on requirements the cost will be about £40-50/head. Cost and proximity of accommodation to the meeting space (cost is one of the biggest concerns for collaborators). When would reservations need to be made? We would provide two options • Halls of Residence (only possible outside term time), cost £30-£40/night with breakfast. We would expect reservations to be made about one month before the event. Limited number of last minute reservations might be possible. • There are a large number of hotels of all price ranges in the vicinity of the University. Booking would most easily be done through booking web sites. Prices start at £70/night. Reservations can be made up to the last minute but prices might go up. In general, Manchester hotels have sufficient availability. Tourism If there is interest, we can organize outings to tourist attractions in the area such as York, Chester, Chatsworth, Bronte House, Lake District, Peak District.