A note from the Director
Dear ILP friends and colleagues,
This first newsletter is a symbol of a new departure for the Lagrange Institute, Paris. Created in 2011 for 9 years, the ILP aims to bring together scientists working in theory and experimentation in the fields of Cosmology and Particule Physics. With a balanced membership coming from theoretical physics, high energy physics, and from astrophysics, the ILP is well shaped to foster researches at the frontiers of these domains, which are needed to make progress in the trans-disciplinary domain of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. The scientific project of the ILP is based on fellowships, from post-graduates to postdoctoral level, the organization of symposia and workshops and an active visitor program. Training with tutorial courses, and summer schools is an important component of the project, as well as outreach.
After 3 years since its creation, it is possible to assess the ILP activities to define the next steps. The ILP has been very useful to bridge the different teams involved in the
LabEx. ILP members have been able to achieve very constructive meetings of the
Scientific Committee and the
Steering Committee. 10 PhD and 13 post-doc positions were filled. Several colloquia and summer schools have been supported, in particular a very successful
"Les Houches" school in 2013 dedicated to Post-Planck cosmology. The outcome of
ILP Day on 13 March, with some 50 attendees was new proposals for common activities, like thematic one day meetings, this newsletter, and other ideas, like opening the possibility for a first year at Master level included in the PhD grants of the ILP.
Looking back on what has been achieved so far, I am proud that we have been able to create the ILP with a budget secured until end for 2019, that we have been able to create an ILP spirit among its members, sharing common views on the goal of the ILP and its working rules, and that we have started to build an ILP community with brilliant post-docs and PhD students. The conditions for a second step, to building on the ILP a unique place, internationally recognized to be a reference in Cosmology and High Energy Physics. A new direction team will take the lead in June, with Benjamin Wandelt as the new director. I trust him to move forward for the ILP to become the place that we have dreamt of, when we have started to work on the proposal.
I will take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of all people involved in the ILP. This success is their success. I have special thanks to the Members of the Steering Committee, the Members of the Scientific Committee, Patrick Peter who was the editor of the initial scientific proposal, Elisabeth Vangioni who was the heart of the ILP activities from the proposal to the activity report in 2013, Olivia Leroy who is the new heart of the ILP, and of course to Benjamin Wandelt, who was always present and active since the beginning, and will become the new director of the ILP.
