Kevin Lesko, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at Homestake
Physics Division Colloquium - 18 September 2009

The US National Science Foundation and the US underground science community are well into the campaign to establish a world-class, multi-disciplinary deep underground science and engineering laboratory - DUSEL. The NSF’s review committee, following the first two NSF solicitations, selected Homestake as the prime site to be developed into an international, multidisciplinary, world-class research facility. Homestake DUSEL will provide much needed underground research space to help relieve the worldwide shortage, particularly at great depth, and will develop research campuses at different depths to suite the research requirements for the coming decades. The State of South Dakota has demonstrated remarkable support for the project and has secured the site with the transfer of the former Homestake Gold Mine and has initiated re-entry and rehabilitation of the facility to host a modest interim science program with state funds and those from a substantial philanthropic donor. I review the scientific case for DUSEL including the 2008 P5 report establishing a national initiative to create a long baseline neutrino program linking DUSEL to Fermilab, the recent (S-4) solicitation funding development of the experimental program to be included with the facility in the NSF proposal, and the near-term physics experiments under development in Homestake in advance of DUSEL construction funding.

ANL Physics Division Colloquium Schedule