Committees

ESS has a number of independent advisory committees who report to the ESS Council. Their mandate and delegates are presented below.

Administrative & Finance Committee - AFC

Composed of up to two delegates from each Member Country, the AFC advises the Council on all matters relating to administrative and legal issues and financial management. The Chair of the Committee is appointed by the Council.

Description

The AFC oversees all major administrative and financial functions of ESS, and gives advice and recommendations for decisions to the ERIC Council.

The AFC's main duties include:


  • Monitoring and giving advice regarding organisational, financial legal and staff issues
.

  • Reviewing documents for European Spallation Source ERIC Council meetings containing recommendations for decisions
.

  • Reviewing and preparing recommendations regarding a legal framework and an administrative organisation for the ESS facility
.

  • Working out rules and procedures for partners joining the facility and the ERIC Council at a later stage, e.g. during operation of the facility.

In addition, the AFC will, among other things, examine the plans for the procedures for in-kind contributions and the balance between cash and in-kind contributions, as well as the manpower and staff profiles for the construction and operation phases of ESS.

    The AFC is composed of up to two delegates of each European Spallation Source ERIC Member Country. The Chair of the Committee is appointed by the ERIC Council.

    Delegates
    • Chair
      Johanna Brandenburg 
      Forschungszentrum Jülich
    • Magda Pektorova
      Ministry of education youth and sports (MSMT)
      Czech Republic
    • Line Bekker Poulsen
       Ministry of Higher Education and Science
      Denmark
    • Morten Scharff
      Ministry of Higher Education and Science
      Denmark
    • Priit Tamm
      Research Council of Estonia
      Estonia
    • Phillippe Sassier
      French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
      France
    • Stéphanie Lê Vàn
      French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
      France
    • Dirk Steinbach
      Ministry of Education & Research - BMBF
      Germany
    • Johannes-Maria Wingen
      Ministry of Education & Research - BMBF
      Germany
    • Antonella Tajani
      National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
      Italy
    • Ileana Gimmillaro
      Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste 
      Italy
    • Odd Ivar Eriksen
      The Research Council of Norway
      Norway
    • Michal Rybinski
      Ministry of Higher Education & Research
      Poland
    • Dagmara Milewska

      National Centre for Nuclear Research Poland
      Poland

    • Guadalupe Córdoba Lasuncion
      Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness
      Spain
    • Begoña Asumendi Anza
      ESS Bilbao
      Spain
    • Johan Holmberg
      Swedish Research Council (VR)
      Sweden
    • Mikaela Rapp
      Swedish Research Council (VR)
      Sweden
    • Simon Berger
      State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
      Switzerland
    • Philippa Kingston
      UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
      United Kingdom
    • Laura Woodward (Vice Chair)
      UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
      United Kingdom
    Upcoming meetings

    AFC convenes twice a year, with the following dates scheduled:

    • 2024: 23-24 April & 29-30 October
    • 2025: 29-30 April & 4-5 November
    • 2026: 28-29 April & 4-5 November

    In-Kind Review Committee - IKRC

    The IKRC is charged with the general responsibility of evaluating the in-kind contribution proposals and making recommendations thereupon to the Council. The Council approves all in-kind contracts based on these recommendations. Each country participating in the Council is represented in the IKRC by one delegate. The Chair and Vice-Chair are nominated by the Committee and approved by the Council.

    Description

    The IKRC oversees all In-Kind Contributions (IKC) to ESS, including the corresponding implementation of rules and legal framework for the agreement, and implementation and final accreditation of IKC. The IKRC assesses the deliverables of the Work Packages as defined in the planned agreements, and evaluates whether those are in line with the ESS Programme Plan. Upon successful evaluation, the contracts are recommended for acceptance to the ERIC Council.

    The Committee reviews issues related to the implementation of IKC and recommends actions to address any required changes that could affect the overall cost, scope, or schedule of the ESS project.

    After delivery, the IKRC will perform a final review of the IKC and recommend it for final acceptance to the ERIC Council. Subject to this approval, the Member Country will be accredited the IKC value as part of its total contribution to ESS.

    Each country participating in the ERIC Council is represented in the IKRC by one delegate. The Chair and Vice-Chair are nominated by the Committee and approved by the Council.

    Delegates
     
    • Chair
      Fiamma García-Toriello (Chair) 
      ESS Bilbao
    • Petr Šittner
      Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - Institute of Physics
      Czech Republic
    • Niels Bech Christensen
      Technical University of Denmark
      Denmark
    • Piret Pikma
      Tartu University
      Estonia
    • Arsene Goukassov
      Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB)
      France
    • Tania Claudio Weber
      (Vice Chair)
      Forschungszentrum Jülich
      Germany
    • Viktória Sugár
      Óbuda University
      Hungary
    • Giuseppe Gorini
      University of Milano-Bicocca
      Italy
    • Erik Wahlström
      Department of Physics at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
      Norway
    • Dariusz Bocian
      Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ-PAN)
      Poland
    • Félix Jiménez-Villacorta
      ESS Bilbao
      Spain
    • Jens Birch
      Linköping University
      Sweden
    • Peter Allenspach
      Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)
      Switzerland
    • Justin Greenhalgh
      Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
      United Kingdom

    Scientific Advisory Committee - SAC

    The SAC consists of outstanding scientists not employed by or otherwise immediately connected with ESS, and advises the Council in scientific matters and other matters of importance for ESS. The members of the SAC and its Chair are appointed by the Council.

    Description

    The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) is an independent advisory committee providing advice and giving recommendations to the ESS project. The SAC independently assesses the scientific goals and the overall layout, and advises on the scientific objectives, of ESS.

    The SAC provides independent advice, in particular, on all relevant scientific and technical issues related to the instrument suite and the desired characteristics of the neutron beams and the accelerator performance, as well as facilities for scientific support and the scientific operation of the facility.

    The SAC is composed of potential users from the science communities that will use ESS neutron beams, and scientists with expertise in neutron scattering methods, and represents the user community at large.

    The SAC reports to the European Spallation Source ERIC Council. Members of the SAC are outstanding scientists not employed by or otherwise immediately connected with ESS. The members of the SAC and its Chair are appointed by the Council.

    Members
    • Victoria Garcia Sakai (Chair)
      ISIS/STFC
      UK
    • Elizabeth Blackburn (Vice-Chair) 
      Lund University
      Sweden
    • Hartmut Abele
      Vienna University of Technology
      Austria
    • Annette Eva Langkilde
      University of Copenhagen
      Denmark
    • Bill Stirling
      Former Director of ILL and ESRF
      France
    • María Teresa Fernandez Diaz
      ILL
      France
    • Fabrice Cousin
      Laboratoire Léon Brillouin CEA-Saclay
      France
    • Frank Schreiber
      University of Tübingen
      Germany
    • Debora Berti
      University of Florence
      Italy
    • Anne Borg
      Norwegian University of Science and Technology
      Norway
    • Maria Paula M.  Marques
      University of Coimbra
      Portugal
    • Martin Sahlberg
      Uppsala University
      Sweden
    • Stephen Hall
      Lund University
      Sweden
    • Romain Sibille
      Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)
      Switzerland
    • Jacqueline Cole
      University of Cambridge
      United Kingdom

    Technical Advisory Committee - TAC

    The TAC consists of outstanding experts not employed by or otherwise immediately connected with ESS, and advises the Council in technical matters and other matters of importance for ESS. The members of the TAC and its Chair are appointed by the Council.

    Description

    The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is an independent advisory committee who provide advice and recommendations to the ESS project. The TAC provides independent advice, external moderation and assessment on the technical specification and goals to be achieved by ESS based on the most recent knowledge and experience worldwide.

    The TAC deals with all technical aspects and parameters of the accelerator and target, moderators and ancillary systems, and the related infrastructure with a view to construct, operate and decommission the facility in Lund, as well as assessing the technical design of the facility and providing advice on how to optimise and improve its performance in accordance with the scientific goals.

    The TAC is made up of representatives with international expertise in all technologies relevant to the production of neutron beams at ESS during all phases of the project, and who are appointed based on their expertise.

    The TAC reports to the European Spallation Source ERIC Council. Members of the TAC are outstanding experts not employed by or otherwise immediately connected with ESS. The members of the TAC and its Chair are appointed by the Council.

    Members

    Accelerator

    • Mei Bai (Chair)
      SLAC
      USA
    • Glen Johns (Co-Chair)
      ORNL
      USA
    • Robin Ferdinand
      GANIL
      France
    • Sara Thorin
      MAX IV
      Sweden
    • Joachim Grillenberger
      PSI
      Switzerland
    • Mike Glover
      STFC
      UK
    • Nicolas Pichoff
      CEA
      France
    • Alessandro Gallo
      INFN Frascati
      Italy

    Controls

    • Markus Janousch (Co-Chair)
      PSI
      Switzerland
    • Cyrille Berthe
      GANIL
      France
    • Eugenia Hatziangeli
      CERN
      Switzerland
       
    • Freddie Akeroyd
      STFC
      UK

    Target

    • Kevin Jones
      STFC
      UK
    • Graeme Murdoch (Co-Chair)
      SNS
      USA
    • Michael Butzek
      FZJ
      Germany
    • Masatoshi Futakawa
      JPARC
      Japan
    • Christian Nyfeler
      PSI
      Switzerland
    • Eric Pitcher
      LANL
      USA

    Chair's Committee - CC

    Description

    The Chair's Committee (CC) provides advice to, and serves as a sounding board for, the Director General on emerging issues, challenges, and initiatives that ultimately may require the Council’s attention. The CC has no general decision-making mandate unless explicitly delegated this by the Council, which is on an ad-hoc basis.

     

    Members
    • Lars Börjesson
    • Andrea Fischer
    • Bo Smith
    • Robert McGreevy 
    • Helmut Schober
    • Michela Dell’Anno Boulton

    Committee on Employment Conditions - CEC

    Description

    The Committee on Employment Conditions (CEC) monitor all aspects related to employment conditions on behalf of the Council, as well as provide advise to the Director general on employments conditions.

    Members
    • Martin Müller (Chair)
      Helmholtzzentrum Geesthacht
      Germany
    • Stéphanie Lê Vàn
      French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
      France
    • Martin Walter
      ILL Administration Director
      France
    • Katarina Bjelke
      Host State Observer
      Sweden
    • Bo Smith
      Host State Observer
      Denmark

    Project Advisory Committee - PAC

      Description

      The PAC is composed of highly qualified and experienced experts relevant for project oversight of construction of large scientific or similar complex technical facilities but not employed by or otherwise immediately connected to the Organisation. The PAC members, including the PAC Chair, are appointed by Council.

      The PAC's main duties include, amongst others:


      • advice on all project management related issues
      • monitoring effective and optimal use of the resources for fulfilling the goals of the project relating to cost, schedule, and scope, in particular for achieving first science
      • indicate remedial actions needed to address any problems as they arise
      • advice on project control, risk and contingency management
      Members
      • Mark Reichanadter (Chair)
        SLAC (ret.)
        USA
      • Reinhard Brinkmann
        DESY (ret.)
        Germany
      • Alain Menelle
        LLB
        France
      • Winfried Petry
        FRM II (ret.)
        Germany
      • Diane Hatton
        Brookhaven National Lab (ret.)
        USA
      • Lina Rodrigo Rodriguez
        CIEMAT/ITER (ret.)
        Spain/France
      • Karen White
        Oak Ridge National Lab (ret.)
        USA
      • Stephen Jago
        STFC
        UK
      • Thomas Klinger
        Max Planck Institute
        Germany