Working Groups

The Center encourages physicists from distant institutions to meet for intensive research interaction. Separate from the workshops, small informal collaborations of two to six physicists are encouraged and efforts are made to accommodate such Working Groups.

There is a page on the summer application where a Working Group Leader can be designated. The Leader provides

(1) The Working Group title
(2) A short, one–paragraph description delineating the Group's plans
(3) Desired dates
(4) A roster of desired Working Group members, including the Leader
(5) Follow–up to be sure that all members of the Group fill out an ACP application and that they choose the same dates for which the Working Group is applying.

The other members of the Group also go to the Working Group page on the ACP summer application, but they do not fill in the proposed roster of participants or the description. Potential Group members must

(1) Apply before the deadline
(2) State the name of the Working Group Leader
(3) Have the same dates-of-stay preferences as the rest of the Group

The Aspen Center for Physics strives to provide a serene environment in which participants can meet with colleagues with whom one would normally email or Skype. Working Groups are encouraged to apply so they can begin, continue or complete collaborative work. Flexibility in dates, as always, is very useful. Acceptance of the Working Group is more probable if the Group chooses early or late summer dates, if the members are from different institutions, if the Group has fewer than six members and if the Group topic is not the same as an Aspen workshop being held the same summer.

“The two weeks I spent at the Aspen Center for Physics as part of the working group on “Between the B Factories and the LHC” were a very productive period, in a very stimulating and enchanting environment. The open air discussions, in a group or one–on–one, surrounded by Aspen, the sun and the cool mountain air, and the sound of music from the tent are memorable experiences.”