Beyond Black Holes: What Does Society Gain from the Einstein Telescope?

Hundreds of metres underground, a new observatory will wait for a signal a billion years old: the tremor left behind when two black holes collide. The Einstein Telescope is built to hear these gravitational waves, and through them the universe's first moments.

Beyond the physics lies a second question: what the rest of us get out of it. Research infrastructures of this scale drive technological innovation, connect research across countries, and shape the regions that host them. Who benefits, and who is left out, is decided long before the first measurement. At a time when democracies are under pressure and cooperation is being cut back to national interest, a project planned across three countries expands human knowledge while pushing the limits of technology - and pushing against national boundaries. So, let's break boundaries.

On the panel: Achim Stahl (RWTH Aachen University), astrophysicist and member of the Einstein Telescope project office directorate for the Dutch-Belgian-German border region; Carmen Leicht-Scholten (RWTH Aachen University), whose work sits between engineering and social science and asks how research and innovation can be made to serve society more broadly; Jan Lamkin, CEO of the Dutch engineering firm SBE, from the industry that would build it; and Ina Brandes, Minister of Culture and Science of North-Rhine-Westphalia, and a federal representative (to be confirmed), both from where strategies for science and society are developed. Science journalist Jan-Martin Wiarda moderates.

Questions and comments from the audience are welcome. No physics background required - curiosity is enough.