This confusion out in the public, I believe you have just about killed the ILC as a U.S. project.

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Richter, Burton
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 8:06 PM
To: Graf, Norman; lcd-l
Subject: RE: The ILC: at what cost?

The cost in US terms is easy to calculate.  The ILC value cost estimate leaves out lab personel costs, inflation, contingency, detectors, physics support buildings, and R&D in support of construction.  When I put those in I get about 15-16 billion for the cost of the 0.5 TeV version as construction projects costs are usually calculated here.

The DOE has been through this before for ITER.  The value cost of ITER is about $5 billion, but in US terms the budget throught he construction project for our share (10%) is not $500 million, but $1.1 billion.  The DOE and the administration made the decision to join based on the cost in US terms.  The same process will be used for the ILC.  The US HEP community should take its head out of the sand and face the reality.  A US 50 % share as host is within the realm of possibility, but only if the community gets behind it and recognizes the true financial impact.

Feel free to circulate this iif you wish.

Burton Richter

[log in to unmask]

phone 650 926 2601

fax 650 926 4500

-----Original Message-----

From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Graf, Norman

Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 5:02 PM

To: lcd-l

Subject: The ILC: at what cost?

Dear Colleagues,

 The cost of the ILC has been in the news recently.

The University of Chicago Magazine, in its Nov/Dec 2007

issue, has an article titled "Fermi's x factor." It discusses

both Project X and the ILC in the context of the future of Fermilab.

It characterizes the ILC as a "... long-range, worldwide plan to

build a $15-$28 billion 35-kilometer accelerator...". You can

read the full article at:

http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0701/chicago_journal/fermi.shtml

In a Letter to the editors of Physics Today which is titled

"The true cost of the ILC", Dr. Michael Riordan questions not

only the cost, but also the costing process. You can read this

letter online at:

http://scitation.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_60/iss_11/10_1.shtml

It is not clear where the two writers got their information. The

ILC value estimate and the costing process which was used has been

very clearly and publicly stated. You can read the summary online at:

http://www.linearcollider.org/pdf/ilc_gateway_report.pdf#page=30

Full details are available in the Reference Design Report, at:

http://www.linearcollider.org/cms/?pid=1000437

Enjoy the weekend,

Norman Graf