Building the future together

• Jorgen D'Hondt (Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE))

Our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of matter and how they shape the universe and life on Earth has come a long way. However, in our quest to understand this physics, we encounter several problems and mysteries requiring further exploration. To make the invisible visible, we innovate technologies that enable us to better observe the smallest and largest scales, at higher energies, into an earlier universe, with higher precision and to unclock rarer processes. An impressive portfolio of future research infrastructures is emerging with which we will sustain our quest by making great strides into the unknown. The intrinsic complementarity of these facilities in exploring nature strengthens our ambition to build our future together. In addition, we must make our quest sustainable for the environment. If you are part of the problem, I believe you must be part of the solution. Therefore, as we move forward, our innovations in technology must address this vital societal aspect.