{"id":116663,"date":"2026-03-13T16:06:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/the-einstein-telescope-a-once-in-a-generation-engineering-project\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T09:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T08:11:19","slug":"the-einstein-telescope-a-once-in-a-generation-engineering-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/the-einstein-telescope-a-once-in-a-generation-engineering-project\/","title":{"rendered":"The Einstein Telescope: a once-in-a-generation engineering project"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Will the Einstein Telescope find a home near the border triangle of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany? Gerjan van de Walle, business developer with the Einstein Telescope team in Flanders, certainly hopes so and is attending Advanced Engineering to rally companies and engineers to help make it happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with the Einstein Telescope: it is a third-generation gravitational wave detector that is even more sensitive, with 10-kilometre-long arms, which will be installed underground and is designed to help us better understand the theory of gravity and black holes. Belgium, the Netherlands and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia are collaborating to build this groundbreaking telescope at the tri-border area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first detectors are located in the US and Italy. But this one should give us a better understanding of the theory of gravity that Einstein proposed a hundred years ago,\u201d says Gerjan van de Walle. \u201cIt\u2019s a unique opportunity to build on this innovative story right here in our own backyard, using the best technology in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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For science<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Einstein Telescope measures tiny changes in distance between a laser source and a mirror. \u201cThese changes could be caused by gravity, but also by vibrations from trains, lorries and other environmental factors,\u201d explains Gerjan. \u201cBy building the telescope underground this time and equipping it with the best technology currently available, we can measure much more accurately and further refine the theory.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is interesting from a scientific point of view, as it allows us to learn more about the origins of our universe. \u201cGravitational waves are another \u2018sense\u2019 through which we can study the universe. For the last 400 years, we\u2019ve done this using the electromagnetic spectrum \u2013 think of the James Webb Space Telescope. But through gravity, we can study matter that doesn\u2019t emit electromagnetic radiation (such as light) \u2013 so-called \u2018dark matter\u2019 \u2013 and look further back in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there was no light for about 380,000 years after the Big Bang,\u201d explains Gerjan. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s impossible to observe anything from that period. Until now. By observing gravity, we will discover phenomena that we don\u2019t even know exist at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Spillovereffect<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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But alongside the scientific benefits, the potential arrival of the Einstein Telescope is also significant for industry. \u201cFirst and foremost because we need industry to make this scientific feat possible,\u201d explains Gerjan. \u201cBut also because the arrival of such a project brings benefits to the wider region. This is a unique project for a company to associate its name with.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cThe innovative technologies that will be required could also be applied in other sectors in the future. It is therefore very interesting to be at the forefront of this development. Consider other \u2018big science\u2019 projects such as CERN. There, you can clearly see a spillover effect on local industry after a few years.\u201d<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Gerjan also draws a link to the \u2018war for talent\u2019 and the future of innovative roles within our degree programmes. \u201cA project like the Einstein Telescope is exactly why top talent chooses to work for a company. It is designed to last 50 years and will employ a great many scientists and engineers. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, it\u2019s a tool for the next generation and will hopefully encourage our children to choose STEM subjects, so that we see a greater influx of innovation-focused professionals into our labour market.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Advanced Engineering, Gerjan will give a talk outlining the project in broad terms. In the afternoon, a number of scientists will delve deeper into the sensory challenges during an in-depth session. \u201cCome along and get excited about a unique project. The Einstein Telescope transcends Flemish, Belgian and even European borders. Regardless of where you come from or where you work, you can contribute to one of the most innovative projects of our time,\u201d concludes Gerjan.<\/p>\n

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Thursday 7 May at 11.30 am at Advanced Engineering. The in-depth session will follow later that day from 1.30 pm to 3 pm. You can find more information at<\/strong> www.einsteintelescope-emr.eu<\/em><\/strong><\/a> and <\/em><\/strong>www.etforbusiness.be<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will the Einstein Telescope find a home near the border triangle of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany? Gerjan van de Walle, business developer with the Einstein Telescope team in Flanders, certainly hopes so and is attending Advanced Engineering to rally companies and engineers to help make it happen. For those unfamiliar with the Einstein Telescope: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1614,"featured_media":115982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"The Einstein Telescope: a once-in-a-generation engineering project","_seopress_titles_desc":"Come and discover the Einstein Telescope on 6 and 7 May at Advanced Engineering 2026 at Flanders Expo.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[352],"tags":[],"edition":[633],"class_list":["post-116663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration-corner-en","edition-advanced-engineering-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116663"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116675,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116663\/revisions\/116675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116663"},{"taxonomy":"edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ae-expo.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/edition?post=116663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}