Experience with Collaborative Development for the Spallation Neutron Source from a Partner Lab Perspective

摘要

Collaborative development and operation of large physics experiments is fairly common. Less common is the collaborative development or operation of accelerators. A current example of the latter is the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The SNS project was conceived as a collaborative effort between six DOE facilities. In the SNS case, the control system was also developed collaboratively. The SNS project has now moved beyond the collaborative development phase and into the phase where Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) is integrating contributions from collaborating 'partner labs' and is beginning accelerator operations. In this paper, the author reflects on the benefits and drawbacks of the collaborative development of an accelerator control system as implemented for the SNS project from the perspective of a partner lab.