[Eicatjlab_all_personnel] [EXTERNAL] EIC Project Update

[Yeck, Jim]

Dear EIC Project Team,

I would like to provide a brief update following last week’s key engagements: the EIC Project Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting on Tuesday, the Project Strategy Workshop on Thursday, and the Executive Management Team retreat on Friday, December 5.  Each of these project focused deliberations reinforced an essential truth for complex projects like ours:  long-term success depends on aligning scope, cost, and schedule with a reasonable funding profile while meeting performance expectations.  We can achieve this by working in close partnership with DOE, the EIC user community, and all our stakeholders.

Across all three activities, we made substantial progress toward defining an EIC project that will meet DOE’s approved mission need within an affordable Total Project Cost (TPC). We plan to continue along this path, while continuing the dialogue with our partners. Important work remains, particularly in aligning with anticipated annual funding profiles, but the direction is positive and the engagement from the team has been excellent.

A second update concerns the DOE Independent Project Review (IPR).  We are proposing to shift the IPR dates from early March to April 27–30, 2026.  This adjustment reflects the reality that too many essential reviews were previously concentrated in early 2026.  The updated sequence of major reviews would be:

Interaction Region (IR) Assessment of Baseline Readiness (complete) November 18-20
Accelerator Storage Rings (ASR) Assessment of Baseline Readiness    January 14-16
Detector (DET) Assessment of Baseline Readiness                                 February 3-5
Director’s Review of the EIC Project                                                          March 9-12
DOE IPR                                                                                                         April 27-30

All reviews will be conducted in person, except for the DOE IPR which will be fully remote if federal travel restrictions remain in place. Preparing for these reviews—while simultaneously advancing our technical deliverables within available funding—places a significant demand on the project team. I continue to appreciate your professionalism and perseverance.

Finally, I want to return to our shared responsibility to reduce total project cost. Each of us plays a role in challenging assumptions, refining requirements, clarifying essential project scope, and aligning schedules with available resources to ensure we pursue the most cost-effective path forward.  As you evaluate your areas, please continue asking the difficult but essential questions: Is there a better or simpler approach? Could a partner or vendor perform this work at lower cost? Can we reduce technical risk without compromising performance? Is the scope more appropriately addressed in operations?  These conversations are already yielding positive results, and your continued diligence is critical.  We will capture the results in detailed guidance to the subproject leads.

Thank you for your sustained effort and dedication. I will provide another update in two weeks.

Sincerely,
Jim Yeck
EIC Project Director



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