Extending research software collaborations in Particle Physics to Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania

The multilateral cooperation of the United States, Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania in implementing the project objectives is focused on research in the field of particle physics. The project will provide highly integrated research and education activities to foster international collaboration and leverage the significant current and previous NSF investments in research and development in the field of particle physics in Ukraine. Activities planned include software training events, collaborative research software projects for student participants and in-person events for the cohort. Research areas will include analysis systems, advanced simulations and innovative algorithms for trigger and reconstruction. Over the course of the two project years, nearly 50 students will be exposed to international collaborative research software projects. This is a shovel-ready project that will specifically build on ongoing IRIS-HEP activities (funded by the Simons Foundation) with Ukrainian students since 24 Feb. 2022, and extend to partnerships in Poland & Lithuania.
Intellectual Merit: The primary intellectual merit of this project will be to establish a growing and resilient network of collaborative connections around research software between researchers, including early career
and students, in the US, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland. Via both these direct partners and the larger international IRIS-HEP network of collaborators, the project will further integrate Ukrainian researchers into
the international research software community. The novel idea that we have been pursuing is that large and sustainable research software collaborations can be built around critical software tools similar to how
collaborations around international experimental facilities are developed. This network will be strongly aligned to the research software needs supporting cutting edge science at the particle, nuclear and astroparticle facilities in the coming decade.
Broader Impacts: The strong educational component of this project will have significant broader impacts. Students which participate in this program will gain cutting edge software, data science and AI/ML skills.
These skills and the experience gained working in a highly innovative research environment will be highly impactful as their careers progress, both in Physics and as part of the national economies of each of the participating countries. It will contribute directly to building a modern, state-of-the-art research, education and innovation ecosystem both in Ukraine and with the international partners. In addition, the multi-lateral
networks formed as part of this project will provide a basis for future collaborations between the participating institutions and countries. These types of multi-lateral collaborations are the key foundation for many large "big science" and 21st century research activities.