Conferences on frontier topics have played a central role in the development of Physics for decades. The possible detection of Gravitational Wave Radiation is one of these topics. A series of six Aspen Winter Physics conferences on Gravitational Waves and Their Detection has been very successful in exploring this subject and in galvanizing the community. The Aspen Winter Conference on Gravitational Waves, called the Gravitational Wave Advanced Detector Workshop (GWADW), usually held in January or February, will not take place in Aspen in 2002, but is to be replaced by an analogous conference to be held in Isola d'Elba, Italy, May 19-26, 2002. The conference will return to Aspen in January or February, 2003.
The subtitle of the Elba workshop is, "Toward a Global Detection Network". The goal is to discuss the physics coverage that can be achieved considering that, in the near future, there will be interferometers in the US, Europe (in Pisa and Hannover), and in Japan and these can be operated as a combined global array. There is, as well, an array of resonant detectors that can be included. Finally, space based detectors may be included someday. Sensitivity is going to improve thanks to the many ongoing Research and Development programs. This proposal requests travel support for participants in the Elba workshop.
