Speaker
Description
Abstract
With the end of Run 3 of the LHC approaching, the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) is entering an important transition toward the HL-LHC era. To meet the substantial increase in data volume, computational requirements, and resource heterogeneity, while preserving reliability, sustainability, and community cohesion, we have launched the development of the WLCG Technical Roadmap 2026-2030. The Roadmap is a consensus-driven, community-owned actionable plan that identifies key gaps and defines concrete milestones across the infrastructure and services landscape. It is organized into nine chapters each outlining a major area of evolution. Planning for WLCG facilities evolution, data management, networking, workflow management, authorization and authentication (tokens), security, WLCG services, heterogeneous resources and new infrastructures (for example, leveraging GPUs) are presented, taking into account that experimental requirements are still evolving. By presenting this roadmap at CHEP, we seek to engage the broader HEP community to gather feedback, foster collaboration, and build collective awareness. As one of the pillars of LHC physics and a cornerstone for data-intensive science even beyond the LHC, WLCG’s future relies on coordinated innovation and active community participation.
Short bio
James Letts is currently Manager of software and computing R&D for the HL-LHC in the U.S. CMS Collaboration, Project Manager of the Prototype National Research Platform (PNRP) at the San Diego Supercomputing Center in La Jolla, California, and WLCG Technical Coordinator. Previously (2020-2024) he was the Offline Software and Computing Coordinator of the CMS Collaboration at CERN and held various leadership and technical roles before that in the CMS and U.S. CMS Collaborations, as well as an INFN Fellowship at the University of Bologna. James holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Riverside and did his undergraduate work at Princeton University.