Late last year the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel ( P5) released a report that looks to the future of particle physics in the United States. The report is called Exploring the Quantum Universe and one of its authors, Abigail Vieregg, is our guest in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast.

Vieregg is an astrophysicist and cosmologist at the University of Chicago and she talks about future experiments that P5 has recommended including a muon collider that could search for new physics on a much smaller footprint than conventional colliders. Vieregg also chats about the proposed CMB-S4 next-generation cosmic microwave background observatory, which ties-in with her research on the polarization of the cosmic microwave background.

Vieregg also describes the buzz surrounding P5 meetings as the panel was presented with a wealth of ideas from the particle-physics community. She says that she is proud of the positive response P5 has garnered from physicists.