The aim of this Pufendorf theme is to contribute empirically, analytically and theoretically to the understanding of New Big Science by investigating central challenges and opportunities in the realization of the two multidisciplinary natural science facilities, MAX IV and ESS. Further the aim is to build a network of researchers in Lund and internationally around the study of New Big Science in the form of large-scale experimental facilities and from this build a research program. The two facilities offer the unique possibility of studying the establishment of two different kinds of New Big Science, neutron scattering and synchrotron radiation, during the design and construction phase.

The development of New Big Science demonstrates the persistent demand for large-scale science facilities and also shows the dramatic change from what has earlier been named Big Science (Westfall 2008). Big Science originally grew from a collaboration whose major partners were the U.S. government, military, and academe, fueled by the five M’s: money, manpower, machines, media, and military (Capshaw and Rader 1992). In the New Big Science, the scientific focus has been broadened dramatically and in the process, ties with industry have strengthened while those with the military have withered. Along the way, the scope of stakeholders has widened and the scale and scope of collaborations has shifted to versatile, multi-disciplinary user facilities.

In this project we will have a central common analytical sensitivity to the opportunity of doing things differently, which is offered by the new construction of these facilities. The new facilities in Lund are, hypothetically, less bound to existing buildings, networks and cultures. They can therefore, from the beginning, employ advanced technologies, materials and analytical tools that will lead to new breakthroughs in material science; design the building to feature environmentally sustainable and creative spaces; and invest in organizational and institutional forms that support a more open facility that is integrated with the rest of society. Indeed, we can find all of these ambitions in the design work that is ongoing.

In this Pufendorf theme, our team will focus five areas where we argue thinking differently is at the core of the ambition of the facilities and central to the expectations from various stakeholders. These are: 1) the design of the instruments 2) the enrolment of new areas of research and new research communities 3) sustainability 4) regional development 5) intellectual property rights. Through these integrated sub-projects, we want to take advantage of a rare opportunity to develop research topics in the social sciences, humanities and law in tandem with on-going efforts to realize new and advanced research facilities for the natural, engineering, and life sciences.