EGO
The European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), situated in the countryside near Pisa in Italy, is the home of the Virgo detector.
EGO is responsible for ensuring the functioning, maintenance and operation of the Virgo detector. It is also in charge of the site infrastructure, the computing centre and the promotion of several R&D activities.
In addition, EGO carries out research in the field of gravitation, promotes cooperation in the fields of experimental and theoretical gravitational wave research in Europe and promotes contacts between scientists and engineers. It also carries out dissemination activities and provides advanced training for young researchers.
The EGO consortium was created in 2000, by the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN). In 2007, the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics (NIKHEF) took on observer status membership in the consortium, before becoming a full member in early 2021.