Five minutes is forever when people send out a text and await a response. And yet, somehow, in an instant gratification world, leaders and planners in the community are working on life altering projects that can be years away.

At Brookhaven National Laboratory, scientists are collaborating to build the revolutionary Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), which will reveal new information about the inner workings of the atomic nucleus. The compelling collision experiments won’t likely begin until the middle of the 2030’s.

“I think if we could, all of us would wave a magic wand and start collisions tomorrow!” said John Hill, Director of BNL.

The many people working on the EIC are following a detailed schedule, which includes major milestones, such as breaking ground on a building, starting to purchase hardware or operating a piece of the facility.

“These milestones both large and small are motivating,” Hill said. By working with a team that will know every last nut and bolt and line of code, they will “bond over the successes and setbacks and the satisfaction of doing something that is so hard and complex together.” While the work requires patience, knowing that setbacks are inevitable, it also requires impatience.

“We have to keep pushing” as they want to build the EIC as soon as possible, Hill added.