Humankind has always been driven by the desire to understand the world in which we live. The tools invented by scientists to gain this understanding in turn yield applications that benefit all of society and play a major role in the global economy.

Particle physics has been the source of many innovations not originally part of the quest for understanding the Universe. Many of these – medical diagnostics and therapy and the World-Wide Web are two striking examples – have changed the way we live and do business. Particle physicists continue their quest, and history tells us that the tools of the future should be the source of yet more technological breakthroughs, driving progress in industry and securing the workforce of the future. One of these tools is the proposed particle accelerator, the International Linear Collider or ILC.

Fundamental research is not done with the aim to make computers even faster, chips even smaller or medicine even better. We cannot be sure where the research into nature's most fundamental constituents will take us, and likewise cannot be sure what beneficial innovations will emerge. However, the track record makes us confident that technological advances will occur, in one form or another.