Exploring the Standard Model with the High Luminosity, Polarized Electron-Ion Collider

The Standard Model is only a few decades old and has been successfully confirmed by experiment, particularly at the high energy frontier. This will continue with renewed vigor at the LHC. However, many important elements of the Standard Model remain poorly understood. In particular, the exploration of the strong interaction theory Quantum Chromodynamics is in its infancy. How does the spin-1/2 of the proton arise from the fundamental quark and gluon constituents? Can we understand the new QCD world of virtual quarks and gluons in the nucleon? Using precision measurements can we test the limits of the Standard Model and look for new physics? To address these and other important questions, physicists have developed a concept for a new type of accelerator, namely a high luminosity, polarized electron-ion collider. Here the scientific motivation is summarized and the accelerator concepts are outlined.