The ALICE EMCAL

The ALICE Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMCAL) will provide the ALICE detector with enhanced jet triggering and reconstruction capabilities. This will allow detailed studies of the interaction and energy loss of high energy partons in the dense matter created in heavy ion collisions. The EMCAL consists of 12288 individual Pb-scintillator/shashlik towers grouped into 10 2/3 SuperModules. The detector thickness is approx. 20 X0 and the energy resolution has been measured to be better than 12\% ($\sqrt{E}$) + 2\%. The EMCAL's coverage will be 1.4 units in $\eta$ and 107 degrees in $\phi$ and it is positioned to provide partial back- to-back coverage with the PHOS calorimeter. The EMCAL will be installed in ALICE during the years 2009 - 2011, with four SuperModules ready for the first LHC 2009-2010 physics run. The detector status with a focus on readiness and plans for first physics measurements will be presented.