Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The 50-foot-wide electromagnet will travel 3,200 miles by boat and barge this summer to be part of a new experiment that will study particle physics.
A particle storage ring spanning 50 feet in diameter is making a 3,200-mile journey from New York to Illinois. The giant electromagnet is headed to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, just outside Batavia, where it will be used in an experiment called Muon g-2, and will study the properties of muons, tiny subatomic particles that exist for only 2.2 millionths of a second. The ring, made of steel and aluminum, is part of a machine built at New York's Brookhaven National Laboratory in the 1990s. Although most of the machine can be disassembled and brought to Fermilab in trucks, the massive electromagnet must be transported in one piece, and cannot tilt or twist more than a few degrees without being irreparably damaged. The Muon g-2 team …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Construction of the project would take place on the western portion of the laboratory site, close to Kirk and Giese roads in Batavia, and could begin as early as 2015.
It would be the world’s most ambitious neutrino experiment. And Fermilab wants everybody to know about it, especially its neighbors. Construction of the project would take place on the western portion of the laboratory site, close to Kirk and Giese roads in Batavia, and could begin as early as 2015. The Department of Energy and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are inviting the local community to an informational meeting about the proposed Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment. The meeting, which will feature illustrative posters and short presentations, will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at Fermilab's Wilson Hall atrium in Batavia. The meeting will provide neighbors and the local community with an opportunity to…
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Part 1 of a Multipart Series on Fermilab's Future: Pier Oddone tells staff that he sees no problems for the remaining part of this fiscal year. Fermilab is asking for flat funding in FY 2014.
Pier Oddone says the state of Fermilab is good, furloughs or layoffs aren't going to happen due the federal government sequester and the budget for Fiscal Year 2014 is likely to be flat. The Fermilab director address the staff via streamed video on April 25. "First of all, we are adjusted to a sequestered budget," Oddone said in his opening remarks. "The House and Senate have to give their blessings, (but) I don't expect any issues in terms of furloughs or layoffs for the remaining part of this fiscal year." President Barack Obama put out his draft of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget, and Fermilab—and science in general—is well-represented, Oddone said. "This is the first step in the annual federal budget cycle and gives us a good idea of what …
Monday, April 29, 2013
And they are so cute!
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Monday, April 29
It's the time of year when the cute little buffalo roam at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The latest additions to Fermilab's herd of American bison, commonly known as buffalo, have arrived: three calves born in the past few days. The youngsters increase the herd size to 25, and at least eight more calves are expected by early June. Visitors, including families with young children, can enter the Fermilab site through its Pine Street entrance in Batavia or the Batavia Road entrance in Warrenville. Admission is free, but you will need a valid photo ID to enter the site. Summer hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. Fermilab’s first director, Robert Wilson, established the bison herd in …
Monday, April 1, 2013
No April Fools joke: Fermi National Accelerator's budget for Fiscal Year 2013 is down about 9 percent, Fermilab Director Pier Oddone says.
Fermilab's budget will be slashed by about 9 percent—a cut of about $36 million—but staff cuts aren't necessarily going to follow, according to a Fermilab announcement and multiple media reports. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Director Pier Oddone said the high-energy physics lab in Batavia will reallocate funds from other projects to make up for the 9 percent funding squeeze, the Kane County Chronicle reports. The Federal Office of High Energy Physics handed out the news last week that the preliminary budget estimate for Fermilab would be $368 million—down from about $404 million in Fiscal Year 2012. The Beacon-News reports that the $36 million reduction is made up of $29 million from the federal office and about $7 million from …
Sunday, March 17, 2013
President Barack Obama underscores the importance of investing in scientific research during a speech on American energy at Argonne National Laboratory on Friday.
President Bartack Obama was speaking at Argonne National Laboratory on Friday, and for the most part, he was speaking about Argonne National Laboratory, as well. But it doesn't take much reading between the lines to see that, as Argonne goes, so goes Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia. Obama visited Argonne, located just outside of Lemont, to promote his proposed Energy Security Trust, which would set aside $2 billion over 10 years to research alternatives for oil and gasoline. While pledging his commitment to scientific research, Obama also acknowledged the looming budget cuts facing federal facilities like Fermilab as a result of the sequester. "One of the reasons I was opposed to these cuts is because they don’t …
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Scientists announce Thursday that they're "a step closer" to validating the 48-year-old theory about one of the smallest particles and forces that make up the universe.
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Saturday, March 16
If it looks like a Higgs boson and acts like a Higgs boson, it very well might be a Higgs boson. And that's big news in the physics field, and more great news for Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia. Scientists say a new particle discovered at experiments at the Large Hadron Collider last summer is looking more like a Higgs boson than ever before, according to results announced Thursday, March 14, at the Rencontres de Moriond conference in La Thuile, Italy In July, physicists on the CMS and ATLAS experiments announced the discovery of a particle with a close resemblance to a Higgs, a particle thought to give mass to other elementary particles. The discovery of such a particle could finish a job almost five decades in the …
Friday, March 1, 2013
It's still sketchy how Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will be affected by the sequester, but the short answer is that there likely will be an impact later this month.
Local officials are still scrambling to figure out when, if and how much the federal government sequester, which started March 1, will cost them. But one big employer in the area is pretty certain about the "when." Fermilab spokesperson Andre Salles said Friday that the short answer to whether Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will be affected is "yes." "But we won't know what those effects will be until a federal budget is passed," Salles said. "The current continuing resolution expires on March 27, and we're waiting to see what actual cuts are made." Salles said he would provide updates if there is an official statement or if additional information comes in. President Barack Obama called the sequester cuts "dumb" and "arbitrary" …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The new caucus will concentrate on reinforcing federal investment in research and the national laboratories.
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Saturday, December 8, 2012
Congressman Randy Hultgren has announced the formation of the House Science & National Labs Caucus. Hultgren is joined by Congressmen Chaka Fattah (D-PA-02), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM-03) and Alan Nunnelee (R-MS-01) who will serve as co-chairs of the new group, with other members of the 113th Congress expected to join next year. The new caucus will concentrate on reinforcing federal investment in research and the national laboratories, as well as raise awareness in and out of Congress about the role they play in long-term economic growth. “These laboratories, much like the rest of the economy, deserve certainty from the government so they can continue their important work with confidence,” Hultgren said. Hultgren, named earlier this year as the …
Monday, November 5, 2012
At Fermilab's first-ever Nov. 16 Physics Slam, five physicists will get 12 minutes to explain a complex scientific concept to the audience in the most clear and entertaining way possible.
Five physicists will enter, only one will leave … with a prize, that is. On Nov. 16, five of Fermilab’s best and brightest will duke it out in the Fermilab Arts & Lecture Series’ first ever Physics Slam. It’s similar to a poetry slam —each of the five physicists will get 12 minutes to explain a complex scientific concept to the audience in the most clear and entertaining way possible. And just as in a poetry slam, the audience will decide the winner. The physicist who receives the loudest applause will walk away a champion. This won’t be your average physics lecture, however. The five slammers will be allowed to use any props they want and illuminate their chosen concept with humor, songs or audience participation. Don’t expect to see a …
Auroran
8:55 pm on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Well-said, Jeanne, and VERY true! The city of Batavia owes a great deal to Fermilab, as do many of the nearby communities, as well as all the people the world over whose lives have been improved-- and even saved-- by the work that Fermilab does. more ›