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| Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, at podium, hosted National Lab Day on Tuesday in the U.S. Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. To his right is a panel of experts who discussed how the labs can be at the forefront of research. Panel, from left: Clark Gellings, fellow at Electric Power Research Institute; Harold Varmus, director of the National Cancer Institute; Jennifer Rumsey, vice president of engineering at Cummins; Norm Augustine, former CEO and chair of Lockheed Martin. Photo: U.S. Department of Energy |
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| The National Lab Day featured exhibit areas related to scientific discovery, energy, manufacturing, high-performance computing and national security. The discovery science exhibit highlighted DOE’s network of scientific user facilities and the unique capabilities available for industry and other researchers. The exhibit provided examples of groundbreaking advancements, including the tools researchers use to search for dark energy, dark matter and the Higgs boson particle. Photo: Kurt Riesselmann, Office of Communication |
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| One of the highlights of the discovery science exhibit was a multitouch computer table. It allowed attendees to explore photo galleries and watch videos about the research that national laboratories conduct to discover how the universe works. Fermilab Deputy Director Joe Lykken was part of the exhibit staff on hand to answer questions. Photo: U.S. Department of Energy |
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| The Jellybean Universe, on display at National Lab Day, shows how dark matter and dark energy account for most of the matter and energy in the universe. Fermilab COO Tim Meyer explains to Lab Day attendees how the national labs try to learn more about the dark universe. Photo: Kurt Riesselmann, Office of Communication |
On Tuesday, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz held National Lab Day in the U.S. Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The event highlighted research projects from across the national laboratory system. The 17 DOE laboratories provide essential capabilities for nearly 30,000 university and industrial researchers and advance technology frontiers, such as high-performance computing and advanced manufacturing.
At the event Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) formally launched the Senate National Laboratory Caucus, which aims to increase awareness of the reach of the national labs as leaders in developing new breakthrough technologies and discoveries. (The U.S. House of Representatives already has a similar caucus.) Senator Durbin said, “By working together across the aisle, we can make certain that U.S. labs — like Illinois’ own Argonne and Fermi — continue to build on their successes and remain world leaders in cutting-edge research.”
