On Nov. 14, the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory held a ceremony to break ground on the new beamline for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, which will house the international, Fermilab-hosted Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
The ceremony celebrated the start of the early site preparation work for the Illinois portion of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility.
Three members of U.S. Congress from Illinois sent their congratulations to Fermilab, LBNF/DUNE collaborators and the Department of Energy via short video messages (see below): Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Bill Foster and Rep. Lauren Underwood.
Senator Duckworth also sent her representative, who read a congratulatory letter from the senator. Also in attendance were Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, West Chicago Mayor Ruben Pineda and Warrenville City Council Member Leah Goodman.
From left: Fermilab Deputy Director for LBNF Chris Mossey, Warrenville City Council Member Leah Goodman, Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, West Chicago Mayor Ruben Pineda, DOE Associate Director of Science for High Energy Physics Jim Siegrist, CERN Experimental Physics Department Head Manfred Krammer, Fermilab Director Nigel Lockyer, STFC Executive Director Mark Thomson, DOE Fermi Site Office Manager Mike Weis, Sanford Underground Research Facility Communications Director Connie Walter, INFN Professor Sergio Bertolucci, Special Advisor to FAPESP Roberto César, IN2P3-CNRS Deputy Director Patrice Verdier, DOE Federal LBNF/DUNE Project Director Pepin Carolan, Kenny Construction Project Manager Michael Zika, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology Professor Maciej Chorowski. Photo: Reidar Hahn
International funding agency and Department of Energy representatives were given shovels painted gold to move the first dirt.
LBNF will send trillions of neutrinos 1,300 kilometers through the earth from Fermilab to South Dakota. On their way, the neutrinos will cross two DUNE particle detectors: one at Fermilab and one a mile underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota. The work is supported by the DOE Office of Science and international partners.
View the videos from the Illinois representatives below.