From working at the CIA to designing science facilities at Fermilab, Kate Sienkiewicz enjoys tackling complex problems. Currently, she oversees the team tasked with designing and building conventional facilities at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility near site for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment — all with the overarching goal of understanding the universe.

From D La Repubblica, Dec. 10, 2020: È italiana, ha solo 39 anni, è Deputy Chief Technology Officer al Fermilab di Chicago, dove sta progettando il computer quantico più potente mai creato al mondo. Incontro di Valeria Palermi, direttrice di D, con Anna Grassellino, Donna dell’Anno 2020.

From Phys.org, Dec. 7, 2020: The CMS collaboration, a worldwide group of scientists studying particle collisions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, has recently observed the production of three massive gauge bosons in proton-proton collisions for the first time ever. Northwestern University postdoc and Fermilab Distinguished Researcher Saptaparna Bhattacharya talks about the triboson search.

Grassellino was selected from a list of 50 Italian women who have excelled in their fields, and who left their mark on 2020. She heads Fermilab’s new quantum national center, the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center.

When two heavy ions collide inside a particle accelerator, they produce a near-perfect fluid through which an assortment of fundamental particles swim. For scientists to accurately simulate even a tiny drop of this hot and dense subatomic brew with a classical computer, it would take longer than the age of the universe. Scientists show how quantum computing could be a game-changer in our understanding of quantum processes.

From DOE, Dec. 9, 2020: Computer Science Education Week is aimed at inspiring students to discover computer science activities and careers. The national laboratories, including Fermilab, are scheduled to host a number of activities to highlight The Department of Energy’s efforts, including increasing access to computer science education, building computational literacy, and growing the cyber workforce of the future.

From the CMS collaboration, Nov. 30, 2020: On Nov. 24, the CMS collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider announced the publication of the 1,000th paper in a peer-review journal, an exceptional achievement for a single experiment. Fermilab scientist Boaz Klima, CMS Publications Committee chair, is quoted.

How do the questions Galileo faced in the 17th century relate to those posed in our own era? What is our place in this vast realm of existence? How will spacetime come to an end?Symmetry writer Mike Perricone’s favorite physics books of 2020 cover an impressive span of time: from the very beginning of our universe until the very end.

From APS Physics, Dec. 4, 2020: Scientists are finding ways to increase particle accelerator efficiency. One way to reduce cooling costs relies on a technique developed at Fermilab and Jefferson Lab.

From The New York Times, Dec. 8, 2020: Scientists are puzzling over why the universe is not as dark as expected. Fermilab scientist Dan Hooper weighs in.