Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced Jim Kerby as project director for Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE-US) He will be responsible for managing all aspects of the project in the U.S. as Fermilab leads the execution of the largest international DOE project ever hosted on U.S. soil.
Kerby holds over 30 years of engineering and technical management experience and previously worked at Fermilab starting in 1986, contributing to multiple projects including the CDF End Plug Upgrade and ultimately leading the $200 million US-LHC Accelerator Project, which helped construct the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Jim Kerby, a recognized leader of U.S. national laboratory complex projects, will join Fermilab as the project director of LBNF/DUNE-US. Photo: Argonne National Laboratory
“Jim Kerby’s experience on large scale projects at the national labs makes him an excellent leader for LBNF/DUNE-US.,” said Lia Merminga, Fermilab Director. “With the excavation of the caverns complete and the scientific and technological components in development and construction by national and international partners, Jim’s knowledge and expertise will add tremendous value. I am looking forward to him building on the momentum and great progress the project team has achieved to date.”
As a well-respected and recognized leader of projects in the national laboratory complex, most recently he led the $815 million Advanced Photon Source Upgrade (APS-U) project at Argonne. He will continue to oversee the planning, construction, and implementation of that upgrade to transform the accelerator and beamlines by enabling new regimes of scientific discoveries as he transitions to the leadership position at Fermilab over the course of the summer.
“I am excited to return to Fermilab and join the LBNF/DUNE Project. High Energy Physics has a history of envisioning and creating one-of-a kind facilities and experiments with participants from all over the world and LBNF/DUNE certainly falls into that category. I am looking forward to helping the team move LBNF/DUNE forward,” said Kerby.Kerby holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Purdue’s Krannert School of Management.
The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment is an international flagship experiment made up of over 1,400 engineers and scientists from all over the world. DUNE will be installed in the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, under construction in Lead, South Dakota and Batavia, Illinois. Scientists working on DUNE work to unlock the mysteries of neutrinos to paint a clearer picture of the universe and how it works.
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Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.