This year there were many major advances in our understanding of the Universe, including in the areas of particle physics and astrophysics. Included in this line-up are stories from DESI, LHC, The James Webb Space Telescope and more.

University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos has been named one of this year’s winners of the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award—one of the most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government.

Chicago leaders are backing a new quantum computing campus in South Chicago that will create job pipelines. Fermilab’s Natalie Johnson, head of education and public engagement, is among those working on creating career and educational pipelines for locals.

Jefferson Lab successfully tested the first niobium-tin alloy cryomodule, a prototype section of particle accelerator, that is capable of accelerating electrons to energies exceeding 10 million electron-Volts.
Senior scientist Grigory Eremeev led the project and a Fermilab team leveraged the lab’s Nb3Sn coating facility, SRF cavity processing and testing infrastructure.

In 2024, Fermilab made significant scientific progress, including advancing preparations for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment and conducting groundbreaking quantum research. The laboratory also continued its strong international collaborations — including involvement with the CMS experiment at CERN — and made strides in developing emerging technologies with wide applications beyond physics.

The coldbox, a vital piece of Fermilab’s new linear accelerator, is on a two-month voyage from France to its new home in Batavia, Illinois. It will be at the heart of the cryogenic system for the lab’s upgraded accelerator complex.

The PIP-II accelerator upgrade project at Fermilab officially completed its subproject dedicated to the early stages of facilities construction.

The five quantum centers have reached significant accomplishments, summarized in a new joint website, nqisrc.org.

The NOvA collaboration presented findings at the Neutrino conference in Milan in June 2024 with results that are likely to be evidence of a new phenomenon. With twice the data, the team of NOvA physicists are comparing muon neutrino and antineutrino oscillations to determine the mass hierarchy.

Neutrino physics is one of the most promising fields of research to unravel the mysteries of the Universe. This includes the future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment led by Fermilab to study the behavior of neutrinos.