Author Archive

Q&A: Becky Thompson

Meet the comic-creating, triathlete, Hufflepuff physicist who’s also the new head of Fermilab’s Office of Education and Public Outreach.

From CNRS, Aug. 30, 2019: A scientist at the French National Center for Scientific Research talks about neutrinos and the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted by Fermilab, in this 2-minute video.

From DOE, Sept. 6, 2019: U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announces the establishment of the DOE Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office. The secretary has established the office to serve as the coordinating hub for the work being done across the DOE enterprise in artificial intelligence. This action has been taken as part of the President’s call for a national AI strategy to ensure AI technologies are developed to positively impact the lives of Americans.

Working on hardware doesn’t come easily to all physicists, but Francesca Ricci-Tam has learned that what matters most is a willingness to put in the practice.

Future particle colliders will need strong magnets to steer high-energy particle beams as they travel close to the speed of light on their circular path. A group at Fermilab has achieved a record field strength of 14.1 teslas for a particle accelerator steering magnet, breaking the 11-year record.

Żurek shares her experiences at the 2019 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting —from a blimp flight with Ada E. Yonath, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009, to a panel discussion she participated in with three Nobel laureates about navigating a career path in science.

The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, has taken a significant step to participate in the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted by Fermilab. Fermilab and the university have signed an agreement to jointly appoint an internationally renowned researcher who will strengthen the experimental particle physics research program at JGU Mainz and advance a German contribution to DUNE. This is the first Fermilab joint agreement with a university in Germany.

From Kane County Connects, Sept. 3, 2019: As part of a number of grants to national laboratories and universities offered through its QuantISED program, DOE’s recent round of funding to Fermilab covers three initiatives related to quantum science. It also funds Fermilab’s participation in a fourth initiative led by Argonne National Laboratory.