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Scientist Jean-Paul Carneiro and collaborators in France are setting the stage for one of the world’s first autonomous particle accelerators. They will incorporate the world’s leading code for computing the dynamics of particle beams into a Fermilab prototype. Funding is provided through the FACCTS program, which fosters productive partnerships between Chicago-based and French researchers.

On Friday, March 15, Fermilab broke ground on the PIP-II accelerator project, joined by dignitaries from the United States and international partners on the project. From left: Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL), Senator Dick Durbin (IL), Rep. Sean Casten (IL-6), Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-2), Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11), Fermilab Director Nigel Lockyer, Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, DOE Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar, Fermilab PIP-II Project Director Lia Merminga, DOE Associate Director for High Energy Physics Jim Siegrist, University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer, Consul General of India Neeta Bhushan, British Consul General John Saville, Consul General of Italy Giuseppe Finocchiaro, Consul General of France Guillaume Lacroix, DOE Fermi Site Office Manager Mike Weis, DOE PIP-II Federal Project Director Adam Bihary and Consul General of Poland Piotr Janicki. Photo: Reidar Hahn

On March 15, Fermilab broke ground on PIP-II, a major new particle accelerator project at Fermilab. Dignitaries from the United States and international partners celebrated the start of the project at the groundbreaking ceremony. The PIP-II accelerator will power the long-term future of the laboratory’s research program, including the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment and a suite of on-site experiments.

One day in 2017, the idea to detect particles that had potentially been escaping the LHC for years unnoticed by the gigantic detectors suddenly became feasible. The story of the latest experiment approved for installation at the Large Hadron Collider starts with a theorist and a question about dark matter.

The American Physical Society has recognized Fermilab and Northern Illinois University physicist Philippe Piot for his outstanding contributions as a referee for APS journals. APS’s highly selective Outstanding Referee program annually recognizes about 150 of the roughly 71,000 currently active referees.

Fermilab's annual Wonders of Science show will feature eye-popping chemistry and physics demonstrations for the whole family to enjoy. Photo: Reidar Hahn

If you know kids between the ages of 7 and 12, you know how hard it can be to get them excited about science from a textbook. Children love to be wowed and to experience physical phenomena with eyes wide and jaws dropped. That’s the thinking behind Fermilab’s annual Wonders of Science show, which will take place on Sunday, March 10, at 1 p.m. The show, organized and performed by award-winning high school teachers, is celebrating its 32nd year at Fermilab. Tickets are $5.00 per person.

Fermilab engineers and technicians stand by a magnet coil made for the High-Luminosity LHC. Photo: Reidar Hahn

The U.S. Department of Energy has approved the scope, cost and schedule for the U.S. LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project and has given the first approval for the purchase of materials. This project brings together scientists, engineers and technicians from national laboratories — such as Fermilab, Brookhaven, Berkeley, SLAC and Jefferson labs — to develop two cutting-edge technologies to advance the future of both the Large Hadron Collider and broader collider research.

Given the popularity of our first article about physics concepts with deceptively common names, Symmetry is back with 10 more seemingly normal words that mean something different in a science context. Some of this science sounds awfully familiar.