News at work

The Standard Model of particle physics was devised in the 1960s and 1970s and tested extensively over the decades. One unanswered question was on the origin of the mass of subatomic particles. A theory proposed in 1964 by Peter Higgs and others proposed an energy field called the Higgs field and a particle called the Higgs boson. It took nearly 50 years, but in 2012, the Higgs boson was discovered. In episode 8 of Subatomic Stories, Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln sheds some light on this last discovered feature of the Standard Model.

Fermilab is currently upgrading its accelerator complex to produce the world’s most powerful beam of high-energy neutrinos. To generate these particles, the accelerators will send an intense beam of protons traveling near the speed of light through a maze of particle accelerator components before passing through metallic “windows” and colliding with a stationary target. Researchers are testing the endurance of windows made of a titanium alloy, exposing samples to high-intensity proton beams to see how well the material will perform.

A sourdough family started at Fermilab by a graduate student visiting from Texas A&M has continued to expand and flourish.

Physicists are finding ways to contribute to projects related to epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, supporting healthcare systems and studying public sentiment.

If you live in the Chicago suburbs and have ever taken a walk on the Fermilab hike-and-bike trail along Batavia Road, you’ve probably noticed large trees with long, slender bean pods, which — even after they fall to the ground — are ignored by wildlife. Not that long ago, mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths roamed the Fermilab grounds and feasted on these bean pods, along with the fruit of two additional species that still can be found growing on site.

One of the amazing claims in physics is that for every kind of known matter, there is a cousin version called antimatter. Antimatter is the opposite of ordinary matter and will annihilate into pure energy when it encounters matter. In episode 7 of Subatomic Stories, Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln gives you the low-down on this amazing substance.

Fermilab takes its popular STEM Career Expo to the web. This year the annual event, an opportunity for high school students to hear from more than two dozen STEM professionals about their careers, is offered as five recorded panel discussions now available on the Fermilab website. Students can learn how neutrino physicists, bioinformatics scientists, actuaries and others got to where they are and hear from people who work jobs in fields that students might pursue in the coming years.

As with all first responders across the nation, the Fermilab Fire Department stands ready to act should they be called upon to help with a COVID-19 incident in the areas surrounding the suburban Illinois laboratory.

Physicist Cristiano Galbiati shifted focus from the search for dark matter to the shortage of ventilators for COVID-19 patients. The collaboration he began created an easy-to-manufacture ventilator in less than two months.

Experimentalists and theorists search for Higgs bosons escaping as dark matter.

Earlier this month, Fermilab scientist Petra Merkel stepped into the role of co-chair of the Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors in the APS Division of Particles and Fields. The panel is responsible for promoting excellence in the research and development of instrumentation and detectors to support the national program of particle physics in a global context.

To understand the universe, you need to understand the different forces that govern it. In this 11-minute video, episode 6 of Subatomic Stories, Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln explains the nature of the forces that govern the microcosm.