News and features

A key milestone in the U.S.-funded upgrade to the CMS experiment was achieved with the successful delivery of a 5-meter-long carbon support tube to CERN. Designed and built at Purdue University, the tube will house new inner particle detectors for CMS, which is being prepared for the high-luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider. The CMS collaboration is composed of scientists from roughly 240 institutions spread across more than 50 countries.

President Biden recently signed a bicameral resolution that changes the name of Fermilab’s Integrated Engineering Research Center to the Helen Edwards Engineering Center. The building’s new name honors the late Dr. Helen Edwards, a renowned particle physicist at Fermilab.

Dr. Lia Merminga stepped down as laboratory director on Jan. 13, 2025. Dr. Young-Kee Kim has been named as interim director. The new search for a permanent director will begin immediately.

Fermilab is advancing U.S. semiconductor capabilities through leading-edge research in energy-efficient and extreme-environment chips. This important work is driving breakthroughs for high-energy physics and future technologies.

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.

Some friendly competition between the CMS and ATLAS experiments led up to the first discovery of entanglement at the Large Hadron Collider.

The Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit now features updated software and firmware and new companion hardware called QICK box. This Fermilab-developed system combines everything a scientist might need to conduct mind-bending research in a pizza-box-sized case.