Why the U.N. declared 2025 the “International Year of Quantum Science and Technology”

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory has announced two new initiatives to foster innovation and growth in the engineering and technical communities of the lab. The Office of High Energy Physics, within the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, has granted Fermilab, a DOE laboratory, $2 million to fund these two initiatives over the next five years.

Chief Engineer Mayling Wong-Squires states, “The lab is grateful for the support from the Office of High Energy Physics with the recognition of creative ways to develop the engineering and technical staff.”

The first initiative is a pilot apprenticeship program called Technician Education for Careers out of High School. TECHS will strengthen recruitment of the laboratory’s technicians who are critically important to the lab’s operations and future projects. The apprenticeship will be a talent incubator to nurture future lab technicians by offering summer apprenticeships to local high school students who will be trained on basic electrical and mechanical skills while introducing them to the array of careers at Fermilab.

Students will work at Fermilab for 10 weeks for two consecutive summers. They will be mentored by lab technicians and program teachers on projects that support Fermilab’s scientific mission. Upon completion of the program, students will be qualified and encouraged to apply for entry-level technician positions upon graduation from high school.

Spokespeople for the program will begin reaching out to area schools in the upcoming school year with applications opening in late 2024.

The second initiative is the Fermilab Innovative Design Engineering to Accelerate Solutions program, in which the lab’s engineers are encouraged to pursue new ideas and designs, simple or complex, that can lead to innovative solutions in areas of research and development. IDEAS will support various endeavors that include small-scale prototypes using microgrants, ideas for patents or copyrights, and proposals for the DOE Early Career Research Program.

Lab Director Lia Merminga said, “This timely initiative strengthens technology innovation, a cornerstone of our mission at Fermilab, and enables our engineers to expand the lab’s work in its core capabilities, especially the newest ones: Mechanical Engineering and Systems Engineering.”

More information about each program can be found at the TECHS and IDEAS websites.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

Using an instrument on the 4.1-meter Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope, researchers obtained the first astronomical spectrum using skipper charge-coupled devices (CCDs).

The results were presented on June 16 at the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation meeting in Japan by Edgar Marrufo Villalpando, a physics PhD candidate at the University of Chicago and a Fermilab DOE Graduate Instrumentation Research Award Fellow.

“This is a major milestone for skipper-CCD technology,” said Alex Drlica-Wagner, a cosmologist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory who led the project. “It helps to retire the perceived risks for using this technology in the future, which is vitally important for future DOE cosmology projects.”

This is an important achievement for a project conceived and initiated through the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Fermilab in collaboration with NSF’s NOIRLab detector group. LDRD is a national program sponsored by the DOE that allows national laboratories to internally fund research and development projects that explore new ideas or concepts.

CCDs were invented in the United States in 1969, and forty years later scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their achievement. The devices are two-dimensional arrays of light-sensitive pixels that convert incoming photons into electrons. Conventional CCDs are the image sensors first used in digital cameras, and they remain the standard for many scientific imaging applications, such as astronomy, though their precision is limited by electronic noise.

Cosmologists seek to understand the mysterious natures of dark matter and dark energy by studying the distributions of stars and galaxies. To do this, they need advanced technology that can see fainter, more distant astronomical objects with as little noise as possible.

Existing CCD technology can make these measurements but take a long time or are less efficient. So, astrophysicists must either increase the signal — i.e., by investing more time on the world’s largest telescopes — or decrease the electronic noise.

Skipper CCDs were introduced in 1990 to reduce electronic noise to levels that allow the measurement of individual photons. They do this by taking multiple measurements of interesting pixels and skipping the rest. This strategy enables skipper CCDs to increase the precision of measurements in interesting regions of the image while reducing total readout time.

In 2017, scientists pioneered the use of skipper CCDs for dark matter experiments such as SENSEI and OSCURA, but this year’s presentation showed the first time the technology was used to observe the night sky and collect astronomical data.

On March 31 and April 9, the researchers used skipper CCDs in the SOAR Integral Field Spectrograph to collect astronomical spectra from a galaxy cluster, two distant quasars, a galaxy with bright emission lines, and a star that is potentially associated with a dark-matter-dominated ultra-faint galaxy. In a first for astrophysical CCD observations, they achieved sub-electron readout noise and counted individual photons at optical wavelengths.

“What’s incredible is that these photons traveled to our detectors from objects billions of light-years away, and we could measure each one individually,” said Marrufo Villalpando.

Researchers are analyzing data from these first observations, and the next scheduled run for the skipper-CCD instrument on the SOAR Telescope is in July 2024.

“Many decades have passed since the skipper was born, so I was surprised to see the technology come to life again,” said Jim Janesick, inventor of the skipper CCD and a distinguished engineer at SRI International, a research institute based in California. “The noise results are amazing! I fell off my seat when I saw the very clean sub-electron noise data.”

With the first successful demonstration of skipper-CCD technology for astrophysics, scientists are already working to improve it. The next generation of skipper CCDs, developed by Fermilab and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is 16 times faster than current devices. These new devices will greatly reduce readout time, and researchers have already begun testing them in the laboratory.

The next generation of skipper CCDs has been identified for use in future DOE cosmology efforts, such as the spectroscopic experiments DESI-II and Spec-S5, recommended by the recent U.S. particle physics planning process. In addition, NASA is considering skipper CCDs for the forthcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory that will attempt to detect earth-like planets around sun-like stars.

“I’m looking forward to seeing where these detectors might end up,” said Marrufo Villalpando, who joined the program in 2019. “People are using them for amazing things all over; their utility ranges from particle physics to cosmology. It’s a very versatile and useful technology.”

The project was a close collaboration between physicists, astronomers and engineers at Fermilab, UChicago, the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the National Astrophysical Laboratory of Brazil.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

The international NOvA collaboration presented new results at the Neutrino 2024 conference in Milan, Italy, on June 17. The collaboration doubled their neutrino data since their previous release four years ago, including adding a new low-energy sample of electron neutrinos. The new results are consistent with previous NOvA results, but with improved precision. The data favor the “normal” ordering of neutrino masses more strongly than before, but ambiguity remains around the neutrino’s oscillation properties.

The latest NOvA data provide a very precise measurement of the bigger splitting between the squared neutrino masses and slightly favor the normal mass ordering. That precision on the mass splitting means that, when coupled with data from other experiments performed at nuclear reactors, the data favor the normal ordering at almost 7:1 odds. This suggests that neutrinos adhere to the normal ordering, but physicists have not met the high threshold of certainty required to declare a discovery.

NOvA, short for NuMI Off-axis ν_e Appearance, is an experiment managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, located outside of Chicago. Fermilab sends a beam of neutrinos 500 miles north to a 14,000-ton detector in Ash River, Minnesota. By measuring the neutrinos and their antimatter partners, antineutrinos, in both locations, physicists can study how these particles change their type as they travel, a phenomenon known as neutrino oscillation.

NOvA aims to learn more about the ordering of neutrino masses. Physicists know that there are three types of neutrinos with different masses, but they don’t know the absolute mass, nor which is heaviest. Theoretical models predict two possible mass orderings, normal or inverted. In the normal ordering, there are two light neutrinos and one heavier neutrino; in inverted, there is one light neutrino and two heavier ones.

“Getting additional information from reactor experiments enhances our knowledge of the mass ordering and gets us close to exciting territory,” said Erika Catano-Mur, a postdoctoral research associate at William & Mary and co-convener of the analysis. “We almost have an answer to one of those big questions that we have in neutrino physics. But we’re not there yet.”

The solution to neutrino oscillation remains ambiguous in the new results. Physicists don’t currently have enough data to disentangle two effects on the oscillation: mass ordering and a property called charge parity violation. The collaboration observed a moderate amount of oscillation that could be explained in either mass ordering scenario with different amounts of CP violation, so they cannot tease apart the mass ordering and CP violation. However, the physicists were able to rule out specific combinations of the two properties.

“It really takes more than one measurement for us to learn everything we need to know,” said Jeremy Wolcott, a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University, one of NOvA’s analysis coordinators and the speaker at the conference.

“NOvA is an important player in this because there are unique aspects to all of the various experiments that are trying to measure the same parameters,” said Wolcott. “We’re starting to see a picture come together, but it’s murky. Having different measurements that all work together is really important.”

The NOvA experiment started taking data in 2014 and will continue running through early 2027, during which time the collaboration hopes to double their antineutrino dataset. They also continue to implement analysis improvements to maximize the sensitivity of the experiment.

Their efforts are also paving the way for future experiments that will seek to contribute even more to solving the mysteries around neutrino properties.

“We want to make the most that we can out of the data,” said Catano-Mur. “What we learn — not only from the results themselves, but in the process, what we’re learning about the analysis methods — is going to be useful for the next generation of experiments that right now are under construction.”

Still, NOvA has the potential to reveal more about the elusive neutrino. “This result is an important reminder that the current generation of experiments, including NOvA, continues to collect valuable data and produce physics insights,” said Zoya Vallari, postdoctoral researcher at CalTech and co-convener of the analysis. “They are our best shot at a discovery right now.”

The NOvA collaboration is made up of more than 200 scientists from 50 institutions in eight countries. With the additional data and further analysis improvements, NOvA will bring physicists closer to understanding the identity-changing behavior of neutrinos.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.

A hundred meters underground at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is a new quantum sensor and computing research center named the Quantum Underground Instrumentation Experimental Testbed, or QUIET. Fermilab recently opened the doors to the underground lab, which will allow scientists to study the performance of qubits isolated from cosmic radiation.

As one of the first dedicated underground Quantum Information Science facilities in the U.S, QUIET will support research and development of QIS applications. While there are many unique aspects to QUIET, finding a space far enough underground and large enough to house such a facility was difficult but a good match for existing infrastructure at Fermilab.

“Fermilab’s previous investment in building accelerators makes it the ideal location for a facility like QUIET,” said Fermilab scientist Dan Baxter, who leads the project.  “Now, scientists will have the opportunity to use this underground space for even more advanced science.”

The new state-of-the-art lab is 250 square feet with an antechamber prep room for material cleaning and gowning before entering the laboratory. The entire facility is set up with cleanliness in mind to minimize background sources that interfere with devices. It has a dilution refrigerator, which is necessary for the deployment of superconducting qubits at 10mK temperatures. Radio frequency electronics, which superconducting qubits use to control and read out their quantum states, are currently being set up.

The primary goal of QUIET is to understand the difference between the impact of gamma rays, X-rays, muons and beta particles on superconducting qubits. Superconducting qubits used in quantum computing are very susceptible to interactions with their environment, including radiation. QUIET will allow scientists to study the performance of qubits isolated from cosmic radiation.

“We need to learn how to protect qubits from the effects of cosmic rays and energetic particles for quantum computing applications. At the same time, we must intricately understand how qubits respond to these effects in order to optimize using qubits as sensors. QUIET is designed to do exactly that, and we expect it to have a major impact as we move forward with these technologies,” said Panagiotis Spentzouris, associate laboratory director for Emerging Technologies at Fermilab.

QUIET is one of two Quantum Science Center companion test facilities at Fermilab. The QSC, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is one of five U.S. Department of Energy National Quantum Information Science Research Centers established to support the National Quantum Initiative in the U.S. and Fermilab is a primary founding member of the QSC.

The facility was constructed as part of the National Quantum Initiative. The underground space was originally excavated by Fermilab for its neutrino experiments. QUIET’s counterpart lab called LOUD, which resides above ground, has been operating for over a year. QUIET uses the same models of dilution refrigeration and electronics as LOUD but with additional shielding from radiation.

“This was quite an achievement to pull off and required a significant amount of work behind the scenes,” said QSC Director Travis Humble. “Together, QUIET and LOUD will allow for controlled experiments with quantum sensors to make direct comparisons between an environment with significantly reduced cosmic ray interference and the ambient environment on Earth’s surface.”

QUIET and LOUD are funded through the QSC.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced Jim Kerby as project director for Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE-US) He will be responsible for managing all aspects of the project in the U.S. as Fermilab leads the execution of the largest international DOE project ever hosted on U.S. soil.

Kerby holds over 30 years of engineering and technical management experience and previously worked at Fermilab starting in 1986, contributing to multiple projects including the CDF End Plug Upgrade and ultimately leading the $200 million US-LHC Accelerator Project, which helped construct the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Jim Kerby’s experience on large scale projects at the national labs makes him an excellent leader for LBNF/DUNE-US.,” said Lia Merminga, Fermilab Director. “With the excavation of the caverns complete and the scientific and technological components in development and construction by national and international partners, Jim’s knowledge and expertise will add tremendous value. I am looking forward to him building on the momentum and great progress the project team has achieved to date.”

As a well-respected and recognized leader of projects in the national laboratory complex, most recently he led the $815 million Advanced Photon Source Upgrade (APS-U) project at Argonne. He will continue to oversee the planning, construction, and implementation of that upgrade to transform the accelerator and beamlines by enabling new regimes of scientific discoveries as he transitions to the leadership position at Fermilab over the course of the summer.

“I am excited to return to Fermilab and join the LBNF/DUNE Project. High Energy Physics has a history of envisioning and creating one-of-a kind facilities and experiments with participants from all over the world and LBNF/DUNE certainly falls into that category.  I am looking forward to helping the team move LBNF/DUNE forward,” said Kerby.Kerby holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Purdue’s Krannert School of Management.

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment is an international flagship experiment made up of over 1,400 engineers and scientists from all over the world. DUNE will be installed in the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, under construction in Lead, South Dakota and Batavia, Illinois. Scientists working on DUNE work to unlock the mysteries of neutrinos to paint a clearer picture of the universe and how it works.

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Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.