Brazilian funding agency representatives visit Fermilab

Representatives of the São Paulo Research Foundation, including Executive Director Carlos Américo Pacheco, Scientific Director Márcio de Castro Silva Filho and General Coordinator of Humanities and Arts Sylvio Canuto, visited the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in April to gain an overview of the lab’s scientific portfolio.

The foundation, known as FAPESP, is a state funding agency in São Paulo, Brazil that supports research projects across various scientific disciplines in higher education and research institutions.

The visit commenced with a discussion led by Fermilab Director Lia Merminga along with representatives from the lab’s science and engineering teams. The focus of the talk was Fermilab’s Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. 

Ron Ray, the deputy project director for LBNF/DUNE in the U.S., presented an overview of Fermilab’s flagship experiment. This ambitious project involves directing neutrinos from Fermilab’s campus to detectors situated a mile underground in Lead, South Dakota.

To gain insight into Fermilab’s neutrino research, the group toured the Integrated Engineering Research Center accompanied by David Montanari, far detector cryogenics manager for LBNF/DUNE U.S. They met with Andrew Lathrop, a senior technical specialist, to view a Skipper CCD, known for its unprecedented sensitivity to weak electrical signals. This technology can help study rare neutrino interactions and potentially provide insights into dark matter.   

Jennifer Raaf, Fermilab’s head of the neutrino division, showcased the new lab space in the IERC dedicated to assembling and testing modules produced in Switzerland for the DUNE ND-LAr near detector. This detector is crucial for DUNE’s physics sensitivity.   

Dante Totani, a postdoctoral researcher from the University of California Santa Barbara, works in this lab space to develop X-Arapuca photodetector cold electronics for DUNE. As neutrinos from Fermilab’s accelerator complex interact with argon nuclei, charged particles are produced. The X-Arapuca detectors collect scintillation light generated during this process to help reconstruct neutrino-argon collisions. This system, developed by Brazilian researchers, is a key feature of the DUNE far detector.   

Saravan Chandrasekaran, in-kind contribution coordinator for the Proton Improvement Plan-II accelerator project, led the next segment of the tour. Chandrasekaran highlighted Fermilab’s research and development in accelerator technology — including PIP-II, the particle accelerator designed to provide the world’s most intense beam of neutrinos for the LBNF/DUNE experiment.  

Fermilab researchers develop electromagnets and superconducting cavities using materials like niobium-tin, which lose electrical resistance when cooled. Fermilab will contribute 16 of these ultra-strong magnets to the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider Upgrade Project at CERN. 

Giorgio Apollinari, project manager for the HL-LHC upgrade, and Maria Baldini, a scientist, discussed the project’s scope with the group, emphasizing the magnets’ increased current capacity for creating powerful magnetic fields in the LHC upgrade. 

The representatives then learned about Fermilab’s quantum computing research at the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center, exploring how superconducting cavities, used in accelerators, might serve as quantum computing devices by storing photons briefly. The SQMS Center is one of five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers established by Congress in 2018.

The tour ended at the Short Baseline Near Detector at Fermilab. Roza Doubnik, a senior cryogenic engineer and technical liaison with Brazil on the LBNF/DUNE project, highlighted SBND’s role as one of Fermilab’s three liquid argon neutrino detectors for the program and its prototyping connection to the LBNF/DUNE cryostats.  

Ornella Palamara, co-spokesperson for SBND, detailed that the detector will capture over a million neutrino-argon interactions yearly using Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber technology and the X-Arapuca photon light system, similar to DUNE.

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 U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory welcomes Greg Stephens as the lab’s new chief operating officer beginning May 6, 2024.

Stephens brings more than 35 years of experience in commercial, academic, international and U.S. government operations, working in project management, business administration, environment, safety and health, and engineering. He has served at 11 of the 17 U.S. national laboratories. At each lab, Stephens took on a wide array of roles including project and program manager, chief engineer, chief information officer, chief technical officer and operations director.

“We are delighted to have Greg Stephens join Fermilab in leading the operation of the lab,” said Fermilab Director Lia Merminga. “His extensive experience, including at many of the national laboratories, and leadership roles, will be a huge asset in his leadership of our laboratory operations toward the safe, secure, efficient and effective execution of our mission.”

Most recently, Stephens was vice president for Amentum’s Technical Services. Here he led a diverse staff that delivered operations, engineering, maintenance, safety, quality assurance, risk assessment, business and project optimization, and management services.

Under his leadership, the division supported a wide array of high-hazard chemical, biological and nuclear operations customers from around the world, including U.S. and international laboratories, research and development entities, commercial companies and emergency preparedness institutions.

“I am excited and honored to join the Fermilab team, the premier particle physics laboratory in the U.S.,” Stephens said. “I look forward to collaborating with the talented Fermilab employees to drive innovation and continue the excellent scientific research. I believe there is an exciting future at Fermilab and look forward to bringing my passion and expertise to this team as we capture the opportunities ahead.”

Stephens is an electrical engineer with a degree from Clemson University. He began his career with DuPont de Nemours, Inc. in the Engineering Services Division and with General Electric in the Simulation and Space Systems Manufacturing Management Program. He also had numerous project and program management assignments at Westinghouse, Washington Group International, URS, AECOM and Amentum.

Stephens has served on the Board of Directors for Helping Hands of Aiken and the United Way of Aiken County while also on the Engineering Advisory Board for the University of South Carolina at Aiken. He and his wife Jane have three grown children and one grandchild.

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.

By R.E. Natowicz

Cutting-edge particle physics research is always in season at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, but spring is a most special time of the year as Fermilab’s baby bison are born. Today, two bison calves were born, marking the start of calving season at Fermilab.

Cleo Garcia, a member of the Grounds Maintenance team who has the important job of caring for the bison herd, said that during this season Fermilab is expecting the births of about 20 calves.

Garcia gives extra attention to the female bison, called cows, to estimate the number of new births to expect each year. He watches for physical changes and considers the age of the cows to make this determination.

The Fermilab herd currently consists of 24 cows and two bulls. “Some of them are getting older and might not calve this year,” Garcia said. Last year the cows gave birth to 20 calves, and in the year prior there were 21 births.

In addition to contributing to the conservation of American bison, Fermilab’s herd is a huge draw for visitors. “They’re big animals, and visitors bring their kids who enjoy watching them,” Garcia said.

Garcia notes that the bison have their own personalities — some being more docile, some wilder. They play and engage with each other in different ways. Sometimes the bulls will charge at each other. Most importantly, the bison are very protective of their small calves.

The lab’s first director, Robert R. Wilson, pioneered the idea of making bison a Fermilab tradition. He wanted to show that Fermilab was on the frontier of particle physics research, and bison represented the frontier era. “When you’re outside with them, you’d think you’re out in the prairie,” Garcia said.

Bison are sizable animals: the bulls can weigh over one ton, and cows average between 900 and a little over 1000 pounds. When calves are born, they weigh between 40-70 pounds. The calves grow quickly — just six months later they usually have grown to between 300 and 350 pounds. When bison babies are first born, they are cinnamon colored, and two months later their fur deepens to a darker shade of brown.

Fermilab refreshes the bulls in the herd every five to seven years. The Fermilab bulls have been genetically tested to ensure that they are pure-bred American bison. This is key to maintaining the health of the herd. In 2015, Fermilab tested the entire herd and determined that there were no domesticated cattle genes present.

Calving season usually starts in the middle of April and continues until June. Although there are signs of an early spring in Illinois this year, Garcia noted that so far he hasn’t seen indications that warmer weather is affecting the herd, but added, “We’ll see how the season goes.”

Bison are hardy animals that can live outside year-round in most any weather. Even so, their Fermilab keepers provide them with structures within the corrals to block the wind that can whip across Fermilab’s flat prairie land.

As part of his duties, Garcia feeds the bison and checks on their well-being daily — especially during calving season. He visits all the cows to watch for signs that they may soon give birth. Garcia also monitors the young calves to make sure that they are healthy. During the winter he supplements the herd’s food with hay and grain. Visitors in the summer will see the bison grazing upon plentiful grasses naturally growing on Fermilab’s grounds. They only need to be given ample water during these months.

Garcia said he likes being outdoors with the animals. “Calving season is the most rewarding time of the year,” he said. “You see new life coming to the land.”

You can view the bison herd anytime from the bison camera or visit Fermilab seven days a week during outdoor visiting hours from dawn to dusk.

The Fermilab site has been designated a National Environmental Research Park by the U.S. Department of Energy. The lab’s environmental stewardship efforts are supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science as well as Fermilab Natural Areas.

Fermilab 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 Fermilab’s website and follow us on Twitter at @Fermilab.