LBNF/DUNE

Nearly a mile underground in South Dakota, scientists are building a world-leading experiment to study neutrinos and investigate some of the universe’s greatest mysteries, including how the universe took shape after the Big Bang and if neutrinos are the reason our world is predominantly made of matter. Currently, crews from Fermilab, CERN and SURF are assembling large steel beams to form the outer structure of the neutrino experiment’s massive detector modules.

University of Sussex professor and DUNE collaborator Kate Shaw presented a public talk in Rapid City about the science behind DUNE and why we study neutrinos.

More than 250 physicists and researchers attended the international DUNE conference hosted by South Dakota Mines May 18-22, bringing together members of the DUNE collaboration that includes more than 1,500 scientists from over 220 institutions across 38 countries.

CERN Director-General Mark Thomson met with dignitaries and officials at SURF on May 7 to mark a milestone for the international DUNE experiment.

Hundreds of Black Hills residents joined the DUNE celebration in Lead by signing one of the massive beams that will be placed underground as part of the DUNE detector structures.

Officials and international partners of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment gathered in Lead, SD, on May 7 to celebrate the installation of the detector structures.

An event at the far site of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota marked the start of steel beams being lowered underground to house DUNE’s massive particle detectors. The event was attended by senior leaders from the Department of Energy; members of Congress; Fermilab, CERN and SURF leadership; and members of the local community, all of whom had the chance to sign one of the steel beams being installed.

The Underground Construction Association awarded the LBNF project the 2026 Project of the Year award to the teams who removed over 800,000 tons of rock from this extreme depth.

The LBNF/DUNE project hosted by Fermilab has been named the Underground Construction Association’s 2026 Project of the Year.

The largest neutrino experiment in the United States was named the Project of the Year by the Underground Construction Association for completing a significant and challenging underground construction project with little or no issues.