neutrino physics

Senator John Thune of South Dakota has worked for decades to help convert an abandoned gold mine in South Dakota into the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.

Journalists were recently invited to tour JUNO, a $300 million science facility designed to measure neutrinos. The U.S.-based DUNE project will also measure neutrinos. If JUNO explains the story of neutrino masses before DUNE comes online, the Fermilab-led project would then be able to measure the question differently and confirm JUNO’s results.

The prototype of a novel particle detection system for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment successfully recorded its first accelerator neutrinos, providing a first look at the ability of this innovative technology to handle large numbers of the mysterious particles’ interactions.

Six members of the University of Chicago faculty have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Included in this year’s selection is Fermilab’s Chief Research Officer, Bonnie Fleming.

Business Insider reports on the recent completion of cavern excavation in South Dakota and what comes next as engineers and scientists prepare for the next phases of DUNE.

Earlier this month, Fermilab announced crews completed excavation work for the massive caverns that comprise the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility, which is being constructed to house the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.

The P5 panel’s recent report identified several critical areas in cosmic evolution, neutrinos and dark matter where next-generation facilities could make a dramatic impact, including Fermilab.

From New Scientist: New Scientist presents a new series featuring experts at the leading-edge of scientific discovery. The series includes prize-winning astrophysicist John Mather who discusses the groundbreaking operations of the James Webb Space Telescope. Also, Fermilab senior scientist Don Lincoln explores how Fermilab has taught us so much about our universe, future research plans and how research results aid theorists in their quest for a ‘Theory of Everything’.

From the Rapid City Journal, January 20, 2022: A 2021 economic study done for SURF and the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority shows the large economic impacts in advancing South Dakota’s economy. The impacts include job creation, household earnings, and spending for activities and experiments at SURF and the LBNF/DUNE. The partnership with Fermilab to construct and operate part of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility at SURF will result in significant spending and employment in South Dakota in the coming decades.

From Stony Brook University, December 1, 2021: Chang Kee Jung, founding member of the DUNE collaboration, is recipient of the 2022 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize by the American Physical Society. Professor Jung is being recognized for his outstanding contributions and leadership in experimental neutrino physics and outstanding teaching and outreach, especially in the physics of sports.