Northern Illinois University

From Northern Star, Oct. 26, 2020: Northern Illinois University’s STEM Fest features presentations and activities for all ages, including opportunities to chat with STEM experts from Fermilab and Argonne.

Fermilab and partners in northern Illinois have established the region as a leader in particle accelerator science and technology. Few places in the world boast such a concentrated effort in particle acceleration research, developing and building cutting-edge particle accelerators, and growing an accelerator-focused workforce.

DOE has awarded a $1.9 million grant to Northern Illinois University and the Illinois Institute of Technology for the training of next-generation workers in accelerator science and technology. The program will cover student tuition costs for two years and fund paid research assistantships at Fermilab and Argonne. Physics professors Michael Syphers and Philippe Piot, both experts in particle accelerator research and technology, are leading the effort at NIU.

The 300 million-electronvolt beam surpasses two key energy goals for accelerator science.

The delivery of 50-MeV beam is the first step in establishing an accelerator R&D facility that will serve as one of America’s leading test beds for cutting-edge, record-high-intensity particle beam research.