Sunday, August 10, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Chemistry

Underground event marks excavation completion on colossal caverns for underground neutrino laboratory, DUNE

August 16, 2024
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Ribbon Cutting
69
SHARES
630
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

Lead, SD (Aug. 15, 2024) — A ribbon-cutting event was held today at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, S.D. to mark the completion of excavation work for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE), an international project led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The “Into the Depths of Discovery” event, hosted by Fermilab and the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA), was attended by supporters of the three-year excavation of the caverns, including state and federal leaders as well as officials from the Department of Energy.

Ribbon Cutting

Credit: Ryan Postel, Fermilab

ADVERTISEMENT

Lead, SD (Aug. 15, 2024) — A ribbon-cutting event was held today at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, S.D. to mark the completion of excavation work for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE), an international project led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The “Into the Depths of Discovery” event, hosted by Fermilab and the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA), was attended by supporters of the three-year excavation of the caverns, including state and federal leaders as well as officials from the Department of Energy.

“Today we celebrate this remarkable engineering feat and are grateful to the many people who worked to achieve this milestone,” said Derek Passarelli, DOE Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Science & Innovation. “This is an extraordinary achievement given the nature of the underground excavation. The LBNF/DUNE endeavor, involving partners from the nation as well as from around the world, will bring together our collective minds and talents focused on tackling the most challenging questions about how our universe works.”

The event occurred one mile beneath the surface at the northern detector cavern and marked the completion of excavation work on two seven-story caverns for housing particle detectors (see 2-minute animation), as well as a smaller central utility cavern. The two detectors will each be filled with 17,000 tons of liquid argon cooled to minus 184 degrees Celsius to record and study the rare interactions of neutrinos.

The international collaboration of DUNE scientists will study the behavior of mysterious particles known as neutrinos to address some of the biggest questions in science, such as why our universe contains matter, how an exploding star can create a black hole, and if neutrinos are connected to dark matter or other undiscovered particles.

“It is exciting to have so many people here today who have supported the excavation and construction of the project,” said Lia Merminga, director of Fermilab. “This is an important step in making LBNF/DUNE a world-class international underground science facility.”

The research conducted at Fermilab and SURF is the foundation for future technological innovation. The history of scientific research shows that discoveries made today have the potential to positively impact humanity for generations to come.

“This important milestone is a great way to celebrate the world-class research, innovation, education, and economic opportunities happening here at America’s Underground Lab,” said Mike Headley, laboratory director at SURF and the executive director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority. “The research underway at SURF will extend well into this century; the impact of scientific advancements made here could last much longer. Our future is incredibly bright, and we are excited to help it unfold.”

Engineering, construction and excavation teams have worked 4,850 feet below the surface since 2021 at SURF to prepare the space needed for the experiment. Over 800,000 tons of rock were excavated and moved from underground to an expansive former surface mining area known as the Open Cut. In order to accomplish this feat, construction crews dismantled heavy mining equipment and, piece by piece, transported it underground. Workers then reassembled the machinery and have been blasting and relocating rock ever since.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Sanford Underground Research Facility are working together for this international science project as part of a large collaboration comprised of more than 1,400 scientists and engineers from over 200 institutions in over 35 countries and the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN.

 

View the full recording of the event here

B-roll video clips available here

About Fermilab and DOE Office of Science:

Fermilab is America’s premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance LLC. Visit Fermilab’s website at www.fnal.gov and follow us on X/Twitter at @Fermilab.

The DOE 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.

About SURF:

Sanford Underground Research Facility is operated by the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA) with funding from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. We are America’s Underground Lab. Our mission is to advance world class science and inspire learning across generations. Visit SURF at www.sanfordlab.org.



Share28Tweet17
Previous Post

Moffitt researchers develop new chemical method to enhance drug discovery

Next Post

What does the EU’s recent AI Act mean in practice?

Related Posts

blank
Chemistry

Al–Salen Catalyst Powers Enantioselective Photocyclization

August 9, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Bacterial Enzyme Powers ATP-Driven Protein C-Terminus Modification

August 9, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Machine-Learned Model Maps Protein Landscapes Efficiently

August 9, 2025
blank
Chemistry

High-Definition Simulations Reveal New Class of Protein Misfolding

August 8, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Organic Molecule with Dual Functions Promises Breakthroughs in Display Technology and Medical Imaging

August 8, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Spatiotemporal Photonic Emulator Mimics Potential-Free Schrödinger Equation

August 8, 2025
Next Post
What does the EU's recent AI Act mean in practice?

What does the EU's recent AI Act mean in practice?

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27531 shares
    Share 11009 Tweet 6881
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    944 shares
    Share 378 Tweet 236
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    641 shares
    Share 256 Tweet 160
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    507 shares
    Share 203 Tweet 127
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Neuroprosthetics Revolutionize Gut Motility and Metabolism
  • Corticosterone and 17OH Progesterone in Preterm Infants
  • Machine Learning Revolutionizes Gravitational-Wave Detection
  • Gaussian Processes: Sustainable LHC Background Estimation

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,860 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading