SCIENCE For the love of

Fermilab inspires future generations of scientists

By Kevin Druley n Photos by Ryan Postel

Asked what she feels most people think of when they hear “Fermilab,” the familiar name for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Becky Thompson hardly hesitates.

“I would hope, and I expect that they’re thinking about our cutting-edge science, all the amazing things that we’re doing,” said Thompson, who heads Fermilab’s office of education and public outreach. “How we’re exploring the fundamental properties of the universe. How we’re exploring fundamental particles.”

Of course, of course. But isn’t there a herd of American plains bison on the campus of the Batavia facility? And isn’t it chronicled by a 24/7 webcam? Why, yes. “Very famous,” Thompson smiles. Fermilab encourages visitors regardless of their knowledge on the country’s premier national lab for particle physics research. That includes those who may feel perplexed by science in general, let alone physics, the study of how matter and energy interact. “Everyone’s a scientist; they just might not know it,” Thompson said. “And I, in my career, want to unlock that knowledge in everybody else.”

Visit Fermilab

n Outdoor visiting hours: Dawn to dusk daily n Lederman Science Center: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturdays; closed Sundays and holidays

For more information on visiting the facility, go to www.fnal.gov/pub/visiting/hours/index.html.

‘I WANT TO DO THAT, TOO’

In Thompson’s view, anyone who ever tested something to get a result or viewed the world critically befits the scientist label. Her personal catalyst for wanting to hold that distinction? Witnessing the famed double-slit experiment in her high-school physics class. “Seeing something so tangible that kind of broke my brain was amazing,” Thompson said. Fermilab senior scientist Don Lincoln attributes his career arc to being “inherently curious” during childhood, adolescence and onward. He started with dinosaurs, moved on to astronauts and went from there.

Routinely reading the works of science writers Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and George Gamow while growing up influenced Lincoln as well.

“These were people with traditional, precise scientific training who were able to write in such a way that could excite me back when I was a kid,” he said. These days, Lincoln repays his science studies while simultaneously paying it forward, authoring numerous books and articles while helping produce hundreds of science education videos.

“We heat things to temperatures 100,000 times hotter than the center of the sun, and if you want to study something like that, you can’t go to the local store and just buy a detector that is able to understand that.”

– Don Lincoln, Fermilab senior scientist

“I can imagine,” Lincoln said, “That there’s some 10, 12-year-old kid somewhere in some rural state without access to the very top schools who might see one of my videos and say, ‘You know, that stuff’s cool. I want to do that, too.’”

It isn’t altogether farfetched for this unabashed advocate of dreaming big.

A Fermilab employee since the late 1990s, Lincoln said he has been approached by visitors or younger colleagues seeking his autograph on one of his books, crediting them as inspiration.

“All of us have passions, and one of my deepest passions is to explain science, to share science, with the public,” Lincoln said.

Look And Learn

Of course, visitors to Fermilab can catch a glimpse of what’s afoot for themselves.

Open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, Fermilab’s Lederman Science Center offers various exhibits and educational resources.

Many exhibits are interactive, allowing visitors to explore particle physics – and topics including ideas, methods, accelerators and detectors – in a tangible way.

“So, it’s not just, ‘Hey, look at these great things,’” Thompson said. “We certainly have that. But we can really get in there and learn about how we study our universe. So, it’s quite a unique place in the area and we love welcoming people to that.”

Among other longtime Fermilab programs is Saturday Morning Physics, a free series of 11 lectures and tour visits from Fermilab staff presented twice each school year. Again, the program’s tangible and interactive side helps reinforce the learning experience, although some matters must be left to the professionals.

“We heat things to temperatures 100,000 times hotter than the center of the sun, and if you want to study something like that, you can’t go to the local store and just buy a detector that is able to understand that,” Lincoln said.

Fermilab staff often visit schools, retirement centers and various intellectual and scientific groups around the region. “I personally appreciate the support that the community gives Fermilab,” Lincoln said. “It’s nice to be welcomed by our neighbors.”

Knowing of that harmony would surely bring joy to late Fermilab founding director Robert Wilson, who aspired to bring out-of-the-box design and thinking to the grounds in order to help inspire those contributing to the cutting edge of science.

Which brings us back to the bison, a Wilson brainchild.

“This is our reminder that, much like the bison were part of the frontier,” Thompson said, “we’re really pushing the frontiers of science.”