2006
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Pier
Oddone | 2006 is
rapidly coming to a close.
It has been an extraordinarily
productive year for Fermilab. In terms of physics results it
is probably the best vintage since the year the laboratory
discovered the top in 1995.
The measurement of Bs mixing by CDF and DZERO, the first
evidence of single top quark production by D0 and the
precision measurement of the top mass by CDF and D0 are three
remarkable results among the phenomenal physics output that
these collaborations have achieved. They have produced
approximately one refereed publication a week. The year also
brought beautiful results from MINOS after only a year of
running and the early results from Pierre Auger.
The Tevatron has broken record after record in luminosity,
and we have had record performance in the neutrino beams both
for MINOS and MiniBooNE. MiniBooNE has done a remarkable job
in resolving the difficult analysis issues it confronted a
year ago and will present its results in early 2007. CDMSII
resolved initial cryogenic problems and is running well with
five towers in the Soudan mine. Across the board the stage is
set for great results in 2007.
The LHC and CMS commissioning is going very well overall,
but the quadrupole magnets built at Fermilab did not perform
as required during pressure tests. The failure in the internal
heat exchanger is both a problem of design as well as testing.
The laboratory is giving this problem its highest priority and
will be helping CERN to repair the magnets and minimize any
schedule impacts.
Progress on the development of the ILC has continued
vigorously, with the Reference Design and cost estimate to be
presented at the Beijing GDE meeting in early February. The
infrastructure to support superconducting RF technology is
taking shape at Fermilab. In the meantime, the DOE has doubled
the budget for the ILC in the proposed President budget for
2007.
We also continued to make improvements in operations,
starting with our performance in ES&H, which continues to
improve as measured by the TRC and DART rates. We reviewed
operations across the laboratory and have carried out
substantial a reorganization to achieve excellence in all our
operations.
The P5 committee, following the national academy EPP2010
report, drafted a specific roadmap for particle physics over
the next few years. It calls for support of the LHC and ILC,
and the start of three additional projects in which Fermilab
plays a leading role: NOvA, DES and SuperCDMS-25kg.
While producing physics, setting the stage for future
discoveries and working with the national advisory committees
on a national roadmap, we also created a new entity to manage
and operate Fermilab, the Fermi Research Alliance. FRA's
proposal was successful and the DOE considered the proposal
outstanding. The alliance between URA and the University of
Chicago in forming FRA opens great opportunities and promises
a new era for the laboratory.
Now all we need is a good budget for 2007! Nothing is as
helpful towards this goal as great performance.
Have safe and happy holidays with your family and friends!
| 
Sunny 41°/25°
