LHC@FNAL dedication marks collaborative effort
Fermilab's Erik Gottschalk, Director of the Division of Physics for NSF Joseph Dehmer, Fermilab Director Pier Oddone and DOE Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach greet CERN colleagues during a tour of the LHC@FNAL Remote Operations Center Monday.
Fermilab scientists joined their counterparts across the ocean Monday for a celebration of a new phase of LHC collaboration.
"I am pleased that the collaboration between our two laboratories made this possible," said Fermilab Director Pier Oddone.
Voices from CERN boomed across the Fermilab atrium Monday as representatives from DOE and NSF joined the laboratories in dedicating the new LHC@FNAL Remote Operations Center.
The dedication marked the beginning of a new stage in the collaboration between CERN and Fermilab scientists working on the LHC. The center allows scientists in the U.S. to work remotely on the CMS experiment at CERN.
"There are many who are unable to move to CERN - they are separated by many hundreds of miles, an ocean and six to nine time zones," said US CMS Program Manager Joel Butler, speaking from CERN. "By having access to the Remote Operations Center, we can stay engaged and do useful work even when we are not at CERN."
On behalf of the approximately 600 US CMS scientists and the 47 institutions of US CMS, Butler thanked all who worked to make the center a reality.
LHC Project Manager Lyn Evans said that the center strengthens the longstanding collaboration between Fermilab and CERN.
DOE Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach highlighted that international collaboration as a model.
"If there is ever an example of global and international collaboration in real time, this is it," he said.
Joseph Dehmer, director of the Division of Physics for NSF, likened the center to the city of St. Louis, which was once a gateway to discovering the western frontier.
"This will be a modern version of that, a gateway for the U.S. to be part of the experiment at CERN," he said.
Robert Aymar, director general of CERN, congratulated CERN's partners around the world in their vision and participation in the LHC project.
"I look forward to seeing this partnership grow and continue the collaboration with this LHC project," he said. "I look forward to sharing the excitement as we explore new areas of science."
-- Rhianna Wisniewski
Director of the Division of Physics for NSF Joseph Dehmer, DOE Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach and Fermilab Director Pier Oddone watch CERN Director General Robert Aymar speak at the center dedication.
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