U.S. Senate approves funding bill for Fermilab

From Kane County Chronicle,
June 27, 2008

The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved an emergency spending bill that will allow Fermilab to continue its research.

By a vote of 92-6, the U.S. Senate passed the emergency supplemental spending bill that includes $400 million in funding for critical science programs.

The U.S. House approved the measure last week.

The legislation provides $62.5 million for the Office of Science to ensure that Fermilab, Argonne and other scientific facilities are able to continue their research and retain staff.

Another $62.5 million is appropriated for the National Science Foundation to continue critical research, a portion of which will benefit both Illinois laboratories.

"Today, Congress has shown its support for the critical research at Fermi, Argonne and science labs across the country," said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

In December 2007, Congress cut Fermilab's budget from the $372 million requested by the Department of Energy to $320 million, $22 million less than the laboratory received in 2007.

An anonymous $5 million donation, made to the University of Chicago in May, ensured that employees at Fermilab no longer would need to take unpaid leave.

The donation was made with the stipulation that it be used toward the development of future programs in particle physics.

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Barb Kristen retires today

Barb Kristen

When employers at Argonne offered her a job in the mailroom, Barb Kristen put her foot down. "I didn't take all those secretarial classes for nothing!"

Kristen, instead, took a job in 1967 at the newly formed Fermilab, helping in the transition from Oak Brook to Wilson Hall. As the laboratory grew, so did Kristen's responsibilities and influence. The PPD administrator, who retires next week after over 40 years, leaves a mark on the laboratory as a leading environmentalist, the first librarian and one of the laboratory's first secretaries.

"Barb is part of the heart and soul and can-do spirit of this place. She helped build it and made sure that the scientific community could do science while the administrative world ran smoothly," said Elaine Phillips, co-worker in PPD.

In her free time, she brought her passion for nature to Fermilab. She's been a member of Ecological Land Management Committee since 1999, working to restore and preserve the laboratory's native vegetation.

Born and raised in the area, Kristen knew non-native plants when she saw them and that they posed a threat to an ecosystem's biodiversity. So, six years ago when she spotted colonies of honeysuckle and buckthorn overtaking the walkway from the Lederman Science Center to Wilson Hall, she took action.

"I suggested to Roads and Grounds that they start some kind of habitat restoration project, but they already had their hands full," Kristen said.

Kristen started the Habitat Restoration Project herself and will continue the program in retirement. She might even be found in one of the village garden plots tending to her iris plants.

Say farewell to Kristen from 2-3 p.m. on the 15th floor cross-over.

--Jennifer L. Johnson