Fermilab Unveils $85 Million Mega-Plan for Engineering Research Center, Central Campus
SOURCE: Fermilab Today
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia is embarking on an ambitious $85 million campus upgrade that includes a new engineering research center around Wilson Hall, a Neutrino campus, a Muon campus and much more.
To see it and believe, check out the Fermilab Campus Master Plan, whose stated goal is to “position Fermilab as one of the top research destinations of choice for present and future generations of particle physicists.”
“Most people know two things about Fermilab: (1) A lot of really good scientists work here, and (2) the site is really big with buildings scattered everywhere. But two weeks ago, Fermilab achieved a victory that expands that basic story,” Chief Operating Officer Tim Meyer said in Fermilab Today.
While Fermilab was completing a successful DOE review, the Integrated Engineering Research Center team was quietly receiving approval of its own —a mission need for an Integrated Engineering Research campus, described as “the first step in realizing Fermilab’s central campus concept.”
“A central campus will be necessary to host, most importantly, the set of neutrino programs recommended by P5. The approval milestone demonstrates the strong commitment of the Office of Science and Office of High Energy Physics to actively prepare for Fermilab’s future and is evidence to our international partners that DOE is serious about moving forward quickly.” Meyer said.
The IER will co-locate selected engineering and technical staff from across the Fermilab site in a new building adjacent to the east side of Wilson Hall. The new center will complement ongoing and planned renovations of Wilson Hall by establishing a central campus that will anchor the lab. Groups working on key projects will be in close proximity to one another, improving operational efficiency and collaboration.
On the east side of Wilson Hall and along the old Tevatron ring, the IER will play a role in bringing together the central campus with the adjacent technical campus.
Based on a target for CD-1 in FY16, the laboratory will then proceed with conceptual design.
“If all goes as planned, we could be breaking ground on the $85 million project in Fiscal Year 2018, with funding through the DOE Science Laboratory Infrastructure program,” Meyer said.
Fermilab Campus Master Plan
