Anonymous donor gives Fermilab $5 million
Particle physics research at Batavia's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will continue in full swing, at least through October, thanks to an anonymous donation of $5 million.
The money will allow Fermilab employees to immediately end the forced weeklong unpaid vacations they have been taking every other month since December.
However, Fermilab officials say they still expect to lay off about 140 of the scientific facility's 1,900 employees because of a shortfall in federal funding.
The donation was made to the University of Chicago, with the stipulation that it be used toward the development of future programs in particle physics.
The University of Chicago is a 50 percent stakeholder in the Fermi Research Alliance, which operates Fermilab under a contract for the Department of Energy.
Fermilab spokesman Kurt Riesselmann called the donation an inspiration to particle physicists. However, he warned it won't pull the lab out of its financial crisis.
"The fact that a family would give this gift is a great signal that people across the world do care about particle physics," Riesselmann said Saturday. "This has injected quite a bit of optimism into our laboratory.
"Unfortunately, it only goes so far until we learn what the next energy bill will look like," he added.
Congress cut Fermilab's budget in December from the $372 million requested by the Department of Energy to $320 million - $22 million less than the laboratory received in 2007.
The U.S. Senate recently approved a bill that includes $100 million for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science to ensure that Fermilab and other scientific facilities continue research and can pay staff.
The proposal, which now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives, also includes $150 million for the National Science Foundation, a portion of which will be designated to Fermilab.
"That is outstanding news for us, but it still has a long way to go," Riesselmann said. "It is an exciting premise and would allow us to continue to develop plans and programs for the future of particle physics, but we cannot count on this."