Lawmakers hope to rename Fermilab research center after noted physicist

Federal lawmakers from Illinois have introduced legislation to rename Fermilab's Integrated Engineering Research Center after the late Helen Edwards, a particle physicist who worked at the Batavia facility for 40 years.

The legislation is supported by U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, who knew Edwards, and by U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood and U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin.

"Over its history, Fermilab's success has been built by the hard work of committed scientists," said Foster, who worked as a high energy physicist and particle accelerator designer at Fermilab before serving in Congress. "Helen Edwards was a scientific and technical leader of Fermilab from its earliest days, and she was a dear friend ... I'm proud to be continuing this effort in the U.S. House to honor her memory."

Edwards was best known for her work with the Tevatron, a machine that served as the most powerful particle collider in the world for 25 years. She was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1988 and the National Medal of Technology in 1989 for her work with the Tevatron, which remained in use until 2011. Edwards died in 2016.