Duckworth, Durbin, Foster Celebrate Passage of Resolution to Name Fermilab Research Center After Renowned Physicist Dr. Helen Edwards
The bicameral resolution was included in the final Water Resources Development Act, which now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) today applauded the House and Senate passage of their bicameral resolution, included in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, to rename Fermilab’s Integrated Engineering Research Center (IERC) after the late Dr. Helen Edwards, who worked at Fermilab as a particle physicist for 40 years. The IERC is home to new office and lab space that hosts an intersection of scientific disciplines.
“Illinois’s own Fermilab is a crown jewel of American innovation at the forefront of cutting-edge science,” Duckworth said. “For years, hundreds of scientists and engineers at Fermilab have dedicated their expertise to scientific discovery and answering some of the world’s most complicated questions, including the late and brilliant Dr. Helen Edwards. I’m proud that our resolution to rename the Integrated Engineering Research Center after Dr. Edwards is heading to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law—it’s well-deserved, and it tells generations of girls interested in science that they belong at the table.”
“An extraordinary scientist, Dr. Helen Edwards dedicated 40 years of her life to deepening our understanding of particle physics. Her pioneering work in the design, construction, and operation of the Tevatron earned her well-deserved national recognition and provided the foundation for the advanced particle physics research conducted by Fermilab scientists today,” said Durbin. “I look forward to seeing Dr. Edwards’ name on Fermilab’s new IERC, honoring her decades of historic work.”
“Over its history, Fermilab's success has been built by the hard work of committed scientists. Helen Edwards was a scientific and technical leader of Fermilab from its earliest days, and she was a dear friend. Helen was also deeply committed to the accelerator research and engineering that will be carried out in the Integrated Engineering Research Center, and it is altogether fitting that it bears her name. I’m thrilled that my colleagues and I were able to get this legislation across the finish line to honor her memory,” said Foster.
“Helen Edwards was an extraordinary scientific leader and the architect and builder of Fermilab’s Tevatron. Her visionary leadership and foresight shaped Fermilab’s directions for many decades and will continue to far into the future. She has been an inspiration to me since my early days as a graduate student at Fermilab, for her strong and passionate leadership and dedication to our lab,” said Lia Merminga, Director of Fermilab. “I am thrilled to have one of the landmarks on our site named after her. The Helen Edwards Engineering Center will join the ranks of other named places on site that celebrate visionary science and leadership: Wilson Hall, Ramsey Auditorium, Feynman Computing Center, Lederman Science Center and the Tollestrup Auditorium, all located at the national laboratory that is named after Enrico Fermi.”
The resolution was also cosponsored by U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14).
Dr. Edwards was a particle physicist best known for overseeing the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of the Tevatron, a machine which for 25 years served as the most powerful particle collider in the world. The Tevatron was used to find two of three fundamental particles discovered at Fermilab – the top quark in 1995 and the tau neutrino in 2000.
Dr. Edwards’ work on the Tevatron earned her a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1988 and the National Medal of Technology in 1989. The Tevatron remained in use until 2011 when Fermilab moved to new accelerator projects like the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility, which relies heavily on the foundations built by Dr. Edwards. Dr. Edwards passed away in 2016.
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