In 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy gave Fermilab a B for its performance, and it needed a B+ to pass.

• If only the University of Chicago or the American University Research Association bid for the new Fermilab contract, they would need a new professional partner. "The DOE will certainly insist on a change."

The website of the academic journal Science (Science) recently announced that "the troubled Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States will usher in a major shake-up."

Aerial photo of Fermilab. Ryan Postel

Commentators from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) lamented Fermilab's mismanagement , the report said. The 2021 performance review results showed Fermilab failing in several categories .

The US Department of Energy rarely does not renew the above-mentioned contracts of the national laboratory due to performance problems, and instead looks for a new management operator. But now, the U.S. Department of Energy has quietly embarked on an unusual move, launching a "competition" for the contract to run the nation's only dedicated particle physics laboratory. The successful bidder is expected to assume overall responsibility for Fermilab's operations beginning January 1, 2025.

The management and operation of Fermilab by the joint UChicago-University Research Association (URA) partnership has been questioned on at least two fronts.

According to the contract that is currently being implemented but is about to expire, the joint partnership between the University of Chicago and the American University Research Association - "Fermi Research Alliance, LLC" (Fermi Research Alliance, LLC) started from January 1, 2007 Manage and operate Fermilab from December 31, 2024. Some scientists commented that the company has neither enough manpower nor assets.

But the University of Chicago wants to continue with Fermilab's management and operations contract. "We will absolutely continue to bid," said Paul Alivisatos, president of the University of Chicago and current chairman of the board of Fermi Research Alliance LLC.

The University of Chicago also currently operates the Argonne National Laboratory. It is the same as Fermilab and is one of the 17 national laboratories under the US Department of Energy.

Currently the only single research target laboratory, the premier particle physics laboratory

Fermilab is the leading particle physics and accelerator laboratory in the United States, and it is also the only laboratory with a single research target in the United States. It was established in 1967 and is primarily funded by the DOE Office of Science.

The relevant webpage of the US Department of Energy shows that two months ago, on January 24, 2023, the US Department of Energy launched a "competition" for Fermilab's new management and operation (M&O) contracts in the next few years, and launched a special Website for posting, updating important announcements and other documents.

According to the above-mentioned dedicated website, the purpose of this "competition" is to solicit and award new management and operation contracts at Fermilab, thereby improving the performance and efficiency of the laboratory's management operators; it is expected that this will lead to innovative ways of planning the laboratory s future.

The "Request for Information" (RFI) published on the relevant page stated that the US Department of Energy is currently in the procurement planning stage and requires all parties to provide information related to this procurement competition barrier for market research.

According to the latest introduction on the above-mentioned U.S. Department of Energy's "Information Request" webpage, the current number of employees at Fermilab has reached about 2,100 , including direct employment and expansion. This newly announced number is far greater than the 1,750 people introduced by the official website of Fermilab. Fermilab's current annual budget is about $ 614 million .

Fermilab is built on 6,800 acres of land owned by the US federal government, located in the town of Batavia in Kane County, Illinois, USA. The laboratory has approximately 370 buildings.

Organizational structure of Fermilab.

According to the official website of the laboratory, Fermi Research Alliance LLC, which currently manages Fermilab, is a partner of the University of Chicago and the American University Research Association. The American Association for University Research is an alliance of 89 research universities. Since 1967, Fermilab has been working to answer these and other fundamental questions—"What are we made of? How did the universe begin? What secrets do the smallest, most fundamental particles of matter hold and how do they help us?" Understanding the complexities of space and time?" The lab works on the world's most advanced particle accelerator and digs deep into the tiniest building blocks of matter; and explores the furthest reaches of the universe in search of the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Fermilab works with more than 50 countries to conduct physics experiments in the United States and elsewhere. Physicists from all over the world come to Fermilab to conduct particle physics experiments using the world's leading accelerators, and to collect and analyze data from these experiments.

Dilemmas and troubles: Biggest project yet 'struggling'?

The 18-year management and operation contract of Fermilab, which was implemented in 2007, will expire next year, and there are still less than two years left for implementation. The contract shows that in terms of Fermilab's management and operational performance, "A" means that the performance expectations set by the performance have been significantly exceeded; "B+" means that the operating contractor has met the performance objectives of the performance evaluation specified in the contract. In other words, at least a B+ is considered to pass the assessment.

But in 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy gave Fermilab a B for its performance. In its 8 main subcategory assessments, Fermilab received 5 failing grades, including a C in Science and Technology Project Management and a B- in Business Systems.

Fermi Research Alliance LLC faces questions about Fermilab's management operations on at least two fronts: the cost of the lab's largest experiment to date is soaring and behind schedule, and there is "chaos in the lab." "The lab's biggest innovation is struggling," a DOE commentator said.

According to the official website of Fermilab, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), which is currently under construction and supported by the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), is a large-scale international experimental project hosted by the laboratory. DUNE brings together scientists and engineers from more than 30 countries around the world with a common goal: to understand the neutrino, the most elusive and mysterious subatomic particle in the universe.

Schematic of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), via the Fermilab website.

In the DUNE experiment, Fermilab scientists will accelerate protons and smash them into a target, creating a beam of neutrinos. This beam of neutrinos will pass through two detectors, one near and one far. The two detectors distribute collected neutrino interaction data to collaborators around the world for analysis to unravel the mysteries of neutrinos and their role in our universe.

The near detector is at the Fermilab site, and the far detector is 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) away deep underground at Sanford Laboratory in South Dakota. There is no tunnel connection between the two detectors, but a thick layer of ground.

The LBNF includes a host of infrastructure: a huge cavern deep beneath the Sanford lab to house the detectors, infrastructure to keep the detectors low, new beamlines to point particles at the detectors, and a room where neutrinos are produced. Building these facilities meant a huge amount of work, including excavating 800,000 tons of rock.

In 2015, the US Department of Energy estimated that the aforementioned LBNF/DUNE project would cost $ 1.5 billion and was expected to begin producing data in 2025.

But cost estimates for those projects more than doubled to $ 3.1 billion by the end of 2021. Unfortunately, the project is also behind schedule.

And the budget for the above-mentioned projects may climb further. The DOE's recently released budget request for FY 2024 said LBNF/DUNE would cost $ 3.3 billion .

The aforementioned projects required the excavation of huge caverns. The Science website reported that a former Fermilab physicist who requested anonymity said that Fermilab did not make a good mining contract, " There are all kinds of loopholes in it, and the mining companies get money from us." A lot of money has been made on him .” The staff of the Fermi Research Alliance LLC admitted that the laboratory was not adequately prepared to oversee a huge construction project. Marvin Marshak, a neutrino physicist at the University of Minnesota in Twin Cities, says these issues reveal fundamental weaknesses in Fermi Research Consortium LLC. It is a temporary company "born" specially for the management of national laboratories. It does not have enough manpower, no assets, and lacks corresponding resources.

However, Fermilab probably doesn't deserve all the blame. “I’m not sure if there’s really a problem with (Fermi)lab or if the Department of Energy has a problem and blamed the lab,” said a theoretical physicist who requested anonymity. The U.S. Department of Energy did not approve the contract until months after Thyssen Mining finalized the excavation contract.

Juan de Pablo, member of the board of directors of the "Fermi Research Alliance LLC", said that the current excavation contract has been reached, and 60% of the excavation work in South Dakota has been completed. Costs are now better controlled.

Physicists say Fermilab has problems beyond the neutrino experiment, reports the Science website. Multiple sources say Fermilab has often lagged behind in providing funding to university collaborators.

Physicists say even access to Fermilab's experimental site has become an ordeal because the lab requires casual users to apply four weeks in advance and repeat safety training for each visit to its experimental site.

Changes: Who will win the new contract?

The UChicago-AUR partnership is not immune to pressure from the DOE. In April 2022, Fermilab welcomed a new director, internationally renowned accelerator physicist Lia Merminga. Experimental particle physicist Nigel Lockyer, who had been in charge of Fermilab for nine years, was replaced.

Lia Merminga will be Director of Fermilab from April 2022.

According to the official website of the U.S. Department of Energy, Nigel Lockyer became the director of Fermilab in September 2013. Under his leadership, Fermilab realigned its mission and direction based on the recommendations of the Particle Physics Program Prioritization Group report - to establish a world leader in neutrino research through the construction of the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility status. An experimental particle physicist, Nigel Lockyer directed the Canadian National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics (TRIUMF) for six years from 2007 to 2013. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from The Ohio State University, is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and received the American Physical Society's 2006 Panofsky Award for his leading research on bottom quarks.

But the "explosive" demand for the LBNF/DUNE project has forced Nigel Lockyer to cut other smaller projects, alienating physicists from other smaller projects, physicists say. "Nigel's in a bad place," says one physicist, "and he doesn't have a knack for presenting these difficult decisions as being in everyone's best interest." Another former Fermilab physicist Said, "I can see things falling apart, but I can't help it." He said that Nigel Lockyer fired many long-term managers and replaced them with new people who were not suitable.

But Leah Meminga, the new director of Fermilab, which passed the 2022 performance review, was praised for "understanding the (U.S.) Department of Energy's concerns very well."

Leah Meminga has a BA in Physics and a MS and Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Athens, Greece. She holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is a Fermilab Distinguished Scientist, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a graduate of the DOE's Oppenheimer Energy Science Leadership Program, and has served on several international scientific boards.

Leah Meminga could lose her current position if the Fermilab contract changes hands.

The U.S. Department of Energy hires third parties to run its 17 national laboratories on a five-year contract, and the relevant contract may be renewed for 15 years or even longer. The request for proposal for a new contract for the management and operation of Fermilab will be officially released this summer, and it is planned to sign a new contract on September 30, 2024, and hand over control of the laboratory on January 1, 2025.

It is unclear how many agencies will bid for the contract. The U.S. Department of Energy's "competition" website for the contract has yet to announce further progress. "I don't think there are too many organizations that can really compete for the contract," said physicist James Decker, who once served as the principal deputy director of the U.S. Department of Energy's office. Many observers said that if only the University of Chicago Or the American University Research Association bids for a new Fermilab contract, and they will need a new professional partner. "The DOE will certainly insist on a change."