Fermilab to Close Temporarily in August Due to Budget Issues

Jared Rutecki | July 19, 2024, 10:55 am

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Michael Kappel / flickr)

Update: Fermilab Shortens Previous Closure Plans

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will close a significant part of its operations from Aug. 26 to Sept. 8, WTTW News has confirmed.

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Employees will be forced to take vacation during that time in order to be paid, and some research will be paused. Fermilab will also be closed to the public. The shutdown is an effort at closing a budget shortfall, a spokesperson said.

The U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory in Batavia specializes in particle physics. It will reopen to employees and the public Sept. 9 near the end of Fermilab’s fiscal year.

Employees were notified on June 13 at an all-hands meeting, with a written follow-up communication, Tracy Marc, media relations manager at Fermilab, said.

The lab’s funding from the Department of Energy and international partners reserved for projects is not part of the lab’s operations budget and will not affect project funding, Marc said. That means projects including the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, the Proton Improvement Plan II and the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider will continue during what Fermilab is calling a temporary laboratory closure.

A closure period for the lab isn’t common, but also isn’t unheard of, according to Marc. Fermilab has not done this for several years, she said. The lab is implementing the closure to stay within budget for the fiscal year.

“The overall financial health of the laboratory remains intact and is being managed,” Marc said.

Employees will be paid during the two-week closure using their vacation time. If an employee does not have enough time accrued, they will be able to borrow against their future vacation time, or can choose to be on leave without pay for that period, Marc said.

Though praised for its contributions to physics, the laboratory has come under fire in recent years for safety and management concerns.

Researchers at Fermilab have earned multiple Nobel Prizes. The research facility is a cultural and economic institution in the western suburbs.

Fermilab employs 2,160 including scientists and engineers, according to its website.