Science & Nature
Fermilab Announces New Director of National Accelerator Laboratory
Norbert Holtkamp has been named the new director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. (Courtesy of University of Chicago)
Norbert Holtkamp, a veteran of international research organizations, has been named director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Holtkamp will take over leadership of the particle accelerator laboratory in suburban Batavia Jan. 12.
The decision was announced by the Fermi Forward Discovery Group, the lab’s new management and operations contractor, in a statement to staff members obtained by WTTW News. Staff was expected to be informed at an all-hands meeting Monday.
The announcement follows about a yearlong search by Fermilab. In the statement, FermiForward praised Holtkamp’s wealth of expertise in managing large scientific infrastructure projects.
Holtkamp has held leadership roles at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center National Accelerator Laboratory for more than a decade, including deputy director and project director for major science infrastructure projects like the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser.
He previously served as principal deputy director general at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France demonstrating the feasibility of fusion power, and division director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source.
His career spans work at DESY in Germany and other leading institutions, building large-scale facilities for particle physics and photon science.
In a message to staff, A. Paul Alivisatos, chair of FermiForward’s board of directors, wrote, “Norbert’s project management background is supported by his deep scientific and operational expertise, which will further enable Fermilab’s premier role as the voice of the international high energy physics community.”
Holtkamp previously worked as a senior scientist for more than two years at Fermilab, departing in 2001. During that time, he participated in the commissioning of the Main Injector — the lab’s most powerful particle accelerator—and also led a multi-laboratory study on the feasibility of an intense neutrino source.
He was born in Germany and received his Ph.D. from the Technical University of Darmstadt.
The new director will take the position following Young-Kee Kim, who has been interim director of the lab since January.
“Young-Kee played a critical role in strengthening relationships with Fermilab’s leading stakeholders, driving the lab’s modernization efforts, and positioning Fermilab to amplify DOE’s broader goals in areas like quantum science and AI,” the statement reads.
Kim will return to conducting physics research at the University of Chicago, according to the message from Alivisatos.
Holtkamp takes the position following recent shifts to research priorities by the U.S. Department of Energy. He will face funding obstacles due to recent cuts to the budget.
Contact Jared Rutecki: @JaredRutecki | [email protected]
