At least in Illinois. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich declared today as Particle Accelerator Day in recognition of the state’s federal laboratories (Fermilab and Argonne) as world leaders in accelerator technology. The goal of this recognition is to help bring particle accelerator projects, such as the multi-billion dollar International Linear Collider, to Illinois. The governor’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes $13 million for projects at Argonne and Fermilab, with $3 million to support the construction of an Illinois Accelerator Research Center. This will strengthen the case for Fermilab to be a possible host for the Linear Collider project. The details are here. The $13 million investment is sizeable for a state’s contribution and will certainly help develop advanced accelerator technology. It’s great to see this commitment to science from the state of Illinois!
April 21st, 2006 at 8:25 pm
If only he supported the state university as well, it would be great! To put it mildly, he’s not particularly popular down here at UIUC, and that’s after people give him a ton of credit for his healthcare initiative (which is fantastic). It’s amazing how much of a hit graft can take out of a budget.
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:16 am
I think the very last link (“here”) is broken.
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:58 am
[...] As the rest of the world observes Earth Day, the state of Illinois is also celebrating Particle Accelerator Day. Hooray for juxtaposed irony! [...]
April 22nd, 2006 at 2:05 pm
Illinois: Particle Accelerator Day
Unlike Massachusetts that celebrates the Earth Day, Illinois has declared the Accelerator Day. And my link works, unlike JoAnne’s link.
April 22nd, 2006 at 2:50 pm
Comment#3 and #4 – You are implying that it is ironic to be celebrating Particle Accelerator Day on Earth Day. I – on the contrary – do not envision a complete mismatch between these two celebrations. Speaking with optimism, I view progress in the realm of the fundamental sciences as a potential platform for solving Earth’s array of environmental enigmas.
April 22nd, 2006 at 5:53 pm
The link is fixed.
April 23rd, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Cynthia, your point is well taken. On the other hand, the fact that Particle Accelerator Day was also Earth Day could be taken as inspiration for scientists and policy makers to consider the R&D community as an industry with an environmental impact. It is an industry of ideas, but it is still one that is incredibly polluting. All those HF etching solutions, volatile organic solvents, micropipets and used lens tissues HAVE to end up somewhere.
April 24th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Elia Diodati, you make an excellent point regarding pollution. However, conservation measures alone have their absolute limits on mitigating our present environmental problems. My argument is summarized as follows: in order to decelerate the human-induced adversities plaguing Earth’s environment, global efforts to couple conservation measures with scientific breakthroughs emerging from fundamental research in physics is probably our most viable course of action. This dual course of action is aimed at curbing these extremely pernicious trends facing the ecosystem of our planet.