A report alleging a series of human resources, safety and financial problems at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory was recently published by a group of whistleblowers.
The authors believe the report shows the particle accelerator laboratory in suburban Batavia has serious issues, alleging “more than a decade of unethical conduct and sometimes conduct of questionable legality.”
The report, posted on an archive for academic articles, comes at a critical juncture for the Department of Energy, which is currently exploring options for a new contractor to manage the lab. This also follows a recent abbreviation of the time much of the lab will be closed due to budget issues starting this month.
Attribution in the white paper is anonymous, though the foreword is signed by two respected physics researchers, Giorgio Bellettini, who had a lengthy tenure at Fermilab, and William Barletta, who works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Some incidents included what the researchers characterized as an outdated approach to human resources and legal matters under the purview of the Fermi Research Alliance, the partnership that manages Fermilab.
A spokesperson for Fermilab was reached with questions about the report Thursday, but did not respond as of the time of publication.
The report detailed multiple incidents, including one where a postdoctoral researcher worked on an international research project at Fermilab with Christopher Backhouse.
He created social media accounts...
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