The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be one of the world’s largest and most fascinating scientific investigations — and it’s happening in our own backyard. This international project consists of two neutrino detectors at either end of the world’s most intense beam of neutrinos. One detector will be located near the neutrino beamline source at Fermilab in nearby Batavia, Illinois. The other, much larger detector will be installed deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory in Lead, South Dakota — 800 miles downstream of the source and nearly a mile underground.

The goal of this experiment is to better understand neutrinos, one of the fundamental particle building blocks of our universe — and one of the least understood. Neutrinos may hold the key to answering fundamental questions about the universe in which we live such as why the universe today is made up almost entirely of matter with very little antimatter present.

Speakers:

• Mike Eads, Ph.D., NIU associate professor of physics.
• Leo Bellantoni, Ph.D., staff scientist at Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory).

Northern Illinois University STEM Cafés are part of NIU STEAM and are designed to increase public awareness of the critical role that STEM fields play in our everyday lives. They are offered in partnership with the NIU Alumni Association and made possible with support from Thermo Fisher Scientific and Bayer Fund.