Lia Merminga speaks during a 2019 groundbreaking ceremony for a new linear proton accelerator at Fermilab. Merminga resigned as the laboratory’s director on Monday.
Daily Herald file photo
The director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory resigned Monday, two weeks after a new contractor took over operations of the Batavia institution.
Lia Merminga had led the laboratory for three years.
Young-Kee Kim has been named the interim director. Kim is a professor of physics at the University of Chicago. She was Fermilab’s deputy director from 2006 to 2013.
“We have an exciting vision for Fermilab to drive scientific innovation into some of the most fundamental questions facing science, while at the same time driving excellence across lab operations to enable our long-term success. Dr. Kim brings a fresh perspective and new expertise to help ensure our success at this important moment,” said Paul Alivisatos, president of the University of Chicago, in a news statement from the laboratory. Alivisatos is the board chair of the Fermi Forward Discovery Group, which manages and operates the laboratory.
Merminga was the first woman to lead the lab. She was its seventh director. She began her career at Fermilab in 1987 as a student in the new graduate program in accelerator physics.
The lab is seeking a new permanent director.
FermiForward is made up of the University of Chicago and the Universities Research Association. Subcontractors Longenecker and Associates, a project management firm, and Amentum, an engineering and technology firm, are also part of FermiForward. FermiForward won a five-year, $5 billion contract last fall, with a possible three five-year extensions.
From 2007 to 2024, the Fermi Research Alliance, which was made up of the University of Chicago and URA, managed and operated the lab. For 40 years before that, the Universities Research Association ran the lab.
In July last year, the lab came under criticism after several people who worked there published a white paper (since updated) alleging there were problems with human resources, safety and financial problems under FRA’s management.
The paper included allegations of sexual harassment.
The laboratory closed for a week last summer due to financial issues. Some experiments continued to proceed.
There are about 2,100 workers at the 6,800-acre site, which has a budget of about $614 million, according to the Department of Energy.
