Joe Lykken is a familiar name not only at Fermilab, where he has worked as a theorist since 1989, but to people across the country who have seen him on PBS or have read his words in Scientific American.
His vast experience in researching and communicating particle physics led Director Nigel Lockyer to select Lykken as Fermilab’s new deputy director. Lykken began in the new position on July 1.
Although Lykken is very familiar with the laboratory’s science, he hopes to become better acquainted with other aspects of Fermilab as he starts out in the directorate role.
“I’m really looking forward to having as many conversations one on one with as many people as I can,” he said.
In helping lead the laboratory, one of Lykken’s tasks will be to implement the P5 vision.
“P5 gave us a very strong push that we want to take advantage of,” he said. Part of that will be to work with international partners to put together the best possible neutrino program, for which LBNE has laid the groundwork, he said.
Implementing the P5 plan also involves communicating Fermilab’s scientific goals with its employees, decision makers and general audiences alike. Lykken is well suited to the task, having become one of the lab’s go-to scientists for talking with the public. He was one of the guest scientists on the PBS television series “The Elegant Universe” and has been interviewed for stories in publications such as The New York Times and Science, as well as on NPR.
“Part of my job is to help both this laboratory and the rest of the world understand Nigel’s vision and the program that we’re trying to implement — our ambitions and dreams,” Lykken said. “I’ll help explain the science, why it’s exciting and how it all fits together. It’s not just a laundry list of topics, but that’s not so obvious to most people.”
Prior to his arrival at the lab, Lykken was at the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, having completed his Ph.D. at MIT. Both an APS and a AAAS fellow, he started out at Fermilab as a string theorist and then became more involved in the CMS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. He continued theoretical work on Higgs physics and supersymmetry while gaining interest in the experimental side.
In addition to his deputy director position, Lykken will serve as the laboratory’s chief research officer; Greg Bock will serve as deputy CRO. Lykken will also continue to work in the Theory Group, supervising postdoctoral students.
“Joe has an envious track record in scientific research as well as in translating science for the public,” said Director Nigel Lockyer. “He is adept at problem solving and enjoys combining his analytic thinking with keen intuition when solving challenging situations — and we have lots of them here at Fermilab for him to practice on. I very much look forward to his talents being applied to helping Fermilab achieve its goals.”
—Leah Hesla
Tags: Fermilab
