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December 15, 2005
Dr. Kevin Lesko, Senior Physicist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Nuclear Science Division, and Mr. Dave Snyder, Executive Director, South Dakota Science and Technology Authority, 12/14/05
We continue our two-part conversation on South Dakota's Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory.
Dr. Kevin T. Lesko is Senior Physicist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Nuclear Science Division, and Spokesman, Homestake Collaboration, Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory(DUSEL). Dr. Lesko received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Washington. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and has received Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Outstanding Performance Award in 2003 and 2000.
Dr. Lesko's research interests focus on neutrino physics. For the past 15 years he has dedicated most research efforts to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). SNO’s discovery of neutrino mass was the first compelling evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. With its unique sensitivity to both neutral-current and charged-current reactions and charged current spectral distortions, SNO provided irrefutable evidence for solar neutrino transformation. SNO also promises to contribute critical data to the neutrino-mixing matrix: going beyond the discovery phase to the precision measurement phase. As SNO has reached a stable operations mode, Dr. Lesko has expanded his research efforts to include significant contributions to the KamLAND experiment and to lead the national effort to establish a deep underground laboratory. He is currently investigating new technologies for low energy neutrino and double beta decay experiments.
Dave Snyder is the Executive Director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority. He was named to the post by the Board of Directors effective November 15, 2004. He had been a member of the Board, having been appointed by Governor M. Michael Rounds in August 2004.
The South Dakota Science and Technology Authority exists to foster and facilitate scientific and technological investigation, experimentation, and development. Created in February 2004 by the Legislature in response to Governor Rounds’ 2010 Initiative, the Authority is working to convert the closed Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, SD, into a science and engineering center, complete with a deep underground laboratory as well as education, visitor, and outreach components.
The Homestake project has the potential to significantly advance the fundamental understanding of the physical universe, as well as to make a major positive impact on science, education, and economic development in South Dakota.
Posted by David Lemberg at December 15, 2005 04:00 PM Return to SCIENCE AND SOCIETY home page