Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory advances the understanding of the fundamental nature of matter and energy by providing leadership and resources for qualified researchers to conduct basic research at the frontiers of high energy physics and related disciplines. More than 2,200 scientists from 36 states and 20 countries use Fermilab's facilities to carry out research at the frontiers of particle physics. Fermilab is recognized worldwide as a center of study which ties together particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, the study of the origin and evolution of the universe. New results from particle physics experiments and theoretical predictions steer astrophysical thought in new directions.
Astrophysicists then respond with new insights about the early universe.
Scientific understanding in these fields has leaped ahead in this current generation as fast as all of scientific thought in previous history. Fermilab scientists have been active in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey . They constructed the data acquisition system and the software and the hardware systems to process the expected 15 terabytes of data. Fermilab's contributions also include the monitor telescope pipeline, the pipeline for selection of candidates for spectroscopy, data simulations for testing the pipelines, and the database to be used for operations, as well as bringing the pipelines together into a working system. Fermilab is also involved with quasar target selection and the overall strategy for running the Survey.