Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois Center for Accelerator and Detector Development

Join our 30 graduate and 20 undergraduate students involved in developing a new generation of accelerator and detector technologies in northern Illinois. You’ll gain hands-on research experience working with our faculty, who collaborate closely with scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Founded in 2001, we broaden the research tradition established by local and national laboratories and help ensure that Northern Illinois University remains a center of research and education. We’re committed to the following:

• Advancing accelerator research and development.
• Advancing detector research and development.
• Providing educational opportunities in science and technology.

Our Research

Our experimental particle physics group is involved in building and operating detectors in experiments at Fermilab and in Europe. The group has established a detector development laboratory at NIU, where staff members develop new detector technologies for use in future experiments. In partnership with Fermilab, the group owns and operates a plastic scintillator extruder to make particle detector components.

Our accelerator and beam physics group is the strongest university-based accelerator physics group in Illinois. The group develops particle beam simulations and diagnostics for the next generation of particle accelerators. The group has built and maintains a 100-plus node computational cluster and an intense source laboratory facility at NIU. Work is underway to develop a second laboratory. The group’s NIU facilities are used for the evaluation of simulations and diagnostics.