Visitors to the Ash River and Kabetogama area can appreciate not only the beautiful nature around them but also the pursuit of understanding its fundamental structure. More than 180 scientists from 28 national laboratories and institutions all around the world are working on the NOvA neutrino experiment, which will take place in a laboratory under construction at Ash River Trail. The experiment will investigate the role of subatomic particles called neutrinos in the origin and shaping of matter in the universe.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which manages the project, will generate a beam of neutrinos to send to the 15,000-ton detector at the new Ash River facility. The particles will complete the interstate trip in less than a second. Scientists will study changes that the particles undergo as they travel.

The $278 million NOvA project is funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The NOvA experiment will be operated by the University of Minnesota School of Physics and Astronomy at Ash River. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $40.1 million to the project. 

For more information, contact Bill Miller via e-mail at Miller@soudan.umn.edu  or (218) 753-6611 or visit our website at http://www-nova.fnal.gov/fermilab_nova.pdf

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