Day: February 1, 2024

The excavation of the caverns that will house the gigantic particle detectors of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in Lead, South Dakota is complete. Final outfitting of the colossal caverns will begin soon and make way for the start of the installation of the DUNE detectors later this year.

Lead, South Dakota, Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Excavation workers have finished carving out the future home of the gigantic particle detectors for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Located a mile below the surface, the three colossal caverns are at the core of a new research facility that spans an underground area about the size of eight soccer fields.

Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, DUNE scientists will study the behavior of mysterious particles known as neutrinos to solve some of the biggest questions about our universe. Why is our universe composed of matter? How does an exploding star create a black hole? Are neutrinos connected to dark matter or other undiscovered particles?

The caverns provide space for four large neutrino detectors—each one about the size of a seven-story building (see 2-minute animation). The detectors will be filled with liquid argon and record the rare interaction of neutrinos with the transparent liquid.

Trillions of neutrinos travel through our bodies each second without us even knowing it. With DUNE, scientists will look for neutrinos and examine the behavior of a neutrino beam produced at Fermilab, located near Chicago, about 800 miles east of the caverns. This will be the world’s most intense neutrino beam and will travel straight through earth from Fermilab to the detectors in South Dakota. No tunnel is necessary for the neutrinos’ path.

“The completion of the excavation of these enormous caverns is a significant achievement for this project,” said U.S. Project Director Chris Mossey. “Completing this step prepares the project for installation of the detectors later this year and brings us a step closer towards fulfilling the vision of making this a world-class underground facility.”

 Engineering, construction and excavation teams have been working 4,850 feet below the surface since 2021 at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, home of the South Dakota-portion of DUNE. Construction crews dismantled heavy mining equipment and, piece by piece, transported it underground using an existing shaft. Workers then reassembled the equipment, and workers spent almost two years blasting and removing close to 800,000 tons of rock.

Workers will soon begin to outfit the caverns with the systems needed for the installation of the DUNE detectors and the daily operations of the research facility. Later this year, the project team plans to begin the installation of the insulated steel structure that will hold the first neutrino detector. The goal is to have the first detector operational before the end of 2028.

“The completion of the three large caverns and all of the interconnecting drifts marks the end of a really big dig. With no lost-time accidents in over three years, we reached a major achievement,” said Fermilab’s Michael Gemelli, who managed the excavation of the caverns by Thyssen Mining.

The DUNE collaboration, which includes more than 1,400 scientists and engineers from over 200 institutions in 35 countries, is eager to start the installation of the particle detectors. They have successfully tested the technology and assembly process for the first detector and preparations for the technology of the second detector is underway at the European research laboratory CERN.

Fermilab is America’s premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance LLC. Visit Fermilab’s website at www.fnal.gov and follow us on Twitter at @Fermilab.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

Attachments

• North cavern
• Bird’s eye view

Tracy Marc
Fermilab
2242907803
TRACYM@FNAL.GOV

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9030228

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. is pleased to announce the establishment of its Canadian subsidiary, Sanborn Geophysics, ULC located just outside of Toronto. Sanborn Geophysics will focus on geophysical survey services and equipment sales, opening a new market to Sanborn.

With a commitment to advancing geospatial data collection and aerial survey capabilities, Sanborn Geophysics builds upon Sanborn’s extensive geospatial data expertise. John Copple, CEO of Sanborn, remarked, “The creation of Sanborn Geophysics expands Sanborn’s already extensive geospatial data collection and aerial survey capabilities. We’re uniquely positioned to not only collect specialized data but to do so with our own state-of-the-art equipment.”

Sanborn Geophysics was enabled by the purchase of assets from Nuvia Dynamics, Inc. Sanborn was also able to hire employees who have a proven track record in geophysics survey technology to staff Sanborn Geophysics. Some of Sanborn Geophysics employees have over 25 years of experience and previously worked for Nuvia Dynamics Inc (formerly known as Pico Envirotec Inc). Both prior companies have a distinguished record of accomplishment in developing geophysics survey technologies for mineral/oil exploration and geotechnical applications. Sanborn was supported by The Environmental Financial Consulting Group, LLC (EFCG). Terms were not disclosed.

“Sanborn Geophysics will create new opportunities for the company both domestically and internationally. This investment is to provide the best geospatial solutions for our clients,” said Copple.

About The Sanborn Map Company:
Sanborn’s leadership in the creation of high-quality spatial data began in 1866. Today Sanborn is at the forefront of spatial data collection and technology innovation and committed to offering clients the best in comprehensive state-of-the-art geospatial solutions tailored to their situation. As one of the largest providers of end-to-end GIS products and services in the U.S., Sanborn offerings include: oblique imagery, ortho imagery, lidar, sonar, geophysical, and hyperspectral data and mapping, secure data storage and streaming from our own data center, spatial analytics, custom application development, GIS-IT strategic planning and technical consulting, commercial data and cloud platforms, Sanborn SAAS geospatial solutions, staff augmentation, and GIS program managed services. The Sanborn advantage is to help customers identify the right data and tech, and to create solutions that match their needs, budget, and system requirements. Sanborn’s ISO 9001:2015 certification is a further demonstration of its commitment to quality.

For Media Inquiries:
Tom Harrington Jr, PhD
Chief Marketing Officer
tharrington@sanborn.com
(617) 413 7057

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9029925

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MGA Entertainment, Inc. (MGA), one of the largest and fastest growing privately held toy and entertainment companies in the world, announced today it has established four wholly-owned subsidiaries in the European Union (EU) to support its fast growing international business. The four subsidiaries – MGA Toys Iberia S.L. (led by Managing Director Mila Gonzalez), MGA Entertainment Greece (led by Managing Director Panos Kalogeropoulos), MGA Entertainment Italy SRL (led by Managing Director Andrea Signorelli), and MGA Toys France (led by Managing Director Thierry Thivolle) – will support marketing and sales administration efforts, staffed by employees who have worked for MGA Entertainment in each of the markets, now employees of their respective subsidiary in the same roles. This move demonstrates the company’s commitment to growing its businesses in those markets and to its international business overall.

“Our business outside of the U.S is strong and increasingly important to MGA Entertainment. Establishing these new subsidiaries will allow us to grow our business more quickly in these important markets,” said MGA Entertainment Founder & CEO Isaac Larian. “I look forward to working closely with the teams in each of these markets to continue to bring new, innovative, and fun MGA toys and products to consumers across the EU.”

MGA previously announced its plans to merge with Zapf Creation AG, Europe’s leading manufacturer of nurturing dolls. MGA’s wholly-owned German subsidiary has entered into negotiations of a merger agreement which is expected to close in late Spring 2024.

About MGA, Entertainment, Inc.
MGA Entertainment is one of the largest and fastest growing privately held toy and entertainment companies in the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices globally, the company creates innovative, proprietary, and licensed consumer products and entertainment properties, including toys, games, dolls, apparel, consumer electronics, home décor, stationery, sporting goods, movies, and television series. The MGA family includes award-winning brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes®, Rainbow High, Bratz®, MGA’s Miniverse, Fluffie Stuffiez, Na! Na! Na! Surprise, Micro Games of America, BABY born®, and Zapf Creation®. For more information, please visit us at www.mgae.com or check us out at LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram and Facebook.

Attachment

• Isaac Larian, Founder & CEO, MGA Entertainment

Alan Hilowitz
MGA Entertainment
+1.818.221.4431
news@mgae.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9030048