Matt Sawtell
Engineering data manager
Fermilab, United States

DUNE is this generation’s moon shot. To fully understand how neutrinos work, we need to understand the underlying world. To do this, we are combining the knowledge and capabilities of people from multiple locations and schools of thought from around the world. Also, we are taking what we learned and making sure that we pass that knowledge to the next generation of scientists and engineers who will be there for many years of operation of the experiment. The joy is the collaboration – the names and titles will change, but the experiment will go on. I’m working with dozens of engineers on the design for the DUNE near- and far-site detectors. We have to figure out the electrical systems, the mechanical systems, and how we are going to work with three different types of gas – argon, nitrogen and helium – for the cooling and operation of these systems.