New Fermilab Director Pier Oddone

Under Mike Witherell's leadership, Fermilab has come through challenging times to emerge in a very strong position. The Tevatron is performing better than ever, and for the next few years, Fermilab will lead the world at the energy frontier. The laboratory is poised for a future that includes the premier experiment in flavor physics, potentially the premier program in neutrino physics, and strong participation in the LHC as it takes over the lead at the energy frontier. If our efforts are successful, our future may also include a new global facility at the energy frontier to complement the Large Hadron Collider. Mike and everyone at Fermilab should be proud of these achievements.

Our dreams for Fermilab are also the dreams of the broader US particle physics community. Fermilab has a long tradition as a laboratory where users feel "at home and loved," in the words of former director Leon Lederman. The user community in turn has supported Fermilab in the development of future projects. We will need to continue and strengthen this partnership if we would like to host global projects like the International Linear Collider in Illinois. We want to be the partner of choice for universities, as well as for national and international laboratories-and for national and international funding agencies.

To achieve the scientific opportunities before us will require that Fermilab continue to set and meet the highest standards for laboratory operations. When I become your new director next July, safety will remain the bedrock of our laboratory's culture and the absolute standard for the way we operate. Administrative and financial practices must be not only efficient but impeccable. Our relations with the local community must continue to make us outstanding neighbors. We must make certain that the state of Illinois and the nation perceive Fermilab as the great asset that it is, worthy of their support

Throughout my career, I have been supported by the Department of Energy. I have seen devoted program managers labor in a complex environment to provide the best opportunities they could to advance science. In order for DOE to fight for Fermilab and particle physics in the future, they must have confidence not only that we will make wise choices in our scientific direction but also that we will consistently operate safely, efficiently and with the highest integrity. To earn this trust, we need to provide transparency to DOE in all our activities.

On a personal note I want to express my deep appreciation to Michael and Beth Witherell for their hospitality and the enormous help that they have given my wife Barbara and me in introducing us to Fermilab and in giving us a first view of the exciting life that we will lead here. I look forward to working with Michael in the months ahead to learn the many aspects of the director's job and carry through a smooth transition.