Indian ambassador praises Fermilab-India collaboration
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From left: Fermilab's Steve Holmes, Her Excellency Meera Shankar, Fermilab's Rajendran Raja and the Honorable Consul General of India Ambassador Ashok Kumar Attri visit the Main Control Room at Fermilab. |
Following the Indian tradition of presenting honored guests with flowers, Fermilab greeted Her Excellency Meera Shankar, Ambassador of India to the United States, with carnations when she arrived at the lab on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The Honorable Consul General of India Ambassador Ashok Kumar Attri and consulate members, Suresh Kumar Menon and Manju Sahni, accompanied the ambassador during her visit.
After receiving a general overview about the laboratory and a summary of the collaboration activities between Indian institutions and Fermilab, the ambassador visited the LHC Remote Operations Center at Fermilab.
Fermilab physicist Pushpa Bhat explained how the ROC allows U.S. scientists to take remote shifts for the CMS experiment at CERN. While inside the ROC, Shankar had the opportunity to chat via videoconference with Jim Virdee, CMS spokesperson, Guido Tonelli, CMS spokesperson-elect, and Austin Ball, CMS technical coordinator, who greeted the ambassador with "Namaste," an Indian salutation of respect.
Shankar also visited Fermilab's Main Control Room and the 15th floor of Wilson Hall.
After completing her tour, Shankar expressed gratitude for the detailed explanations of the research conducted at Fermilab.
"Basic science expands national boundaries and frontiers of knowledge," she said. "We would very much like to continue to be part of this international science community as we seek answers to all of the questions Fermilab is trying to answer."
Shankar noted India's participation in such scientific projects as DZero, the LHC and ITER, and she commended the scientists from Indian institutions who work at Fermilab.
"The collaboration that we put in place is a very good example of the kind of collaboration we have and should continue to grow," she said. "I am very pleased and proud that so many of you are contributing to work being done here and at India."
— Elizabeth Clements
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