In praise of CETUP*

Recently I thumbed through the April 2015 issue of Physics Today and came across the story (page 22 ) about the South Dakota underground laboratory. I had a chance to stay there for a few weeks last summer and came away with an excellent impression of the lab’s potential. That is something that was described quite well in the story.

What I did not see is any mention of the highly successful operation of the Center for Theoretical Underground Physics and Related Areas (CETUP*), which was established only a few years ago and has attracted excellent groups of scientists for summer programs. Especially worthy of mention are the two organizers, Barbara Szczerbinska at Dakota State University and Baha Balantekin with the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Szczerbinska in particular has taken a lot of initiative and done a great deal of work to get CETUP* off the ground. She deserves to be mentioned in an article about the underground lab and its impact on the state as a whole.