Davis Campus news spreads

Philanthropist T. Denny Sanford and Anna Davis, widow of the late Nobel Laureate Ray Davis, both used the same word in television interviews last week from 4,850 feet underground: ?Unbelievable!?

Sanford last toured the 4850 Level in September 2010, shortly after the Transition Cavern was excavated but before concrete floors were poured, shotcrete was applied to walls and before the campus was outfitted. Last week Sanford stood on the same spot. ?It?s unbelievable to be in a corridor like this, where previously it was all rock walls, dirt all over the place and everything dripping on you,? he said.

Sanford, who donated $70 million to the lab, and Davis were among nearly 60 dignitaries and media who toured the Davis Campus on the 4850 Level. South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard hosted the tour and a dedication ceremony on the surface. 

The LUX dark-matter detector and the Majorana Demonstrator experiment already are being installed in the Davis Campus. Jim Siegrist, director of the Office of High Energy Physics for the Department of Energy, also was among the visitors. ?There really are world-leading experiments going on here now,? he said.

Fifteen reporters also made the trip. (Links to some of their stories are in blue.) Wendy Pitlick and the Black Hills Pioneer staff were, as usual, more than thorough. Check out their Deep Impact special section and Governor confident in future of Sanford Lab. The Rapid City Journal also produced a package of stories: Davis Campus dedication moves Sanford underground laboratory forward in science and an editorial: Homestake lab open for business. 

On the television side, all four network affiliates were underground: KELO (CBS), Sanford Lab unveils mile-deep campus and History Runs Deep At Davis Laboratory); KNBN (NBC), Sanford Lab attracts scientists from around the world; KOTA (ABC): Sanford Underground lab opens with VIP tour; KEVN (Fox), Davis Campus formally dedicated at underground lab.

Amber Hunt, AP news editor for South Dakota and North Dakota, produced a story and a video that were picked up around the nation?in the Washington Post, for example, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Seattle Post Intelligencer and even by CBS News Moneywatch.

The BBC, which visited earlier, produced a web video story: Scientists search for dark matter in US gold mine.

Sanford Lab Principal Investigator Kevin Lesko has worked on the this project for 12 years. When a reporter asked him to describe his personal reaction to the new Davis Campus, Lesko said, ?It?s fantastic.? And it?s no longer a dream. ?It?s real,? Lesko said. ?We want to spread the word that this is world class and the doors are open?once again thanks to all of South Dakota.?