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New historic site is almost a mile underground

Members of the Davis family and APS surround the plaque designating SURF an APS Historic Physics Site. Back row (left to right): Jacob Robertson, APS; Andrew Davis; Jonathon Bagger and Phil Bucksbaum, APS; Alan and Roger Davis. Front (left to right): Roger Kumler, Anne Davis, Linda Davis, George Klemm, Martha (Davis) Kumler, Martha (Davis) Kumler, Nancy (Davis) Klemm, and Susan Nimori.
Matthew Kapust
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SURF
Members of the Davis family and APS surround the plaque designating SURF an APS Historic Physics Site. Back row (left to right): Jacob Robertson, APS; Andrew Davis; Jonathon Bagger and Phil Bucksbaum, APS; Alan and Roger Davis. Front (left to right): Roger Kumler, Anne Davis, Linda Davis, George Klemm, Martha (Davis) Kumler, Martha (Davis) Kumler, Nancy (Davis) Klemm, and Susan Nimori.

The newest historic site in the Black Hills is 4,850 feet underground. The American Physical Society (APS) dedicated the Davis Campus as a Historic Site in physics on Friday. The science lab is located at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead.

The site is named for a chemist, Dr. Raymond Davis Jr., whose groundbreaking research on neutrinos earned him a share of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics. Davis died four years later at the age of 91.

Members of APS, SURF and Davis' family spoke at the dedication ceremony, and a commemorative plaque was installed and unveiled.

The Davis Campus was originally designated as a historic site in September 2020, but the ceremony was delayed due to the pandemic.

Megan hosts All Things Considered and the SDPB News podcast.