1. Introduction

Helen Thom Edwards (May 27, 1936 – June 21, 2016) was an American physicist.^[1] She was the lead scientist for the design and construction of the Tevatron at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.^[2][3][4] "She knew how to bring the right people together to carry out a project and how to encourage them to success. In private life, she was a nature lover and is remembered as a very gentle and caring person."^[5]

2. Career

Edwards was best known for leadership in the design, construction, commissioning and operation of the Tevatron, which for 25 years was the most powerful particle collider in the world. Tevatron recorded its first proton-antiproton collisions in 1985 and was used to find the top quark in 1995 and the tau neutrino in 2000, two of the three fundamental particles discovered at Fermilab. Between 1989-92, Edwards was also deeply involved in the eventually abandoned project of the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas. After 1992, as a guest scientist at Fermilab, she made significant contributions to the development of high-gradient, superconducting linear accelerators as well as bright and intense electron sources.

3. Education

• The Madeira School 1953
• Cornell University 1957-1966

Edwards earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Cornell University. After her undergraduate work, she continued studying at Cornell University, where she earned her M.S. degree in the physics department under Kenneth Greisen working with the development of electromagnetic showers. Edwards eventually earned her PhD from Cornell in 1966, working under the direction of Boyce McDaniel in the Laboratory of Nuclear Studies.

4. Positions

After earning her PhD at Cornell in 1966, Edwards continued her work in Nuclear Studies at Cornell as a research associate at the 10 GEV Electron Synchrotron^[6] under the supervision of Robert R. Wilson. Edwards then joined Wilson when he transitioned to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in 1970.

When she first began her work at Fermilab, she was put in charge of the accelerator division. In her most well-known work, she oversaw the building of the Tevatron, one of the highest energy super-conducting particle accelerators ever constructed. Her work was supervised by Leon M. Lederman.

• 1966-70 Research Associate, 10 GEV Electron Synchrotron, Cornell University
• 1970-87 Associate Head of the Booster Group, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• 1987-89 Head, Accelerator Division, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• 1989-92 Head & Associate Director, Superconducting Division, Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory, Dallas
• 1988 MacArthur Fellow
• 1992–present Guest Scientist, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

5. Awards and Honors

• Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators Recipient from the American Physical Society (2003)
• USPAS Prize for Achievement in Accelerator Physics and Technology 1985^[7]
• E. O. Lawrence Award, U.S. Department of Energy 1986^[8]
• MacArthur Foundation Fellowship 1988^[9]
• Elected to the National Academy of Engineering (1988)
• National Medal of Technology 1989^[10]