Dr. Lia Merminga is an accelerator physicist and Fermilab Distinguished Scientist. She was the first woman to head Fermilab, the United States’ particle physics and accelerator laboratory, serving as its director from 2022 to 2025. Prior to that, Merminga led the design and execution of PIP-II, a billion-dollar particle accelerator project that will enable the most powerful beam of neutrinos for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), the largest international experiment ever built by the Department of Energy on US soil, to unlock the mysteries of neutrinos.
Merminga has held major scientific leadership positions at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California; TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada; and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Athens, Greece, master’s degrees in physics and mathematics and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan. An internationally renowned physicist, Merminga is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a graduate of the Department of Energy’s Oppenheimer Energy Science Leadership Program. In 2023 she was recognized as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ Notable Women in STEM. She has served on numerous international scientific committees and presently is serving on the Illinois State University Board of Trustees.
