Trillions of bytes of information collected during particle physics experiments at Fermilab will be
available to scientists around the world through a new Internet-based computer system. Developed by
University of Chicago physicist and Fermilab scientist Bruce Knuteson, a new Web site called Quaero
provides access to data gathered during the high-energy physics Tevatron Collider Run I experiment
that ran from 1992 to 1996. Included in the test information is the same data that led to the dis-
ciscovery of the top quark, what many scientists call a fundamental building block of matter.

Until now, Fermilab officials said, data collected at the laboratory could only be seen and analyzed
by scientists who were part of each experiment and familiar with the intricate equipment used,
Knuteson said. Now scientists outside without the expertise in the massive particle accelerators and
detectors used in Fermilab's experiments can have a chance to review up-to-date data, which opens up
the possibility of new discoveries, Knuteson said. He likened it to astronomy, in which photographs
and other information is shared with astronomers around the world. "You spend a lot of time and
money on collecting this data," said Fermilab spokesman Kurt Riesselmann. "At some point, why not
make it available to everyone? There have been many discoveries where people just missed things."

Fermilab officials are calling this a return to the beginnings of the present-day Internet, which
has its roots in the world of physics. In 1991, physicists in Europe used one of the first Web pages
to send research information to other scientists around the world. The new Web vehicle allows physi-
cists from outside Fermilab and its partners to perform their own computerized data searches for
evidence of new physics.

Information from the Collider Run II experiment that started this spring will not be released to the
public. That's because Fermilab scientists will have the first opportunity to review and analyze the
new and most current data.

Next month, Knuteson will travel to CERN, a European Particle Physics Laboratory near Geneva, Swit-
zerland, to look into developing similar software to put that laboratory's information on the Web.

Trillions of bytes of information collected during particle physics experiments at Fermilab will be
available to scientists around the world through a new Internet-based computer system. Developed by
University of Chicago physicist and Fermilab scientist Bruce Knuteson, a new Web site called Quaero
provides access to data gathered during the high-energy physics Tevatron Collider Run I experiment
that ran from 1992 to 1996. Included in the test information is the same data that led to the dis-
ciscovery of the top quark, what many scientists call a fundamental building block of matter.

Until now, Fermilab officials said, data collected at the laboratory could only be seen and analyzed
by scientists who were part of each experiment and familiar with the intricate equipment used,
Knuteson said. Now scientists outside without the expertise in the massive particle accelerators and
detectors used in Fermilab's experiments can have a chance to review up-to-date data, which opens up
the possibility of new discoveries, Knuteson said. He likened it to astronomy, in which photographs
and other information is shared with astronomers around the world. "You spend a lot of time and
money on collecting this data," said Fermilab spokesman Kurt Riesselmann. "At some point, why not
make it available to everyone? There have been many discoveries where people just missed things."

Fermilab officials are calling this a return to the beginnings of the present-day Internet, which
has its roots in the world of physics. In 1991, physicists in Europe used one of the first Web pages
to send research information to other scientists around the world. The new Web vehicle allows physi-
cists from outside Fermilab and its partners to perform their own computerized data searches for
evidence of new physics.

Information from the Collider Run II experiment that started this spring will not be released to the
public. That's because Fermilab scientists will have the first opportunity to review and analyze the
new and most current data.

Next month, Knuteson will travel to CERN, a European Particle Physics Laboratory near Geneva, Swit-
zerland, to look into developing similar software to put that laboratory's information on the Web.