FPN08-13

Scientist Bill Foster Elected to Congress

March 10, 2008

In a special election held March 8 to fill the seat long held by former House of Representatives Speaker Denny Hastert (a Republican), Fermilab accelerator scientist Bill Foster (a Democrat) easily defeated his Republican opponent. Foster will now serve out the remainder of Hastert's term and stand for election for a full term in November. Hastert recently retired from the seat he held for 20 years.

Foster received a Bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1975 and a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard in 1984. He then joined Fermilab, the Nation's premier High Energy Physics laboratory where he worked in key leadership positions for the past 22 years. He has an association with the U.S. heavy ion inertial confinement fusion energy program, serving on the Program Advisory Committee (PAC) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The Chicago Tribune quotes Foster as saying of his victory (the first time he has run for elected office), "Back in the laboratory, this is what we'd say was a pretty successful experiment." He joins two other scientists in Congress: Rep Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI).

Foster's positions on issues, and a link to make contributions to his Fall campaign, are on his web site:

http://www.foster08.com/