Monday, March 18, 2013
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Have a safe day!

Monday, March 18

2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar - One West
Speaker: Greg Dobler, University of California, Santa Barbara
Title: From Hazes to Bubbles: an Enormous Eruption from the Heart of the Milky Way

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

THERE WILL BE NO ALL EXPERIMENTERS' MEETING THIS WEEK

Tuesday, March 19

2 p.m.
Computing Techniques Seminar - One West
Speaker: Adam Lyon, Fermilab
Title: ArtG4: A Generic Geant4 Framework for ART and Maybe Your Experiment

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR TODAY

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Weather Snow and sleet
38°/16°

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Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

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Flags at full staff

Wilson Hall Cafe

Monday, March 18

- Breakfast: pancake sandwich
- Italian minestrone
- Philly chicken sandwich
- Spaghetti and meatballs
- Smart cuisine: herbed pot roast with vegetables
- Garden beef wrap
- Assorted pizza
- Creole jambalaya

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, March 20
Lunch
- Ham and gruyere crepes with madeira sauce
- Cabbage salad
- Chocolate fondue

Friday, March 22
Dinner
Closed

Chez Leon Menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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Profile

One minute with Bill Koncelik, BSS procurement supervisor

Bill Koncelik oversees the procurement of supplies, equipment and services for Fermilab. Photo: Reidar Hahn

How long have you been at Fermilab?
I have worked at Fermilab for 23 years. I started here as a contract administrator in 1989. I was promoted to senior procurement administrator in 2000 and procurement supervisor in 2011.

What is a typical day for you like?
In a typical day I respond to e-mails and phone calls from requestors looking to buy supplies or services, attend meetings, issue requests for proposals and award subcontracts to vendors.

I manage nine administrators and oversee the procurement of supplies, equipment and services for the lab, including IT equipment, computer software, electrical and electronic components, stockroom items, services and utilities, including water, sewer and natural gas.

How did you become interested in this line of work?
I was looking to advance my career as a buyer at Brookhaven National Lab and noticed a job opening at Fermilab. My wife and I were interested in moving at the time and thought this would be a great opportunity. I was fortunate Fermilab offered me a job as contract administrator.

What do you enjoy best about working at the lab?
I like that no day is the same. I learn something new every day. It's a very special job—there are a multitude of different things to buy for the lab throughout the year.

I get a lot of satisfaction from helping requestors. I also enjoy the fact that I am helping the lab advance its mission and achieve its goals in particle physics.

What is the most interesting thing you've recently bought for the lab?
The NML superfluid cryogenic plant about two years ago. It cost approximately $8 million and won't be completely delivered to the lab until this fall. A lot of engineering was involved in its design, and its components are being shipped to Fermilab from the United States and Europe.

What's next for you?
I enjoy working at Fermilab and I'm very happy with my job right now. I look forward to the future of the lab.

What do you like to do for fun?
I live in Batavia which is a great place to raise a family. In the summer, I occasionally ride my bike to work and swim laps during lunch at the Fermilab pool. I am also a member of the Fermilab garden club and enjoy growing vegetables for family and friends.

Sarah Khan

If there is an employee you'd like to see profiled in an upcoming issue of Fermilab Today, please e-mail today@fnal.gov.

In the News

Obama at Argonne lab: Why batteries matter

From The Christian Science Monitor, March 14, 2013

President Obama's visit to the center of a national energy-storage-research effort Friday highlights an overlooked tool in the administration's push for renewable energy: batteries.

The technology is ubiquitous—in our phones, our cars, and our planes—but the science is far from simple. The challenges are well-documented in news stories about bankrupt batterymakers, winter-averse electric cars, and grounded Dreamliners.

Many in the energy community believe we need a better battery. That's the focus of the work under way at the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) at Argonne National Laboratory in suburban Chicago—and the reason for Mr. Obama's visit. The president is expected to urge Congress to provide an additional $2 billion for battery and transportation research meant to end the nation's use of oil.

Read more
In the News

Accelerating particles accelerates science—with big benefits for society

From Brookhaven National Laboratory Features, March 13, 2013

Some would call the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)—an "atom smasher" at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory—the most modern accelerator facility in the world. Many ideas about how to accelerate, focus and collide beams of particles that were tried unsuccessfully elsewhere have succeeded at RHIC. And as scientists' understanding of the early-universe matter created in RHIC's light-speed collisions has evolved, so too has the collider itself—to probe ever deeper into the mysteries of how this primordial matter gave rise to the visible structure of the universe today.

Read more
Tip of the Week: Safety

Overheating power strips

Avoid overheating power strips. Check your power strip from time to time to be sure that it is within its warrantied lifetime and that devices are plugged into it correctly.

According to the National Safety Council, electrical failure is the cause of more than 140,000 fires each year, resulting in 400 deaths, 4,000 injuries and $1.6 billion in property damage. In the workplace, electrical hazards cause nearly one fatality every day in the United States.

Multiple-outlet power strips (pictured) can fail. People also sometimes use them improperly. One such instance occurred after a Fermilab employee returned from the holidays. He noticed that the power strip in his office had burn marks near the outlet into which a small power adapter was plugged. He unplugged the power adapter, which tripped the breaker on the power strip as well as the breaker panel on the wall. Members of Fermilab's Electrical Safety Subcommittee determined that an internal connection had oxidized and had begun slowly heating over time enough to discolor and soften the plastic. The plastic was soft enough to allow two internal conductors to short so that, when the employee unplugged the adapters, the breakers tripped. This incident could have resulted in a building fire, serious injury or even a fatality.

To help avoid this type of incident, the Electrical Safety Subcommittee urges everyone to ensure that:

  • electrical devices plugged into power strips are completely inserted and tight-fitting.
  • the total current of the plugged-in devices adds up to less than the current rating of the strip.
  • two or more power strips are never plugged together (daisy-chained).
  • you unplug your power strip and contact your supervisor if the power strip is hot to the touch or shows signs of discoloration or melting.

The ESH&Q Section urges everyone to replace your power strip if:

  • the light is not illuminated when on (if so equipped).
  • the power strip is beyond its useful life or appears to be an older model.
  • you are aware of signs of suspect/counterfeit items. View a slide show about SC/I training.

Also, consider getting a surge-protected power strip to protect your computer equipment.

If you are unsure about your power strip, surge protector or outlet strip, contact your supervisor, electrical coordinator or senior safety officer. These items can be ordered from the Fermilab Stock Room and have already been approved for usage. Talk to your supervisor also about considering installment of additional outlets where needed, rather than relying on extension cords and power strips. Check all electrical equipment for the UL or other label signifying that it has been tested by a qualified laboratory. Read all manufacturers' instructions carefully to determine the useful life of the product. Most manufacturers usually recommend a five-year lifespan. Another way to determine the useful life is by the number of years covered under the manufacturer's warranty.

J.B. Dawson, ESH&Q

Photo of the Day

Sprinkles of snow on geese and grass

Snow-tufted geese match the snow-laden grass among which they swim. Photo: Elliott McCrory, AD
Announcements

Main Ring Road closed - today and tomorrow

C2ST: Investing in Innovation for the Future - March 21

Employee Art Show reception - March 22

Job Descriptions and Employment class - March 22

Fermilab Arts & Lecture Series: ScrapArtsMusic - March 23

DOEGrids certificates to be decommissioned - March 23

School's Day Out camp - March 25-29

Hiring managers: submit summer personnel requisitions by April 12

The World According to Higgs - Chris Quigg - April 12

Writing for Results: E-mail and More - May 3

Fermilab Management Practices courses now available for registration

Walk 2 Run

Scottish country dancing meets Tuesday evenings in Kuhn Barn

Monday golf league

Indoor soccer