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	Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014

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Calendar

Have a safe day!

Wednesday, Sept. 24

8:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Ninth International Workshop on Neutrino Beams and Instrumentation - One West
Register in person
Registration fee: $38

11:30 a.m.
Special Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Luis Ortiz, patent attorney
Title: Is My Idea Patentable?

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

THERE WILL BE NO FERMILAB COLLOQUIUM THIS WEEK

Thursday, Sept. 25

8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Ninth International Workshop on Neutrino Beams and Instrumentation - One West
Register in person
Registration fee: $38

2:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Eder Izaguirre, Perimeter Institute
Title: A New Observable for Identifying Dijet Resonances

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

Visit the labwide calendar to view Fermilab events

Weather

Mostly sunny
74°/50°

Extended forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Current Flag Status

Flags at full staff

Wilson Hall Cafe

Wednesday, Sept. 24

- Breakfast: crustless quiche casserole
- Breakfast: ham, egg and cheese English muffin
- Western barbecue bacon cheeseburger
- Spinach and cheese enchiladas
- Chicken parmesan
- Turkey pastrami panino
- Peruvian beef and potato stir fry
- Split pea with ham soup
- Texas-style chili
- Assorted calzones

Wilson Hall Cafe menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Sept. 24
Lunch
- Pan-fried catfish
- Southern style collard greens
- Black eyed peas
- Cornbread
- Sweet potato pie

Friday, Sept. 26
Dinner
- Cold cucumber soup
- Linguine with clam sauce
- Sauteed asparagus spears
- Lemon blueberry cake

Chez Leon menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

Art gallery orders up 'Negentropy' for latest exhibit, reception on Friday at 5 p.m.

Renee Robbins' painting "Golden Ratio" is on display in the Fermilab Art Gallery.

The Fermilab Art Gallery will host an artist reception open to the public on Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. for its newest exhibit "Negentropy," now on display. The work of featured artists Renee Robbins and Bruce Riley contrasts sharply with the last gallery exhibit, replacing subdued lakeshore scenes with their collection of bold, dynamic representations of life.

"I'm really inspired by nature and all the diversity of things that are in the world. There's an infinite amount of patterns and textures to work with," Robbins said.

Robbins draws much of her inspiration from biology, which is directly referenced in her series "Love Letter Etchings." Each etching represents a tribute to one of her most beloved marine species, including the blue button jellyfish and the carnivorous harp sponge. Her paintings abstractly unite micro and macro elements of the universe. References to individual cells, for example, may be seen alongside those of fireflies and celestial bodies.

"I try to blend bits and pieces from all those seemingly disparate systems to create new or different forms," she explained. The concept of negentropy — the negative entropy of life within a chaotic universe — appears throughout the collection as meticulous detail amid chaotic abstraction.

Co-exhibitor Riley evokes a similar organic feeling with his layered, glazed paintings. The paintings are a result of Riley's experiments with pigments of different densities and surface tensions. With the canvas laid flat, each application of paint pools or spreads, floats or sinks in a unique way. The physics-dependent technique is a perfect fit for Fermilab, said Riley, who incidentally has been greatly influenced by the work of theoretical physicist David Bohm.

"I really liked his work," Riley said. "What he would write for non-physicists was accessible, and I think he was pretty amazing."

"Negentropy" runs through Nov. 28. A gallery talk is planned for Oct. 15. Individuals interested in attending are invited to register by emailing Georgia Schwender.

—Troy Rummler

In Brief

Accepting nominations for the Scientist Advisory Council

The Scientist Advisory Council is currently seeking nominations for new members. Council members, who meet weekly with the laboratory director, share discussion topics relevant to the lab's research program and strategic planning.

If you are a Fermilab scientist and would like to be considered for nomination or would like to nominate someone, email Gina Rameika with a brief description of the scientist's background at Fermilab, including current organization and area of research. The deadline for submission is Friday, Oct. 3.

From FNA News

My life as a new steward at Fermilab

Tom Olsen

I became interested in conservation after I retired from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2005. I started by volunteering in the East Woods of the Morton Arboretum and enrolled in the Arboretum's first Woodland Conservation course in 2008. From there I became a steward. Another steward and I started the first volunteer led work group at the Arboretum in 2009, which continues despite the mosquitoes. I became involved with Fermilab Natural Areas almost a year ago. I became interested in Fermilab since all of my experience has been in woods and I wanted to learn something new. Now I am the steward of the wetland mitigation area inside the Main Injector ring. This area has many species of wetland plants. I am busy trying to distinguish one sedge from another and also helping to control some of the invasive plants. In the dormant season, I assist the steward of Big Woods North in removing invasive woody shrubs.

—Tom Olsen, Fermilab Natural Areas

Read more articles in the FNA News July-August 2014 issue

In the News

How astrophysicists are turning the entire moon into a cosmic ray detector

From Medium, Sept. 16, 2014

One of the great mysteries in astrophysics surrounds the origin of the highest energy particles ever observed. These particles, called ultra-high energy cosmic rays, come from space and smash into the Earth with so much energy that physicists have struggled to believe, let alone explain, it.

In the News

CERN celebrates 60 years of science

From Physics World, Sept. 19, 2014

The CERN particle-physics laboratory near Geneva is celebrating its 60th anniversary this month with a host of symposia, meetings, plays, films, concerts and other events being held at the lab and at member states across Europe. CERN will mark its official birthday on Monday 29 September, which was the date when the CERN convention was ratified by its first 12 member states in 1954 and the European Organization for Nuclear Research was officially established.

From the Office of Project Support Services

Hello from the Office of Project Support Services

Marc Kaducak

Marc Kaducak, head of the Office of Project Support Services, wrote this column.

This is my first column on the Office of Project Support Services, or OPSS, so I'd like to offer a brief overview of our office and what we do to support the lab's mission.

It wasn't long ago that DOE project language such as "CD-0 approval" was somewhat obscure at Fermilab. The now daily use of such terms in all corners of the lab is indicative of the reach of our project portfolio. In response to the prevalence of projects at Fermilab, the lab organization has been adjusted to raise the visibility of project issues, assemble strong teams for new projects and grow the project management knowledge base.

Completing our projects on schedule and on budget requires careful planning and disciplined execution, especially since they typically involve technologies or approaches that have never been used. The role of OPSS is to help projects in any way we can.

For example, we work with project teams to establish standard project management processes, as well as tools and training designed to both maximize project success and comply with DOE rules and expectations. We supply project controls resources. We help organize and prepare for reviews, which advance the projects. And like at least some other organizations, we also do anything else our boss tells us to.

OPSS itself comprises only a few full time staff, but we have a large work list and interact with a large range of projects and programs, including the CMS upgrade, the IARC program, LARP, LBNF, MicroBooNE, Mu2e, Muon g-2, Muon Campus, LCLS-II at SLAC, PIP and PIP-II, the Science Lab Infrastructure – Utilities Upgrade Project and SuperCDMS.

My career to date both inside and outside Fermilab has been spent working on construction projects, so I have a deep appreciation of their challenges. I am excited to help out in OPSS and look forward to working with all the projects.

I'd like to thank my predecessor, Dean Hoffer, who started with an essentially blank slate and very limited resources and worked tirelessly for over a decade to build the OPSS group and project controls systems that exist today. There is plenty of work remaining to strengthen and optimize our project management systems, but I believe the science that our projects will yield makes it worthwhile. The chase to get there isn't bad either.

Photos of the Day

A rich niche

Soldier beetles on a saw-toothed sunflower. Sunflowers provide food and shelter for other organisms. Photos: Elliott McCrory, AD

Safety Update

ESH&Q weekly report, Sept. 23

This week's safety report, compiled by the Fermilab ESH&Q Section, contains six incidents.

An employee was stung by a bee. He received first-aid treatment.

An employee's finger was crushed between two large cylinders. The employee received medical treatment.

An employee was stung by a yellow jacket. He received first-aid treatment.

An employee inhaled fumes from overheating batteries on a forklift, causing excessive coughing. He left the building immediately and went to the Fermilab medical office.

An employee's hand struck a cabinet in her work area, resulting in injury. The employee received medical treatment.

An employee is experiencing lower back and right side pain. This is a pending claim.

See the full report.

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