Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015
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Wednesday, Jan. 14

3:30 p.m.
Director's Coffee Break - WH2XO

4 p.m.
Fermilab Colloquium - One West
Speaker: Silvia Pascoli, Durham University
Title: Neutrino Phenomenology: From Underground to the Skies

Thursday, Jan. 15

2:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar (NOTE LOCATION) - WH3NE
Speaker: Jared Evans, University Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Title: The Higgs, Flavor, and Large A-terms in Extended Gauge Mediation

3:30 p.m.
Director's Coffee Break - WH2XO

4 p.m.
Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - ICB Hermitage
Speaker: Rong-Li Geng, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Title: Review of Key Issues to Advance: The Realization of Next Generation SRF Linacs

Visit the labwide calendar to view Fermilab events

Weather

Weather Partly cloudy
16°/9°

Extended forecast
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Current Flag Status

Flags at full staff

Wilson Hall Cafe

Wednesday, Jan. 14

- Breakfast: crustless quiche casserole
- Breakfast: ham, egg and cheese English muffin
- Western barbecue burger
- Portobello and peppers over soft polenta
- Kielbasa and kraut
-Zesty turkey pastrami sandwich
- Sweet and sour chicken
- Cuban black bean soup
- Texas-style chili
- Assorted calzones

Wilson Hall Cafe menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Jan. 14
Lunch
- Chicken marsala with linguine
- Mixed green salad
- Tiramisu

Friday, Jan. 16
Dinner
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Filet mignon with cabernet sauce
- Roasted new potatoes
- Green bean and blue cheese gratin
- Strawberry crepe

Chez Leon menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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Milestone

PXIE completes two uninterrupted day-long runs

PXIE, the prototype accelerator for upgrades to the front end of Fermilab's accelerator complex, recently completed two 24-hour runs. Photo: Reidar Hahn

From Dec. 17-18, Fermilab's PXIE accelerator ran for an uninterrupted 24 hours for the first time. It completed a second 24-hour run from Dec. 30-31. These runs were first demonstrations that PXIE could operate for an extended period. They mark an important initial step toward one day operating PXIE 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

PXIE is a test accelerator that prototypes the front end of the proposed upgrades to the Fermilab accelerator complex. These upgrades, known as PIP-II, will eventually provide Fermilab experiments with more powerful beam.

The Accelerator Division Operations Department oversaw the runs. They operated PXIE in DC mode for the first one, and for the second, they ran it as a pulsed-beam machine.

From symmetry

Dark horse of the dark matter hunt

Dark matter might be made up of a type of particle not many scientists are looking for: the axion Image: Sandbox Studio

The ADMX experiment seems to be an exercise in contradictions.

Dark matter, the substance making up 85 percent of all the mass in the universe, is invisible. The goal of ADMX is to detect it by turning it into photons, particles of light. Dark matter was forged in the early universe, under conditions of extreme heat. ADMX, on the other hand, operates in extreme cold. Dark matter comprises most of the mass of a galaxy. To find it, ADMX will use sophisticated devices microscopic in size.

Scientists on ADMX — short for the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment — are searching for hypothetical particles called axions. The axion is a dark matter candidate that is also a bit of a dark horse, even as this esoteric branch of physics goes.

Unlike most dark matter candidate possibilities, axions are very low in mass and interact very weakly with particles of ordinary matter and so are difficult to detect. However, according to theory, axions can turn into photons, which are much more interactive and easier to detect.

Read more

Matthew R. Francis

Photo of the Day

Inflatable jaws

Some visitors to Wilson Hall lost control of their shark balloon one evening late last month. Their small, overinflated airship followed the convection air flow in the atrium. Those with atrium-facing office windows may have seen the shark swimming about. This picture was taken from the 8th floor. Photo: Marco Mambelli, SCD
In the News

'Big Bang Machine'

From WTTW11's Chicago Tonight, Jan. 13, 2015

Editor's note: In this Chicago Tonight segment, Eddie Arruza interviews Fermilab scientists Jim Hirschauer and Don Lincoln.

A NOVA special called "Big Bang Machine" about the Large Hadron Collider airs at 9 p.m., Wednesday, on WTTW11. Don Lincoln, one of the top scientists from the documentary, joins us to discuss the role of Fermilab, located just outside of Chicago, in the experiments at CERN in Switzerland.

Watch the video

In the News

An ambassador for physics is shifting his mission

From The New York Times, Jan. 12, 2015

Rolf-Dieter Heuer, a crinkly-eyed German with a snowy goatee, showed up at the Four Seasons, the perennial Manhattan power lunch spot, dressed like the physicist he is — in a sweater and baggy jeans for the red-eye to Geneva — rather than the diplomat he had just been playing.

The United Nations was in session, and Dr. Heuer, the director-general of the European Organization of Nuclear Research, or CERN, had a featured role in events celebrating the laboratory's 60th anniversary.

In 2009, when he took over, dark clouds were hanging over CERN, the world's largest physics lab.

Read more

From the Office of the CIO

2015 is going to be a great year for Fermilab computing

Rob Roser

Rob Roser, chief information officer, wrote this column.

As I type this column, the snow is falling outside. I have a tired Brittany pup on the couch next to me. I look up from the computer screen to stare at the fire in the fireplace to think back about what a remarkable year 2014 was for the laboratory, as well as for computing, and how excited I am for the prospects moving forward.

One of the lab's biggest challenges in 2014 was the transition to adopting the P5 plan as quickly as possible, and I am proud of all that we as a laboratory accomplished there. I'm also proud of what we in computing accomplished in 2014 to support the laboratory mission.

The Core Computing Division, along with WDRS staff, helped roll out FermiWorks and started the transformative process of changing the way the lab does business with respect to human resources. This was the largest systems integration that we have ever attempted, and it required us to pull together as a team like never before. This enterprise system has truly changed the way we do business and will continue to do so as we roll out more features and functionality.

Remarkably, FermiWorks did not happen in a vacuum. CCD had to keep the wheels turning on the other 150 or so applications that we support and make advances there as well, from a SharePoint 2013 migration to a Sunflower upgrade — and many, many others.

The Scientific Computing Division also had an excellent year with widespread adoption of its art framework and a number of artdaq systems deployed and collecting data. Also, CMS is completing preparations for its very exciting 13-TeV run. These are only a couple of achievements of many.

Perhaps more interesting is what lies ahead in 2015, which is going to be an exciting year for both computing and Fermilab. According to the Chinese zodiac, this is the year of the sheep. For Fermilab, I think 2015 will be the year of the neutrino as the lab truly embarks on both a short- and long-baseline program.

In computing, our aim will be both to facilitate and help execute the science, whether that is through the new labwide budget and planning system, mining the Dark Energy Survey science or operating our world-class data centers. Everything we do is in some way connected to the scientific mission of this lab.

Welcome back, everyone. Now let's have some fun and make 2015 a year to remember. I need to throw another log on the fire …

Safety Update

ESH&Q weekly report, Jan. 13

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

An employee slipped and fell on ice. He returned to work with no restrictions after a medical examination.

An employee was hit by a car that was backing out. The car's driver drove off without stopping. The employee received first-aid treatment.

See the full report.

Correction

Broadcast time for PBS NOVA special 'Big Bang Machine'

In Tuesday's article, we stated that the PBS NOVA program "Big Bang Machine" would air today at 8 p.m. Central time. While this is true for many PBS stations, the Chicago-area PBS affiliate WTTW11 will air the program today at 9 p.m. Central time. Rebroadcasts of the program are also scheduled over the coming days.

Please check your local listings to learn when "Big Bang Machine" will air in your area.

Tuesday's article now notes the WTTW11 air time.

Announcements

Today's New Announcements

Managed print upgrade - Jan. 18

International folk dance special workshop: Balkan and Beyond with Lee Otterholt - Jan. 22

Indoor soccer

Muscle Toning registration due Jan. 15

Lecture Series: Revealing the Nature of Dark Matter - Jan. 16

Register for ELBNF collaboration meeting - Jan. 22-23

Writing for Results: Email and More - Feb. 27

Interpersonal Communication Skills course - March 10

Managing Conflict course - March 24

Fermilab Functions - March 3, 5, 11

2015 FRA scholarship applications accepted until April 1

GSA updates mileage rate to 57.5 cents for 2015

OS X 10.10 Yosemite certified for use

2015 float holiday

Charitable donations through payroll deduction

The Take Five challenge and poster winter 2014/2015

Scottish country dancing Tuesday evenings at Kuhn Barn

Fox Valley Fitness offers employee discount