Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015
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Have a safe day!

Wednesday, Feb. 4

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

4 p.m.
Fermilab Colloquium - One West
Speaker: Michael Hoch, CERN, Xavior Cortada and Peter Markowitz, Florida International University, and Lindsay Olson, Fermilab Artist-in-Residence
Title: Art@CMS as a Vehicle for Education and Outreach

Thursday, Feb. 5

2:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Michael Perez, University of Florida
Title: Hunting for Hierarchies in PSL2(7)

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

Visit the labwide calendar to view Fermilab events

Weather

Weather Chance of snow
21°/-12°

Extended forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Current Flag Status

Flags at full staff

Wilson Hall Cafe

Wednesday, Feb. 4

- Breakfast: smoked sausage breakfast sandwich
- Breakfast: ham, egg and cheese English muffin
- Carolina pulled pork sandwich
- Pork piccata with lemon sauce
- Shepherd's pie
- Ham and pear panino
- Grilled or crispy chicken Caesar salad
- Sausage, potato and kale soup
- Texas-style chili
- Assorted calzones

Wilson Hall Cafe menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Feb. 4
Lunch
- Cornish hen with garlic and rosemary parsley potatoes
- Brussels sprouts
- Pumpkin pie

Friday, Feb. 6
Dinner
Closed

Chez Leon menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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From symmetry

Real scientists borrow 'Big Bang' costumes

Parkas from "The Big Bang Theory" recently wound up in Greenland on an actual scientific expedition. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS

In the season two finale of the show "The Big Bang Theory," four of the show's main characters decide to head on an expedition to the North Pole. To get a taste of the arctic cold before leaving Pasadena, they venture into a restaurant's walk-in freezer wearing bright red parkas.

Four years later, those same parkas headed to Greenland for the real deal.

In 2013, Abigail Vieregg, a physicist at the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, was charged with leading a group of four scientists on a trip to the Arctic Circle to survey sites for a potential future neutrino experiment. But there was a snag. The scientists needed to provide their own gear, and appropriate cold-weather clothing doesn't come cheap.

Luckily, Vieregg remembered the episode of "The Big Bang Theory" and, even more luckily, her fellow researcher and former thesis advisor was University of California, Los Angeles, physicist David Saltzberg — who just happens to be the science advisor for the show.

The parkas used in the show were real Canada goose coats that offered full protection from the elements. A few inquiries later and Saltzberg had the gear.

This was the only time, he says, that the show has loaned out science equipment for a real project.

"I've certainly lent them a lot of equipment of the years, so it only seemed fair," he says. This has included oscilloscopes, a globe of the cosmic microwave background and all the parts for an integrated ion trap and mass spectrometer.

"They come over here with a big truck sometimes to pick stuff up."

It turned out that two of the coats were the right size for two of the researchers, so on they went to Greenland.

Read more

Lauren Biron

In Brief

Art@CMS exhibit opens with talk and reception today

The Art@CMS exhibit includes a life-size 2-D reproduction of the CMS detector hanging from the crossovers in the atrium. Photo: Reidar Hahn

The Art@CMS exhibit in the Fermilab Art Gallery, which features the work of artists inspired by the CMS experiment, opens today. It will run until April 22.

The exhibit kicks off with a Colloquium talk today at 4 p.m. in One West. It will be followed by an artist reception from 5-7 p.m. in the Art Gallery.

In the News

'Crazy' new particle could unravel dark matter mystery

From Wired, Feb. 2, 2015

A team of physicists and astronomers at the University of Southampton are proposing a completely new type of fundamental particle that may hold the key to unravelling the mysteries behind dark matter.

Dark matter cannot be seen by telescopes, yet it is believed to compose up to 85 percent of the universe's mass. Its existence is attributed to its gravitational effects on stars and galaxies.

Read more

In the News

African circus troupe comes to western suburbs

From The Beacon-News, Jan. 29, 2015

Wendy Kay, manager of the African circus troupe, Cirque Zuma Zuma, thinks the group's allure is simple.

"The strength of the performers, the exciting performance elements and the culture they bring to the stage all make the show so appealing," Kay said.

Cirque Zuma Zuma is made up of professional acrobats, aerialists and other performers from Africa. The show blends African tradition with contemporary circus-style pieces, and is often referred to as an African-style Cirque du Soleil.

Read more

From FESS

Being good stewards of government property

Jack Kelly

Jack Kelly, logistics and property control manager, wrote this column.

The use and care of government property is vital to the mission of the laboratory, and the vast majority of the property located here on the Fermilab site — computers, vehicles, HEP electronics, just to name a few — is owned by the United States government. Use of government property is restricted to the performance of work under our prime contract with the Department of Energy. It is the responsibility of all employees, users and subcontractors to protect government property from misuse, theft or loss.

The Logistics and Property Control team is responsible for the property management system. Every three years Fermilab submits this system for renewed approval by the Department of Energy. To receive approval, we are required to conduct periodic inventories for certain types of assets. The laboratory's Property Office generates listings for each custodian. We ask custodians to account for the asset(s) under his or her custodianship and verify that the information is valid through supervisor confirmation. If a custodian is not able to locate an asset or assets, we must complete a security report to close the inventory campaign. Once the inventory is completed, the results for the accountability of assets in the specific campaign are reported to DOE.

Accountability for government property is important since we have a duty to maintain the trust of DOE and the public. They own the resources that we use to complete our mission. Fermilab has consistently shown our responsibility accounting for government property, but only with your continued active efforts can we demonstrate excellence in our stewardship and use of this property.

Photo of the Day

Comet Lovejoy

Comet Lovejoy (lower right) sails across the sky. The Pleiades star cluster is visible in upper left corner. Photo: Marty Murphy, AD
Safety Update

ESH&Q weekly report, Feb. 3

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

An employee broke a fingernail below the nail bed when she caught it between a door and the door frame. She received first-aid treatment.

A magnet power supply experienced an electrical safety interlock error.

See the full report.

Announcements

Today's New Announcements

Budker Seminar - Feb. 9

Artist reception - today

Fermilab Arts Series presents Cirque Zuma Zuma - Feb. 7

Barn Dance - Feb. 8

Barnstormers Delta Dart Night - Feb. 11

Fermilab Chamber Series presents Callipygian Players - Baroque Trio - Feb. 15

School's Day Out - Feb. 16 and 27

Core Computing Division briefs on MS Office 2013/365 - Feb. 17

Writing for Results: Email and More - Feb. 27

English country dancing at Kuhn Barn - March 1

Fermilab Functions - March 3, 5, 11

Interpersonal Communication Skills course - March 10

URA Thesis Award competition deadline - March 20

Managing Conflict course - March 24

2015 FRA scholarship applications accepted until April 1

New ebook on cryogenic engineering

Microsoft Office 2013 ebooks

Windows 8.1 approved for use

GSA updates mileage rate to 57.5 cents for 2015

Fermi Singers seek new members in New Year

The Take Five challenge and poster winter 2014/2015

Scottish country dancing Tuesday evenings at Kuhn Barn

Indoor soccer

Vaughan Athletic Center membership rates