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Today's New Announcements

Siemens Mobile Showcase Is coming to Fermilab - Sept. 29

Back Pain and Spine Surgery Prevention Lunch and Learn - today

Wilson Hall southwest elevator offline through Sept. 26

Fermilab Arts Series: 10,000 Maniacs - Sept. 26

English country dancing in Kuhn Barn - Sept. 27

NALWO evening social - Oct. 7

Process Piping Design; Process Piping, Material, Fabrication, Examination, Testing - Oct. 13, 14, 15, 16

Python Programming Basics - Oct. 14, 15, 16

Interpersonal Communication Skills - Oct. 20

Access 2013: Level 2 / Intermediate - Oct. 21

Excel 2013: Level 2 / Intermediate - Oct. 22

Managing Conflict (morning only) - Nov. 4

PowerPoint 2013: Introduction / Intermediate - Nov. 18

Python Programming Advanced - Dec. 9, 10, 11

Internet Explorer upgrade

OS X El Capitan (10.11) not yet certified for Fermilab use

Professional and Organization Development 2015-16 fall/winter course schedule

Fermilab Board Game Guild

Scottish country dancing moves to Kuhn Barn Tuesdays evenings

International folk dancing returns to Kuhn Barn Thursday evenings

Norris Recreation Center employee discount

Outdoor soccer

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Feature

10,000 Maniacs performs in Ramsey Auditorium Sept. 26

This year's Fermilab Arts and Lecture Series kicks off with 10,000 Maniacs on Saturday, Sept. 26.

The Fermilab Arts and Lecture Series presents an intimate night with one of music's most enduring sounds, 10,000 Maniacs. The show takes place on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 8 p.m. in Ramsey Auditorium.

10,000 Maniacs is one of rock's most critically acclaimed bands. The quintet's pop-conscious, literate and lush aesthetic helped reshape FM radio with hits such as "Hey Jack Kerouac," "Like The Weather" and "These Are The Days."

The Jamestown, New York-born group first gained widespread recognition with 1987's "In My Tribe," which charted at number 37 — an impressive feat for a pioneering alternative group — and would go on to sell more than 2 million copies. Rolling Stone magazine voted the album in the top 100 releases of the decade.

2015 finds songwriter and vocalist Mary Ramsey celebrating her 22nd anniversary with the group. Her haunting voice and viola add an evocative twist to vivid songs of love and loss. The 30-year collaboration between Jerome Augustyniak, Steven Gustafson and Dennis Drew, forms a nuanced and compelling rhythm section. Guitarist Jeffery Erickson recently made his recording debut with the band writing and singing two songs.

Tickets are $39 for adults, $20 for 18 and under. For more information or reservations, visit the Arts and Lecture Series Web page. You can also call 630-840-2787 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Wellness Feature of the Month

October fitness classes and complimentary wellness

Complimentary Wellness

Employee Health and Wellness Fair
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Wilson Hall atrium
Vendors, giveaways, drawings, chair massages

Tai Chi for Health
Mondays and Thursdays through Dec. 17, noon-1 p.m.
Wednesdays through Dec. 16, 7-8 a.m.
Ramsey Auditorium

Fall Book Fair
Monday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Wilson Hall atrium

 

Fitness Classes

Yoga Mondays
Mondays, Oct. 26-Dec. 14, noon-12:45 p.m.
WHGFE Training Room
$60. Register by Oct. 19.

Yoga Thursdays
Thursdays, Oct. 29-Dec. 17, noon-12:45 p.m. (no class Nov. 26)
WHGFE Training Room
$55. Register by Oct. 22.

Zumba Toning
Tuesdays, Oct. 20-Dec. 8, noon-12:45 p.m.
Fitness Center Exercise Room
$50. Register by Oct. 13.

Zumba Fitness
Thursdays, Oct.22-Dec. 17, noon-12:45 p.m. (no class Nov. 26)
Fitness Center Exercise Room
$50. Register by Oct. 15.

Muscle Toning
Tuesdays and Thursdays, Oct. 15-Dec. 15, 5-6 p.m. (no class Nov. 5, 26)
Fitness Center Exercise Room
$82/person. Register by Oct. 8.

 

Employee Discounts
Visit the employee discount Web page for more discount information.

In the News

Physics flexes its muscles

From Northern Illinois University Newsroom, Sept. 22, 2015

Unraveling the Big Bang. Laying the foundation for tomorrow's technology. Using some of the world's coolest, most innovative and most expensive scientific facilities.

Students and faculty involved in NIU's High Energy Physics program, which conducts research on the most fundamental particles and interactions of matter, are doing all of the above.

"Any small contribution I make might help scientists make new discoveries. As an undergraduate, that's a pretty big deal," says Alison Peisker, an NIU senior majoring in physics and math. Working alongside NIU professors since last fall, Peisker is paid to conduct research for a $270 million project under development at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia.

"I wanted to get involved in research, so I'm glad I have this opportunity," says the Palatine native, who will be spending time at the laboratory this semester. "It's fun to play a part in discovering new physics."

This fall, NIU's High Energy Physics (HEP) program is flexing some extra muscle after receiving three new National Science Foundation grants totaling $1.77 million over the next three years.

Read more

Frontier Science Result: CDF

More than expected

This plot shows the invariant-mass distribution of the Bc+ → J/ψμ+ candidate events using the full CDF data sample with a Monte Carlo-simulated signal sample. The calculated backgrounds are superimposed.

In 1998 CDF was the first to observe the Bc+ meson, which consists of two quarks: an antibottom quark and a charmed quark. The discovery consisted of a measurement involving approximately 20 decays in which the decay products were a J/ψ, a charged lepton (muon or electron) and an unobserved neutrino.

Using the full Tevatron Run II data set, we now observe approximately 740 events in the muon decay mode. CDF looked for a signature of three muons, the mass of two oppositely charged muons being consistent with that of the J/ψ particle. This larger data set allows us to make the first measurement of the production cross section of the Bc+ meson.

One of the principal challenges in the analysis was the determination of the backgrounds, which are shown in the above figure. In the largest background, the J/ψ is correctly identified, but the third muon is misidentified as a pion, kaon or proton. Of the 1,370 Bc+ candidates, 630 are identified as being background.

In order to minimize the error, we compared our measurement to that of a decay that is already well measured (B+ → J/ψ + K+). The cross section for B+ is 2.78 ± 0.24 microbarns for conditions very similar to our measurement of the Bc+. Using well-known properties of the B+ decay, we find the final cross section for Bc+ production to be 29 ± 4 nanobarns.

Our result is higher than the theory expectation (by two standard deviations), but the theory calculation was done 10 years ago (kT factorization). Measurements at the LHC collider, where the cross sections should be many times larger, could resolve this problem in our understanding of a meson that is both beautiful and charmed.

CDF scientists performed a job well done in determining the background, a difficult, interesting challenge.

This is my last Frontier Science Result for CDF. I'd like to thank my CDF colleagues for writing so many interesting and important physics papers that were the subject of this column. Finally, Leah Hesla deserves special praise for her wonderful job of editing.

Andy Beretvas

Learn more

Turgun Nigmanov (left) and Paul Shepard, both from the University of Pittsburgh, are the primary analysts for this result.
In Brief

Pine Street road closure - Saturday

Click to enlarge view of Pine Street road closure.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., both inbound and outbound Pine Street will be closed from Kirk Road to the Pine Street crossover. Barricades will block these areas for this duration. The Wilson Road entrance will be used for entry and exit during this time, as shown in the map above.

Photo of the Day

Swallow perch

nature, bird, swallow
A swallow rests at the BEG Building. Photo: Barb Kristen, PPD
In the News

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument will 3D map the universe

From Engadget, Sept. 22, 2015

The quest to better understand our known universe took a step in the right direction today with the U.S. Department of Energy approving "Critical Decision 2," authorizing the building of components for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Previous efforts to create Dark Energy maps will be further explored with the help of the DESI, a giant instrument that will target 30 million galaxies and quasars to create a 3D map that will date back 10 billion light-years. The project, spearheaded by the University of Michigan, is being conducted to understand the fundamentals of Dark Energy, a force that competed with gravity to shape the universe in its infancy.

Read more