Fermilab TodayFriday, February 27, 2004  
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National Engineers Week 2004
Friday, February 27
8:15 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Science Institute Day - Ramsey Auditorium
11:00 a.m. Engineers Week - WH 1 North
Rube Goldberg Challenge and Lunch
3:30 p.m. Wine & Cheese - 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m. Joint Experimental Theoretical Physics Seminar - 1 West
Speaker: G. Shiu, University of Wisconsin
Title: Testing String Theory from the Sky

Monday, March 1
2:30 p.m. Theoretical Astrophysics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: R. Ellis, California Institute of Technology
Title: Using Gravitational Lensing to Explore the End of the Dark Ages
3:30 p.m. DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m. All Experimenters' Meeting - Curia II
Special Topic: Dynamic Effects in Tevatron Dipoles

Cafeteria
Friday, February 27
Clam Chowder
Lemon pepper cod fillet w/two market sides $3.50
Veggie lasagna $3.50
Chef's choice of assorted gourmet sandwiches $4.75
1/2 pound burger w/bleu cheese and bacon on a cornduster roll $4.75

Eurest Dining Center Weekly Menu
Chez Leon
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DOE Review Cites "Success" in Tevatron Luminosity Upgrades
Dan Lehman
Dan Lehman
A Department of Energy Review Committee chaired by Dan Lehman declared it was "very impressed" with Tevatron Run II Luminosity Upgrades, citing "the success of the last six months" in the closeout session Thursday afternoon in the One West conference room.

Responding to the encouraging review, Fermilab Director Michael Witherell offered his congratulations to "all the people who have been making things happen in the last six months. We knew we had a tough road ahead, and people rose to the challenge very well."

In contact with the closeout by speakerphone from Washington, D.C., Robin Staffin, Acting Director of the DOE's Division of High Energy Physics, said the review results were "very encouraging." He described the Lehman review committee as "a tough audience," adding: "That indicates even more support from their findings."

The committee reviewed technical, cost, schedule and management components of the luminosity upgrades undertaken since the previous review in July 2003. In summary, management subcommittee chair Jay Marx of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory commended the lab for "great progress since the July 2003 review. The shutdown was a big success, and the Tevatron complex has never performed better."

Summarizing for the committee, Marx said the lab should meet or exceed the integrated luminosity base projection of 4.4 fb-1 by FY'09, but the design projection of 8.5 fb-1 by FY'09 remained a major challenge. Marx cautioned that there was "a long way to go" in meeting luminosity goals and in installing the e-cooling system, but added that the committee was "very impressed" and held "increasing confidence in Run II's success."

The luminosity upgrades will be the subject of a "mini-review" in September 2004, then of another full-status review in February 2005.

In the News
From the New York Times, February 26, 2004
Decline Seen in Science Applications From Overseas
By Diana Jean Schemo
Bucking a trend that dates to the end of World War II, the number of foreign students applying to graduate and doctoral programs in science at American universities is declining broadly, according to a survey of 130 such programs released here today.

The findings came as the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reported that foreign students and scholars hoping to study science or certain technologies at universities in the United States must wait an average of 67 days to receive a visa. For some of them, the delays extend up to a year, the report said.
Read more

From the New York Times, February 26, 2004
The Almost Inconceivable, but Don't Be Intimidated
By Janet Maslin
Suppose that you are in a stationary position, reading a newspaper that contains a review of a new book about mind-blowing physics. The author of that book, Brian Greene, would like you to ponder a few things:

1. You are not still. You only think you're still. You are accelerating.

2. Electromagnetic forces are holding your skin and bones together. (Whew.)
Read more

So Long, Merle Haldeman
Merle Haldeman
Merle Haldeman
After a long career of building things, Merle Haldeman is retiring from the Electrical Engineering Department of the Particle Physics Division today. Haldeman, 67, has always enjoyed putting things together. As a kid, he would fish golf balls out of water hazards and sell them to buy model train and airplane kits. When he got his first job at a government lab, he said his reaction was, "This is great! They give you the money to build the things you like to build, and pay you to do it !"

Haldeman served in the Navy and spent 10 years at Argonne before his 34 years at Fermilab. Since 1969, he has built wire chamber detectors, trigger processors, data acquisition systems, semi-custom integrated circuits, …everything but wall clocks. More recently he's contributed to astrophysical experiments, including SDSS, CDMS, and SNAP. He's been in the same office(WH14SE) over 25 years. Although there have been times when, for a variety of reasons, people wanted his office and lab space, he said efforts to move him were "like trying to pry a barnacle off a ship's hull."

Haldeman, who used to compete in triathlons and commute to work from Downers Grove on his bicycle, said that some years he had put more than 4,000 miles on his bike. He still plays some tennis and racquetball, and has, in the last few years, picked up golf and playing the organ. In addition, all four kids and seven grandkids live within 20 minutes of his home in Downer's Grove. "I can't imagine working at a place I liked better than here," Haldeman said, "but I'm looking forward to spending even more time with my wonderful family."

Welcome Home, Danielle Peterson!
Fermilab Security Officer Returns Home from Iraq
Danielle Peterson
Fermilab security guard Danielle Peterson (bottom right) playing guitar while stationed in Iraq.
Fermilab security officer Danielle Peterson returned from military duty in Iraq earlier this month and will join the security guards at Fermilab again in early March. Peterson and the rest of 822nd Military Police company of Arlington Heights, Illinois, arrived at Fort Dix in January of 2003 and from there went to Kuwait in February. When the war began in March they entered Iraq. The company spent most of its time stationed at Camp Bucca, an Internment Facility for POW's, in southern Iraq.

Peterson said her return to the United States three weeks ago required a big adjustment. "In Iraq, with bombs and RPG's going off everywhere you have to be alert. Something could happen any minute," she said. "I'm happy to be back. I'm more on my feet," she said.

The Fermilab Veteran's Group will host a welcome-home gathering tonight from 4-7 pm at the User's Center.

Announcements
New Classified Ads on Fermilab Today
New classified ads have been posted on Fermilab Today. A permanent link to the classifieds is located in the bottom left corner of Fermilab Today.

Science Institute Day
All employees are invited to attend the talks for today's Science Institute Day in Ramsey Auditorium. A complete schedule is available online.

Children's Summer Day Camp Registration
Registration for the Children's Summer Day Camp will begin March 1. Registrations will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on March 30. A lottery drawing for admittance into the program will be conducted on March 31. Notices will be sent out that day. More information and a registration form for the Day Camp is available online.

Discounted Tickets for Fermilab Employees
The Crossroads Theater in Naperville presents the comedy, "Straight Up with a Twist," and offers special discounts (two for one) for Fermilab employees on Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28 at 8:00 p.m.
more information

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