Fermilab TodayTuesday, February 1, 2005  
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Tuesday, February 1
3:30 p.m. DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m. Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - 1 West
Speaker: J-F. Ostiguy, Fermilab
Title: The Fermilab Lattice Information Repository

Wednesday, February 2
11:00 a.m. Fermilab ILC R&D Meeting - 1 West
Speaker: N. Solyak, Fermilab
Title: Accelerator Physics and Technology of the Main Linac for the ILC – Plans and Scope of Activity
2:00 p.m. Proton Driver General Meeting - 1 West
Speaker: J. Morfin, Fermilab
Title: Neutrino Scattering Working Group Report
Speaker: C. Jensen, Fermilab
Title: Klystron Modulators for the Proton Driver and SMTF
3:30 p.m. DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m. Fermilab Colloquium - 1 West
Speaker: K. Kirby, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Title: Ethics and the Welfare of the Physics Profession

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Weather Mostly Cloudy 33º/23º

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Secon Level 3

Cafeteria
Tuesday, February 1
Tomato Bisque
Pesto Marinated Chicken Breast $4.75
Burgundy Beef Tips $4.25
Baked Fish Creole over Rice $3.75
Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap $4.75
Supreme $2.75
Rio Grande Taco Salads $4.75

The Wilson Hall Cafe now accepts Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express at Cash Register #1.

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu
Chez Leon will be closed through January and February

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Roads and Grounds Crew Plows Through Storms
Snow Plow
John Plese of Fermilab Roads and Grounds clears snow with an end loader in the Meson area. (Click on image for larger version.)
Flurries, slush, powder, sleet and hail may all appear near-synonymous when you're watching from inside the window, but these words exhibit their distinctiveness when you need to plow 65 miles of road lanes by sunrise. Fermilab's Roads and Grounds crew has plans for different types of storms so that it can get the roads, as well as the driveways and parking lots of 230 buildings, cleared before other employees show up to work.

"Every storm is different, and requires a different approach," says Vic Kuchler of Fermilab's Facilities Engineering Services Section. "We plan in advance which roads to clear first, beginning with the main roads, and we can usually predict the start and duration of a coming storm. When there's snow in the forecast, for example, we may send some people home during the day because we'll have to call them back in the middle of the night." R&G also has sleeping facilities for long storms when employees can't get home, as well as food, water and coffee.

Every year, R&G buys 900 tons of rock salt and 4,500 gallons of salt additive, which makes the salt more effective in colder temperatures and also makes it last longer. The trucks dumped 120 tons of salt during the most recent snowstorm, which required the 16 full-time employees and four on-call employees to work staggered shifts for 53 hours straight, including a total of 370 weekend hours. "Everyone does a tremendous job and is extremely dedicated," says Kuchler. "They take a great deal of pride in getting the roads cleared quickly and well, even in the middle of the weekend or the middle of the night."

This success depends on help from building managers, who coordinate in October with R&G to plan how to clear specific areas around the buildings. Building managers and their local snow crews also put in a lot of effort to keep doorways and sidewalks clear during snowstorms.

In the News
Press Release: Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, January 31, 2005
Senate Confirmed Samuel W. Bodman to be Secretary of Energy by Unanimous Consent
Samuel Bodman
Secretary of Energy
Samuel Bodman
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate this afternoon confirmed Samuel W. Bodman as Secretary of Energy by unanimous consent.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioned Bodman at a January 19th confirmation hearing and unanimously approved his nomination at its business meeting on January 26, 2005.
read more

From the Chicago Sun-Times, January 28, 2005
Fermilab stalks the curious, subatomic neutrino
by David Garbe
A $170 million experiment that scientists have been developing for nearly a decade will begin in the next couple of weeks in the far west suburbs with the flick of a switch.

Protons -- one of the basic particles contained in all atoms -- will be sent zipping around the two-mile ring at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, near Batavia, at nearly the speed of light until they crash into a barrier of graphite.
read more

Director's Corner
Good Morning!
Mike Witherell
Mike Witherell
You are probably already aware that 2005 is the World Year of Physics, also known as "Einstein's Year" to celebrate the centennial of the three revolutionary papers he published in 1905. Physicists around the world are making a special effort of outreach and education about our field.

This is a great opportunity for Fermilab, one of the great physics laboratories in the world. I invite you to celebrate the World Year of Physics with area students. Senior physicists, graduate students, engineers, and technicians can all volunteer to spend a few half-days back in school. Share your enthusiasm for physics and what we do at Fermilab.

Fermilab is trying to reach 10,000 students in their classrooms. We are focusing on middle schools, but no grades are excluded.

We have demonstrations on electricity and magnetism, light and color, cryogenics, forces and motion, and more that you can take to the schools. We have experts who can provide orientation and some training.

We can meet our ambitious goal with at least 40 volunteers, but the more the better. Help us bring a little of the excitement of physics to the schools. You can sign up with Nancy Lanning, lanning@fnal.gov.

These World Year of Physics events are supported in part by an anonymous donation to Fermilab Friends for Science Education.

Correction
Friday's story on Bob Johanek's retirement stated that he worked in Fermilab's Technical Division for 25 years as a tool and dime maker. Johanek was actually a tool and die maker, which is someone who makes tools with different kinds of machine shop equipment. Fermilab Today regrets the error.

Accelerator Update
January 28 - January 31
- During the last 72 hours Operations established two stores that provided approximately 62 hours and 20 minutes of luminosity for the experiments.
- The Tevatron set a New Luminosity Record of 105.17E30 on Saturday evening.
- A Booster 4000 MeV chopper problem held off beam for a while.
- The motor generator for the I- Source had a brush problem
- A problem with the G2 vacuum system brought down the Switchyard enclosure C system, which shut off beam to the Meson experiment.

Read the Current Accelerator Update
Read the Early Bird Report
View the Tevatron Luminosity Charts

Announcements
Wilson Hall Cafe Now Accepts Credit Cards
Starting immediately, the Wilson Hall Cafe now accepts Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express. Credit cards may be used at Cash Register #1, which is indicated by signs. Debit cards are not accepted.

Winter & Spring Muscle Toning Class Schedule
Gain strength, lean body mass and increased muscle definition. The class schedule is February 15 - March 10, 4 week Class for $32.00, March 22 - April 21, 5 week class for $40.00 and April 26 - June 2, 6 week class for $48.00 Classes are held on Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 - 6:30 in the Recreation Facility Exercise Room. A Recreation Facility Membership is required. Deadline to register is the Friday prior to the start of the session.

Rhythm & Blues Musical with Fermilab Connections
A new rhythm & blues musical with music by Jamie Ellis of Geneva and book and lyrics by former Fermilab physicist Steve Delchamps is going to be presented at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles during February. The engagement is limited to two weekends: 2/11-2/13 and 2/18-2/19/ For reservations, call the Steel Beam Theatre at 630-587-8521.

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