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Wednesday, June 21, 2006 |
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Wednesday, June 21 11:00 a.m. Fermilab ILC R&D Meeting - Curia II (NOTE LOCATION) Speaker: C. Jensen, Fermilab Title: ILC Modulator Overview 3:30 p.m. DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK 2nd Flr X-Over 4:00 p.m. Fermilab Colloquium - Auditorium (NOTE LOCATION) Speaker: S. Putterman, University of California, Los Angeles Title: Energy Focusing Phenomena: From Sonoluminescence To Crystal Fusion
Thursday, June 22 Click here for a full calendar with links to additional information. |
 T-Storms 89º/68º
Extended Forecast |
Secon Level 3 |
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Wednesday, June 21 -Vegetable Beef -Fish & Chips -Salmon w/Lemon Pepper -Country Fried Steak w/Pepper Gravy -Beef & Cheddar Panini w/Sauteed Onions -Assorted Personal Sized Pizzas -Cavatappi Pasta w/Italian Sausage & Tomato Ragu The Wilson Hall Cafe accepts Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express. |
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Wednesday, June 21
Thursday, June 22 |
| Fermilab Today is online at: http://www.fnal.gov/today/ Send comments and suggestions to today@fnal.gov Fermilab Today archive Hurricane Relief Page Fermilab Today PDF Version Fermilab Result of the Week archive Fermilab Safety Tip of the Week archive Linear Collider News archive Fermilab Today classifieds Subscribe/Unsubscribe to |
| What is a Critical Decision? | ||
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If you've been at Fermilab long, you've probably heard the phrase "Critical Decision" in connection with construction projects. But what, exactly, does it mean? Critical Decisions, according to the DOE, authorize a project to proceed and to use approved funds, one step at a time. Every DOE project worth over $5 million goes through a life cycle marked by five Critical Decisions:
CD0 is the conception of a project. It marks the decision that a project is necessary to address a certain question or issue. Projects proposing to answer the question submit a preliminary baseline, which includes cost and schedule estimates, basic technical descriptions, and identification of preliminary safety and environmental issues. CD1 is the birth of a project; it marks the selection of one specific proposal. Once this decision is made, the baseline is refined, a preliminary design is devised and the cost and schedule parameters are narrowed. "The federal budget process is an important consideration all the way through," said Pepin Carolan, US LHC Federal Project Director. CD2 is the beginning of childhood. To pass CD2, an External Independent Review checks that preliminary designs are in line with expectations. According to Ron Lutha, Deputy Fermilab Site Office Manager, the Office of Engineering Construction Management that performs this review is part of the Department of Energy, but is external to the Office of Science and will often turn to expert consultants for reviews. CD3 is the start of adolescence; it authorizes the start of a project's construction. Approval of CD3 also authorizes the use of construction funds requested after CD2. On average, it takes almost four years to get from CD0 to construction. For CD3 to be passed, all plans, budgets, designs, timetables and safety solutions must be finalized. "Of course, there are always things that you can't predict, but to get CD3 approval, to start building, you should have addressed all the foreseeable issues," said Carolan. For projects worth over $400 million, another External Independent Review is required to pass CD3. It ensures that the designs and schedules are realistic and meet expectations.
CD4 signifies that the project is entering adulthood. Construction has been completed and the DOE is approving the start of operations. Now, preparations complete, the science can begin.
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| Employee Relations: Time for performance reviews |
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All employees are strongly encouraged to complete an Accomplishment Report for the performance review period of July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. Even if you don't like to toot your own horn, you should take a moment to describe how well you have met your performance goals and other important accomplishments. You may also want to describe successful completion of competencies and development plans. Scientists should describe their scientific and technical achievements along with involvement in organizational/managerial matters and highlight plans for the coming year.
The deadline to submit the Accomplishment Report to your supervisor is July 15, 2006. Refer to the Lab Services' Labor and Employee Relations Website for more information on the performance review process and to download the Annual Statement of Accomplishments Report for Employee or Scientist.
If you have any questions, please contact the Employee Relations department at extensions 3326, 3793, or 4367.
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New York Times June 20, 2006: Hawking Takes Beijing; Now, Will Science Follow? BEIJING, June 19 - Like an otherworldly emperor, Stephen Hawking rolled his wheelchair onto the stage of the Great Hall of the People on Monday, bringing with him the royalty of science and making China, for this week at least, the center of the cosmos. Slouching in profile, draped in black and moving no more than an eyelid to send his words to a mesmerized audience of 6,000, Dr. Hawking ruminated on the origin of the universe as the headliner of an international physics conference. "We are close to answering an age-old question," he concluded. "Why are we here? Where did we come from?" But as weighty as his speech was, his mere presence was a powerful symbol of what China is and would like to be.
China wants to stand up scientifically, as it is beginning to economically, and it is pouring money and talent into the sciences, particularly physics. Jie Zhang, director general of basic sciences for the Chinese academy, said his budget had been increasing 17 percent a year for the last few years as China tried to ramp up research spending to about 2.5 percent of its gross domestic product. By comparison, the United States spends slightly less than 2 percent, according to the National Science Foundation.
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| The Logan Code: mysterious bank book owner identified | ||
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| In response to last week's article, there has been a huge influx of information about A.C. Logan, the owner of the mysterious bank book found between the floor joists in the Hadley-Wolsfeld side of Aspen East last winter. "I was able to rather quickly nail down the identity of A.C. Logan," wrote Bill Griffing of ES&H a few hours after the article was released. "He was the only Logan living in the general vicinity between 1920 and 1930 whose initials would match" according to the US census records, Griffing said.
Arthur Chester Logan was born in Illinois on January 12, 1885. According to his World War I draft registration form, he had light hair and blue eyes, was tall and of medium build; he worked in Aurora as an electrical contractor, living with his wife Stella at 312 Bangs St. By 1920 he had moved with his wife and daughter Jeanette to the Naperville Township in DuPage County, where he took up farming. Ten years later he was back at Bangs St., with his wife and widowed mother Myra. Logan died in 1938 at 53 years old, making him the same A.C. Logan whose gravestone FES Site Services' Sue Populorum had found on a registry for Spring Lake Cemetery in Aurora. How did the book get from 312 Bangs Street to Eola Road? One possibility is that the Logans lived at (or knew the people who lived at) the house on Site 57 during A.C.'s brief stint as a farmer. The higher-than-average sums of money entered into Logan's ledger (two being for the modern equivalent of $10,000) could be explained if Logan had bankrolled his electrical contracting company under his own name; or perhaps he received funds from the estate of his father Elias, a Civil War veteran, who passed away in June of 1927 during the period of account entries. "I think more than anything it's kind of fun and exciting to try to figure out a little bit of a mystery--a Fermi mystery," said Linda Olson-Roach of BS-Accommodations. "We wish the person was alive to talk to so we could fill in the blanks." Thanks to Geoff Eargle, Bill Griffing, Kathy Johnson, Adrienne Kolb, Linda Olson-Roach, Merle Olson, Sue Populorum, and William Wester for unearthing this and additional information. --Jennifer Lauren Lee |
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June 19 - 20 - One store provided 24 hours of luminosity - Booster converts kicker to notcher - Pelletron temperature problems continue - D0 16-hour access begins tomorrow morning
Read the Current Accelerator Update |
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Temporary Closing of Wilson Hall North Atrium
Memorial mass for Deacon Ed Lober
Women wanted for sports
Mentors available
Housing Assignments for Fall 2006 and Spring 2007
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