Fermilab Today Tuesday, February 20, 2007
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Tue., February 20
11:00 a.m. Academic Lecture Series - 1 West
Speaker: T. Becher, Fermilab
Title: Course 4, Part 2: QCD Effects in B Decays
3:30 p.m. Director's Coffee Break - 2nd floor crossover
4:00 p.m. Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - 1 West
Speaker: V. Yakovlev, Omega-P, Inc., New Haven
Title: Alternative RF Solutions for High Gradient Investigations
Special Announcement: This is the last day of the Blood Drive, which will take place in the Wilson Hall Ground Floor NE Training Room from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled on the ES&H Website, or by calling Margie at x3411 or Diana at x3771. (Learn about local blood shortages here.)

Wed., February 21
11:00 a.m. Fermilab ILC R&D Meeting - 1 West
Speaker: S. Mishra, Fermilab
Title: GDE Happenings from Beijing, Road to an Engineering Design Report (EDR)
3:30 p.m. DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m. Fermilab Colloquium - 1 West
Speaker: D. Schurig, Duke University
Title: The Transformation Design Method and Metamaterials: Tools to Realize Invisibility and Other Interesting Effects

Click here for NALCAL,
a weekly calendar with links to additional information.

Weather

WeatherMostly Cloudy 39°/25°

Extended Forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

Wilson Hall Cafe
Tuesday, February 20
Chicken & Rice Soup
Cowboy Burger
Baked Meatloaf with Gravy
Parmesan Baked Fish
Peppered Beef
Assorted Slice Pizza
Chipotle Chili & Queso Nachos Supreme

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, February 21
Lunch
Spinach Strudel
Confetti Salad
Orange & Olive Oil Cake

Thursday, February 22
"Carnival" Celebration - (book now at x4598)

Sancocho
Roast Suckling Pig
Moro y Cristanos
Chayote Guisado
Pineapple Flan & Tropical Fruit

Chez Leon Menu
Call x4598 to make your reservation.

Archives

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ILC NewsLine

Info

Fermilab Today is online at:
www.fnal.gov/today/

Send comments and suggestions to:
today@fnal.gov

Feature

Meson roof repairs to
resume this summer


The repairs to the Meson Detector Building roof will coincide with the Tevatron shutdown.

The roof of the Meson Detector Building may be unique, but it leaks. The building's twelve arches are lined with ridges, leading to puddles that trickle through crevices between the roof's steel plates. Over the years, much of the building's equipment had to be protected under sheet metal coverings. "We had to build roofs under the roof," said Erik Ramberg of PPD, who spends more than a quarter of his time in the building. Bob Webber of AD added that the leaks "create slippery and dangerous conditions" for workers.

In September of last year Fermilab reached an agreement with Riddiford Roofing, the company that re-roofed Chicago's John Hancock building, to repair the leaking roof. When repairs began in October, however, the workers discovered unforeseen conditions. "The existing coating was in much worse shape than we expected," said Elaine McCluskey, project manager from AD. The pressure washing required to clean the roof's surface damaged the previous coatings so badly that a new coating would be unable to adhere to it. This problem forced repairs to halt for the winter.

Over the past three months, the Fermilab project team has worked with Riddiford to understand the pressure level that would be mild enough not to damage the roof's current outside layer, but strong enough to satisfy the requirement of the new waterproof coating. "This has been a model working relationship between the contractor, FESS, procurement, and Accelerator Division," said Randy Ortgiesen, head of FESS. "Elaine and Mike Andrews from AD have been instrumental in development of the project management and ES&H planning."

The modified repair plan will begin this summer in concert with the accelerator shutdown. Roofing crews will work from sunrise to sunset to finish the repairs before the end of the shutdown. The workers will patch holes in the steel, then prime the roof with a white coat and fill in depressions. Finally, they will apply an elastomeric coating that will harden in the sunlight to form a flexible sheet and will restore the building's signature blue and orange color.
--Christine Buckley

More information

In the News

The Herald News
February 18, 2007:

Fermilab can keep on colliding

BATAVIA -- Thanks to a newly passed budget resolution, it looks like Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will not have to shut down for a month after all.

Pier Oddone, director of Fermilab, announced to employees this week that a monthlong furlough, mentioned last month as a possibility because of federal budget issues, will not be required. The U.S. Department of Energy, which owns Fermilab, informed them of the good news on Thursday.

Read More

In the News

WashingtonPost.com
February 18, 2007:

How Big Is a Smithereen?

Wearing my science writer's hat (actually, it's a beanie with a propeller), I've been spending a lot of time lately interviewing particle physicists. They're very smart people who unfortunately tend to talk about "quantum chromodynamics" a bit promiscuously. They discuss muons, bosons, leptons, fermions, gluons and various other kinds of shmutzions that I can never keep straight. Fortunately, they're tolerant of idiots, and don't seem to mind when I ask questions like, "So how big, exactly, is a smithereen?"

Recently I visited Fermilab, a government complex west of Chicago where scientists smash together particles to see what kind of nifty stuff will spurt out.

Read More

Director's Corner

Special visit


Congressman Kirk and Director Oddone with 7th grade students visiting Fermilab.

Fermilab has a strong commitment to the education of future generations of scientists and engineers. Much of this education occurs through the research that advanced students carry out at Fermilab working on their Ph.D. theses. Beyond this important aspect of our mission, Fermilab's education program inspires students in science and engineering at many levels. We bring students and teachers to Fermilab for internships that expand their horizons, we nurture the long established and successful tradition of Saturday Morning Physics, we open our laboratory for special educational events with hands-on science activities like the recent Family Open House, we invite our neighbors to evening science lectures who show up by the many hundreds and we host visits by students and teachers throughout the year.

Last Saturday we were extremely pleased to host the visit of a group of gifted students brought to Fermilab by the Honorable Mark Kirk, Congressman from the 10th Congressional District located North of Chicago. Congressman Kirk established the 10th District Laureate Program that brings together gifted 7th grade students one Saturday a month for a unique opportunity to experience first hand the top academic and cultural institutions in the Chicago area. These visits give students the opportunity for a behind-the-scenes look at places like Fermilab, and the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the work that is carried therein. It is inspiring that this activity is promoted and conducted with direct involvement of a busy Congressman. For us there is no better tonic than a group of interested 7th graders accompanied by a Congressman visiting Fermilab and asking good questions!

Accelerator Update

February 16 - 19
- Two stores provided 49 hours and 21 minutes of luminosity
- LRF3 water skid trouble
- Store 5231 lost due to quench at B0
- TeV BPM VME problems
- Store 5234 sets New Record Luminosity of 285.03E30

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

Photo of the Day

Sunday concert


Fermilab gallery curator Georgia Schwender sent this picture of the February 18 Quintet Attacca performance at Fermilab. "The photo is from Sunday's sold out concert, which was wonderful," she wrote.

Announcements

Ballroom Dancing
The Recreation Office is planning a private group class for ballroom dancing at the DuPage Dance Center in Naperville. The price will be $7-$10 per class, depending on the class size. If you are interested in participating, please contact Jean Guyer, X2548, or Kathy Phelan, X5427. Let them know how many people you would like to register and what day(s) of the week would work out best for you. Deadline to contact the Recreation Office is Friday, February 23.

Special Carnival celebration at Chez Leon
There is still sitting room for the "Carnival" meal at Chez Leon on February 22 (see left-column menu). Call x4598 for a reservation.

Upcoming Activities

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