Fermilab joining international safety standard

When it comes to safety, Fermilab leads the way. A team of auditors recommended Fermilab's registration under what will soon become an international safety standard.

The auditors with NSF International Strategic Registrations spent last week at Fermilab reviewing the laboratory's safety and health systems.

Achieving registration under Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001 - Safety and Health Management Systems meets a major commitment made by the Fermi Research Alliance, which manages Fermilab, in its contract with DOE.

"Congratulations to Fermilab on this significant accomplishment," said Joanna Livengood, DOE Fermi site office manager. "The laboratory clearly demonstrated its commitment to top-notch safety and health and joins companies internationally recognized for their excellence."

Taking a proactive stance on safety, Fermilab voluntarily applied for the OHSAS registration and subjected itself to the safety audit. Rafael Coll, ES&H, organized the effort.

"OHSAS 18001 is quickly becoming the international safety standard," Coll said. "Fermilab is leading the way in registering under this new standard."

As part of the review, auditors interviewed employees about their safety practices and their knowledge of the Fermilab Safety Policy.

"The auditors praised Fermilab's S&H program," said Bill Griffing, head of the ES&H section at Fermilab. "They were most impressed by the openness and willingness of those they interviewed to engage in knowledgeable and frank discussions about worker safety. The unrehearsed nature of the responses convinced the auditors that we have a healthy safety culture committed to continuous improvement."

Fermilab can soon claim the distinction of meeting international standards for environmental management as well as safety and health management. Last fall, Fermilab celebrated the international recognition of the laboratory's environmental management practices when the laboratory achieved the ISO 14001 registration.

-- Kurt Riesselmann

Teen robot battles attract lunchtime interest

Members of the Batavia Robotics club attract attention as they demonstrate the skills of their homemade robots in the Wilson Hall atrium Wednesday. The robots were built for a national competition and manipulated by two remote controls each.

Tita Jensen's last call

Tita Jensen

Tita Jensen didn't smile before the age of 3 and would hide from visitors. While she still claims shyness, Fermilab employees might argue that.

She circulates among the tables of Chez Leon offering small talk and remembering people's favorite dishes. She treats everyone like family from graduate students to dignitaries. To add joviality and a touch of home, she dresses in costume at themed meals and holiday celebrations, including Carnival, her favorite event, when roast suckling pig is served.

"She and her staff performed miracles feeding huge numbers of users, conference attendees and special guests because no on wanted to miss dinner with Tita," said Adrienne Kolb, Fermilab archivist. "Tita definitely helped put Fermilab on the map."

April 30, Jensen hangs up her apron to see the parts of the world that didn't flow through her dining room.

"I have had the ideal job," Jensen said. "I have been able to experiment with foods and menus throughout the life of Chez Leon because people of the Fermilab community have been open to new culinary experiences." Inspiration for her menus has come from cook books, newspapers and restaurant visits. Occasionally meals have had their origin in foods from her native Santo Domingo.

At Alvin Tollestrup's suggestion, Leon Lederman gave Tita the go-ahead to start the restaurant in the Users' Center, which already had a fully equipped kitchen dating from the time when the original Fermilab cafeteria was located there. When it became clear that this culinary experiment was successful, the current dining room adjacent to the kitchen was built.

"She is the hardest working person I know," said Kathie Lootens, head baker. "She can take anything and make it good."

After 29 years, Tita still gets a rush of joy every time she opens the restaurant, and she hopes her staff will keep up the tradition.

"I love the people. I have a great staff," she said.

-- Tona Kunz

Efforts to increase current year funding for science

From AIP FYI, April 22, 2008

Efforts continue to increase current year funding for the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy's Office of Science. On April 17, thirty-one Democratic and Republican representatives sent a letter to the senior House leaders and the senior leadership of the House Appropriations Committee. "We are writing in support of including funding in the FY2008 supplemental appropriations bill for federal research and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education that will help stimulate good jobs and economic growth and protect U.S. competitiveness," this letter states, which later concludes: "We recognize that you are preparing a wartime supplemental, and that you will face intense pressure to fund competing priorities. However, we would not be making this request if we did not believe the situation at our nation's laboratories and research universities and the need to improve STEM education warranted immediate attention and supplemental resources."

Read more