Fermilab Today

Monday, May 12, 2008

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New furlough information, including an up-to-date Q&A section, appears on the furlough Web pages daily.

The latest layoff Q&A has been updated with detailed information on layoff procedures. Visit the layoff Web site for more information.

Monday, May 12
2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: L. McAllister, Cornell University
Title: Primordial Tensor Perturbations in String Inflation?
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m.
All Experimenters' Meeting - Curia II
Special Topic: Tevatron Orbit Stabilization

Tuesday, May 13
2:30 p.m.
Special Particle Astrophysics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: R. Aloisio, Laboratori Nazionali Gran Sasso
Title: A Comprehensive Analytical Approach to UHE Particles Propagation in Astrophysical Backgrounds
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4:00 p.m.
Budker Seminar - One North
Speaker: J. Keung, University of Pennsylvania
Title: A0 Photo Injector: Laser Timing Jitter

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

Sunny
65°/47°

Extended Forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Secon Level 3

Monday, May 12
- XXX

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Wednesday, May 14
Lunch
- Stuffed filet of sole
- Lemon grass rice
- Spring vegetables
- Rhubarb & apple turnover

Thursday, May 15
Dinner
- Mushroom duxelle in a vol-au-vent
- Halibut w/Veracruz sauce
- Jasmine rice
- Chocolate raspberry cake

Chez Leon Menu
Call x4598 to make your reservation.

Fermilab Today
Result of the Week
Safety Tip of the Week
ILC NewsLine

Fermilab Today
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www.fnal.gov/today/

Send comments and suggestions to:
today@fnal.gov

U.S. CMS collaboration meeting in Puerto Rico focuses on startup

Scientists at CERN install the beam pipe into the CMS detector--one of the last major commissioning tasks.

The last annual U.S. CMS collaboration meeting before scientists receive data from the anticipated LHC startup revealed excitement and a few remaining hurdles.

“The spirit of this meeting is about running during the first days at the LHC,” said U.S. CMS Collaboration Board Chair Harvey Newman at the U.S. CMS collaboration gathering this month hosted by the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan.

With 937 members from 48 institutions and laboratories, the U.S. CMS collaboration represents more than one-third of the CMS collaboration. The U.S. CMS Project Manager Joel Butler reported that the collaboration’s number of graduate students continues to grow. Out of the 613 graduate students on CMS, 199 come from U.S. universities. “Training and educating this many students is a huge responsibility,” said Butler. “They comprise a large part of the future of accelerator-based particle physics.”

Despite the increase in graduate students, collaboration leaders called for more manpower during these final intense days of commissioning the detector. “We are chronically short of people, and it’s not too late to get more involved,” said CMS Deputy Spokesperson Bob Cousins, who provided a list of areas that still need help.

Another collaboration concern is unfavorable exchange rates. The decline in the U.S. dollar verses the Swiss franc has already decreased the collaboration’s buying power by $2 million this fiscal year. The weak dollar makes remote operations and videoconferencing more vital than ever.

The LHC Physics Center at Fermilab also will continue to play an increasingly important role, particularly once data analysis begins. “Discoveries come early,” said Dan Green, co-leader of the LPC. “It’s important to do our analysis in a timely way.”

Talks from the meeting are available online.

-- Elizabeth Clements

Mike McGee took this picture last month at sunrise looking into the ring at AO.

To catch a plutonium thief, try antineutrinos

From Scientific American, May 8, 2008

New detector technology monitors nuclear reactors

A new more secure technology for guarding against theft from nuclear reactors has passed its first test.

Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif., successfully monitored the power output of a relatively small nuclear power reactor by measuring the number of antineutrinos-ghostly particles generated by nuclear fission-that struck a refrigerator-size tank of liquid.

Although the technology still has hurdles to overcome, it could pave the way for a new tool in efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Nuclear reactors offer a potential source of weapons-grade materials to would-be bomb makers, particularly plutonium, which gradually accumulates in the uranium fuel rods that power a reactor.

As part of its work to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an organization established in 1957 by international treaty to promote peaceful uses of nuclear power, monitors and inspects nuclear reactors used for research as well as those that generate electricity.

Prospect of US science debate wanes

From physicsworld.com, May 2, 2008

Organizers of ScienceDebate 2008 are "disappointed" but "not surprised" that the three main US presidential candidates have ignored invitations to participate in a public debate on science that was scheduled to take place today. Friday 2 May was one of three possible dates this month that had been put forward to the candidates after the original date - 18 April - had to be cancelled, also because of a poor response.

American dog tick lives on the Fermilab site. Photo courtesy of Fermilab Visual Media Services.

Fermilab employees report that ticks have made their seasonal appearance at the laboratory. The American dog tick is the largest of the Eastern wood ticks, and the most common type found in Illinois. They are most active during the months of April and May. American dog ticks don’t carry Lyme disease, but they can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Deer (or blacklegged) ticks, though rare in this area, can transmit Lyme disease.

Due to the seriousness of these diseases, you should minimize the chance of receiving tick bites, even though the risk of infection due to tick bites is slight. Here are some tips that will help you keep ticks off your skin:

Avoid – Avoid deep woods and tall grasses. Stay on paths and mowed surfaces.

Cover – Cover up your skin as much as possible. Tuck pants into socks, and long-sleeve shirts into pants. Wear light colors so you can spot ticks easily.

Repel – Repellents help, especially for exposed skin and areas where ticks can enter clothing. Use DEET on skin and Permethrin on clothes.

Check – Inspect your body periodically when spending time in tick habitat. Ticks often reside near ankles and waists, but they can crawl anywhere.

Remove – Use sticky tape to remove unattached ticks. To remove embedded ticks, our Medical Department recommends the use of tweezers. Remove ticks as soon as possible since the infection risk increases with duration of attachment. With the tweezers, firmly grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible and gently but firmly pull it straight out. Make sure you get all the mouthparts. Wash with soap and water. If you want help, the Medical Department can assist you.

Safety Tip of the Week Archive

May 7 - May 9
- Three stores provided 29 hours and 5 minutes of luminosity
- Several quenches and aborts troubled the TeV
- Booster repairs two RF stations during access

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

Have a safe day!

Additional layoff information online
The layoff Q&A has been updated with information on layoff procedures. Visit the layoff Web site for more information.

Fermi Research Alliance, LLC (FRA) retirement plan changes

The Summary Plan Description for the FRA Retirement Plan has been updated to reflect a major change to the plan:

A terminated participant is not subject to the age and service requirement in order to be eligible for a cash withdrawal. You may elect a cash distribution from TIAA and CREF Retirement Annuities. Withdrawals from the TIAA Traditional Retirement Annuity accumulations are only possible using a Transfer Payout Annuity (TPA). If the accumulation is less than $10,000, it would be provided in one lump sum.

The Summary Plan Description for the Retirement Plan is posted on the Benefits Web site for your review.

Users' meeting June 4, 5
Fermilab will host the annual Users' meeting on Wednesday, June 4, and Thursday, June 5. For more information or to register, visit the Users' Meeting Web site.

Barnstormers meeting May 14
The Fermilab Barnstormers will conduct their monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m. at the Frelo Flying Field next to site 39. In bad weather, the meeting will take place at the Users' center. Any employees or users interested in model airplanes are welcome, and perhaps will even get some dual stick time with an instructor.

Linear Collider School accepts applications through May 15
The Third International Accelerator School for Linear Colliders will accept applications through May 15. Fermilab will host the school Oct. 19-29 at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Hotel in Oak Brook. Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior researchers and physicists considering a career change from experimental to accelerator physics may apply. The school will focus on TeV-scale linear colliders including the International Linear Collider and the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). Visit the school Web site to apply or for more information.

Women can provide feedback on work environment at May 14, 28 luncheons
Calling all female staff, users and student and senior scientists! Fermilab Deputy Director Young-Kee Kim would like to hear about your work environment at Fermilab. Please join her for a lunchtime meeting from noon-1 p.m. on May 14 or 28. The meetings will take place in the small dining room in the southwest corner of the atrium in Wilson Hall. Please bring your lunch. To arrange a private meeting with Young-Kee Kim, please contact Marilyn Smith via e-mail.

2008 CTEQ-MCnet School
The application deadline for the 2008 CTEQ-MCnet Summer School on QCD Phenomenology and Monte Carlo Event Generators is May 14. The school, co-sponsored by Fermilab, will be held in Debrecen, Hungary, from August 8-16. The program includes lectures on QCD theory, phenomenology and analysis as well as hands-on sessions on event-generator physics and techniques. Enrollment is limited to 80 participants. Applications from postdocs are particularly encouraged. More information

Scottish Country Dance Tuesday
Scottish Country Dance will meet Tuesday, May 13, at Kuhn Barn on the Fermilab site. Instruction begins at 7:30 p.m., and newcomers are always welcome. Most dances are fully taught and walked through, and you do not need to come with a partner. For more information, call (630) 840-8194 or (630) 584-0825 or folkdance@fnal.gov.

Additional Activities