Fermilab Today Monday, June 23, 2008
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Layoff Information

New information on Fermilab layoffs, including an up-to-date Q&A section, appears on the layoff Web pages.

Furlough Information

Information on the furloughs at Fermilab, which stopped May 31, 2008, is available on the furlough Web pages.

Calendar

Monday, June 23
THERE WILL BE NO PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS SEMINAR THIS WEEK
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m.
All Experimenters' Meeting - Curia II
Special Topic: MI Proton Scraping and Tevatron Luminosity

Tuesday, June 24
12:30 p.m. (NOTE TIME)
Summer Lecture Seminar - One West
Speaker: T. Kroc, Fermilab
Title: Hadron Therapy
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR TODAY

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

Weather

WeatherMostly sunny
73°/50°

Extended Forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

Wilson Hall Cafe

Monday, June 23
- Minestrone
- Parmesan quesadilla
- Baked chicken enchiladas
- Herbed pot roast chicken melt
- Assorted slice pizza
- Szechwan green bean w/chicken

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, June 25
Lunch
- Tortilla crusted tilapia filet
- Lemon grass rice
- Vegetable of the season
- Apple pie w/ ice cream

Thursday, June 26
Dinner
- Closed

Chez Leon Menu
Call x4598 to make your reservation.

Archives

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

Info

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

Send comments and suggestions to:
today@fnal.gov

CERN Press Release

CERN Council looks forward to LHC start-up

The beam pipe at the ATLAS experiment, the final section of the LHC, was installed on June 16. Image courtesy of CERN

At its 147th meeting in Geneva today, the CERN Council heard news on progress towards start-up of the laboratory's flagship research facility, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Commissioning of the 27-kilometre LHC began in January 2007 when the first cool down of one of the machine's eight sectors began. Today, five sectors are at or close to their operating temperature of 1.9 degrees above absolute zero and the remaining three are approaching that temperature. Once all sectors are cold, electrical testing will be concluded in readiness for first beams, currently scheduled for August.

"The accelerator, detectors and computing are all on course," said CERN Director General Robert Aymar, "and we are looking forward to the earliest possible LHC start-up."

When the LHC starts up this summer, its proton beams will collide at higher energies than have ever been produced in a particle accelerator. The collision energy of the LHC, however, is modest compared to the energies of the cosmic ray protons that have been striking the Earth's atmosphere for billions of years.

"The LHC is the highest energy particle accelerator on Earth," said Dr. Aymar, "but the Universe has far more powerful ones. The LHC will enable us to study in detail under laboratory conditions what nature is doing already."

Read the full press release

Read a New York Times story about the report

Read a summary of the LSAG report

Photo of the Day

PPD electrical engineers celebrate summer

Members of the Particle Physics Division's electrical engineering department enjoyed summer activities during their department picnic on Thursday, June 10.

Feature

Fermilab pool opening July 1

On May 9 Fermilab Today announced that the Fermilab pool would not open this summer. In response to a May 22 town hall meeting, the Directorate agreed to work with the Users' Executive Committee and a committee to examine options to operate the pool. The UEC thanks those who have shown support for the pool by volunteering their time and money.

To keep the pool open during future summers, we need the Fermilab community to show that they value this resource. You can do this by joining and using the pool this summer. In order to decrease the laboratory's portion of the overall pool cost, we have increased the membership fees (except for students) and decreased the hours of operation.

Pool membership rates: Students $50, individuals $75, families $150 and supporting members $300. Daily passes: $5 at the pool. You can purchase memberships by cash or check in the Wilson Hall atrium from noon-1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 20, and Monday, June 23. We will announce additional avenues to purchase memberships later next week.

Tentative 2008 pool hours July 1 through Aug. 17:
Tuesday - Friday 11:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
(with adult lap swim 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.)
Saturday - Sunday 1 - 6:30 p.m.
Closed Mondays.
The pool may remain open on weekends through Labor Day.

Day camp and day care can use the pool to swim. We also plan to provide swimming lessons, and will provide details to parents.

If you have questions about the pool please contact either Kevin Pitts or Kirsten Tollefson of the UEC.

-- Kirsten Tollefson

Call for Art

Science in Art 2008
issues call for art

Scientists with artistic skills from the University of Chicago, Argonne and Fermilab can join Chicago artists who focus on science for a juried art exhibit. Science in Art, an exhibit developed in response to the need to teach the public about the process, challenges and benefits of science and technology, will accept submissions through Friday, Aug. 22.

Science in Art uses art as a vehicle for creating connections between scientists and non scientists. As science and technology advance, the need for public awareness and understanding increases. The success of science depends largely on public support, making communication between scientists and the public critical. This exhibit will help to translate the language of science for the general public and push the boundaries of human enlightenment. It will highlight cross-disciplinary connections in the development, expression and exploration of novel ideas.

Art media accepted for submission include: photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed-media, videography and music. Science in Art organizers and a panel of jurors will select art for the exhibition based on three criteria: how the artwork relates (abstractly or literally) to science, quality of execution and how the artwork goes beyond the mere depiction of a scientific phenomena.

The Science in Art exhibit will take place at the University of Chicago Gordon Center for Integrative Science Oct. 10 to Dec. 13, with an accompanying opening reception on Oct. 10.

Complete entry information, including an application for submitting art, can be found at: uchisciart.org, or by contacting Rebecca Ayers by e-mail or by phone at (608) 345-1321.

Safety Tip

Safety feedback

Manage through positive reinforcement

When giving someone feedback about safety performance, it can be difficult to avoid a confrontational style.

If you tell people that they are working unsafely and need to do something about it, they may consider that safety advice simply an opportunity to deliver criticism.

Here are five ways you can improve your effectiveness in providing safety feedback.

  • Stress that feedback is necessary. Bad habits come from repeatedly doing things incorrectly. Specific behavior-based feedback can help to improve performance.
  • Be positive. Based on a lifetime of experience, most people have come to expect that feedback usually means reprimand. Keep interactions positive and constructive in order to change those expectations.
  • Use trial-and-success learning. Behavioral research shows that we learn more from focusing on successes than failures. It helps us to feel good about ourselves and the task at hand.
  • Give praise in public. Keep feedback presented in front of others positive. Never pass up an opportunity to celebrate achievements.
  • Time your feedback. It often makes sense to give people input immediately. During this time, they are motivated to do their best and will often be the most receptive.

Photo of the Day

Just ducky

AD Controls Department employee Greg Vogel submitted this photo of a mother duck and her babies on the Booster Pond Thursday.

In the News

Bailout for Fermilab, Argonne nears

From Crain's Chicago Business, June 20, 2008

Legislation to restore some of this year's unexpected budget cuts for national labs near Chicago inched closer to enactment Thursday night.

The House passed an emergency bill to pay for the war in Iraq and other urgent needs, including $62.5 million for the Energy Department's Office of Science, which funds Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia.

Both labs have been forced to cut back research work this year and Fermilab instituted voluntary layoffs and temporary furloughs to cope with its budget shortfall. The labs' budgets suffered steep last-minute cuts late last year as House and Senate negotiators battled the White House to control total federal spending.

The appropriations bill now goes back for a compromise with the Senate, which has approved $100 million for DOE's Office of Science in its version of the bill. Last month, the House had passed an earlier draft of the emergency supplemental wartime appropriations bill with no extra money for the labs.

Restoring at least some of the budget cuts for the Illinois labs has been a bipartisan effort by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Il., Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Il., whose district includes Argonne, and freshman Rep. William Foster, D-Il., a former Fermilab scientist whose district includes the particle physics facility.

Read more

Accelerator Update

June 18-20
- Three stores provided ~29 hours and 48 minutes of luminosity
- TeV quench during end-of-store study
- Experts test the MI LCW system

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

Announcements

Chez Leon will serve lunch on June 25
The lunch schedule for Chez Leon has changed, and it will open for lunch on Wednesday, June 25. Call x4598 for reservations. (Wednesday's menu is on the left side of today's issue.)

Blood drive June 24, 25
Heartland Blood Centers will conduct a Fermilab Blood Drive on June 24 and 25 from 8:30 a.m to 2 p.m. in the Wilson Hall Ground Floor NE Training Room. Schedule appointments online or call Diana at x3771 or Margie at x5680. More information. The last blood drive collected 83 units. Many thanks to all who donated.

Martial Arts Classes begin June 30
A new session of Kyuki-Do, a mixed-martial art that combines Taekwondo, Judo and Hapkido, begins at Fermilab on June 30. Classes take place from 5-6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at the Recreation Facility in the Village. The class costs $45 per session. Sessions last six weeks. You will need to register through the Recreation Office and also have a Recreation Facility membership.

Visa Office Closed
The Visa Office will be closed the week of June 23-27. Please address only urgent matters during that week to Borys Jurkiw at visaoffice@fnal.gov or x4363.

Register for Club Invention, a Science Adventure program
Your child can spend his or her summer learning about architecture, engineering, bugs, computer programming or even kitchen chemistry with the Fermilab Science Adventure program. Programs are targeted to students in grades 1-10. A full schedule and description of classes is posted online. Registration for each class remains open until it's full.

 
Additional Activities

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