Fermilab Today Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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Tuesday, July 15
Noon
Summer Lecture Seminar - One West
Speaker: P. Oddone, Fermilab
Title: Future of Fermilab
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR TODAY

Wednesday, July 16
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
THERE WILL BE NO FERMILAB COLLOQUIUM THIS WEEK

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

Weather

WeatherSunny
90°/67°

Extended Forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

Wilson Hall Cafe
Tuesday, July 15
- Tomato bisque
- Lemon pepper club
- Beef w/peppers
- Lasagna Florentine
- Grilled chicken Caesar wrap
- Assorted slice pizza

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, July 16
Lunch
- Catfish filet veracruz
- Lemon rice
- Corn & red pepper
- Chocolate pecan bourbon tart

Thursday, July 17
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

Special Announcement

Asphalt grinding begins today. Expect delays

The asphalt grinding phase of a project to resurface A1 and A2 Roads between B Road and Wilson Hall begins today. At certain times during this project, posted detours and flaggers will redirect drivers. Road oiling will occur late in the day, so follow flagger instructions to avoid getting tar on your vehicle.

Drivers can expect short delays while flaggers coordinate traffic flow at the D Road, Pine Street and the A1/A2 intersection. Drivers cannot park along the reflecting pond while road improvements are underway. The paving portion of the project will begin upon completion of the grinding phase. Weather conditions may alter this schedule.

Click here for a map of the paving project.

Feature

Quick thinking, Fermilab help experiment stay afloat

The IATL building and Iowa Memorial Union. Photo courtesy of Tom Jorgensen/University of Iowa

The flood waters crept up. The lights went out. Yasar Onel and 12 of his students were not about to let angry Midwest weather wash away the University of Iowa's part in the world's largest physics experiment.

They grabbed the delicate quartz plates and read-out systems crucial for the CMS experiment at CERN and rushed for the department van.

"We were told we had two hours to leave before the highways were closed to traffic. So we packed as much as we could and headed for Fermilab," said Onel, the University of Iowa professor and CMS collaborator.

What was usually a 2 1/2 drive took over seven hours. When they arrived at Fermilab support came from all levels.

"They already knew our problem and took us in. They gave my students housing, did all the paperwork for shipment, and let us complete our work in Lab 7. I couldn't believe all the support," Onel said.

The help enabled the group to make its deadline at CERN, preventing a possible test beam delay. Other researchers at the university weren't so lucky. More than 16 buildings flooded and officials expect it could take six months or more to replace or fix equipment.

Fermilab has dozens of collaborators from the Univeristy of Iowa, where flooding blocked routes to airports and caused an estimated $250 milllion damage. Most of the high-energy physics buildings escaped damage, but some HEP and astronomy offices in the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratory building flooded, as did the homes of professors and graduate students working with Fermilab.

"We had a very difficult time preparing our CMS/SLHC upgrade and CMS forward calorimetry projects and set-ups due to the floods," Onel said."Thanks to Fermilab, the detectors were received on time and we could start our test beam effort at CERN's H2 facility on July 1. We had a very successful running period."

You can help the university through the UI Flood Relief Fund

You can also view the most up-to-date information on the flood repairs and a large gallery of photos at the university's flood information Web site.

-- Jennifer L. Johnson

University of Iowa High-Energy Physics Group. Photos courtesy of Yasar Onel

In the News

NOvA neutrino project
back on track

From Tower Timberjay News,
July 14, 2008

The massive neutrino detector and associated physics laboratory slated for construction near Ash River, north of Orr, is back on track with an infusion of new federal funding.

A total of $9.5 million for the NOvA project was included in a supplemental appropriations bill approved by Congress and signed by President Bush last week. The new money, which is available immediately, has provided a much-needed jump start to the project, which has been on life support since the Congress rescinded funding for the project last December.

The $250 million NOvA lab and its 15,000-ton detector is designed to study the outer margins of the Fermilab neutrino beam that is currently directed at its primary detector located at the bottom of the Soudan mine. The new facility is set to be built on a 90-acre site along the Ash River Trail, about one mile south of Voyageurs National Park.

Read more

Director's Corner

Ownership

Pier Oddone
Pier Oddone

Last week I wrote in broad outline about the challenges that the P5 plan represents for the laboratory. The P5 plan places special responsibilities on us as the central laboratory for particle physics in the US. To deliver the plan efficiently we must organize ourselves along the lines of the plan and work effectively with our national and international partners. The human resources needed to carry out the P5 plan will require that we attract as many partners from laboratories and universities to work with us as possible, both nationally and internationally.

The scientific staff of the laboratory is crucial in developing ideas and delivering on programs approved by DOE. For instance, we participated intensively with the HEP community in the P5 planning process. Now, assuming DOE accepts the P5 recommendations, the agency will make funding allocations to the various projects and thus determine the level of technical personnel for each. These allocations, however, do not determine the detailed assignments of our scientific staff. Those assignments are determined through discussions between laboratory management and scientists that take into account the needs of the laboratory and the interests and skills of individual scientists.

In making sure that we staff the various elements of the plan properly we, as Fermilab scientists, must take responsibility collectively for the whole plan and not simply for the project we are working on. A battle for resources, pitting one project against another, would subvert our ability to deliver on the plan as a whole. Rather, following the strong tradition of service to our HEP community here at Fermilab, we must work collectively to make sure that we help realize our community's full ambitions as expressed by the P5 plan.

Accelerator Update

July 11-14
- Three store provided ~15 hours and 50 minutes of luminosity
- Two stores lost due to quench and abort
- MI MECAR problems
- MTest SEM failed
- NuMI resumes taking beam
- Experts search for TeV ground fault

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

Announcements

Have a safe day!

Performance reviews due
It is the time of year to reflect on our past year's performance. Please note that completion of the following portions of the review process must occur in July 2008:


You will also set goals for the 2008-2009 review period after your initial discussions with your manager in July. If you have any questions about the performance review process, please contact the Employee Relations department


Pool now tags available at Recreation Office
Pool members can pick their pool tags at the Recreation Office on WH15 Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Memberships and swim lesson registration are also available at the Recreation office. Registration for the second session lesson (July 21-Aug 1) remains open until Thursday, July 17 at noon.

Housing Office hours change
The Housing Office lobby hours have changed to 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact the housing office at x3777 with on-site housing requests, extensions, rental payments and general inquiries. For maintenance repairs (including pest control) contact x3994. All inquiries can also be sent via e-mail.

Tango lessons
Beginning July 23, the International Folk Dancing group and NALWO will start a new group and offer Argentine tango lessons by experienced tango dancers from Chicago. The lessons will take place in Ramsey Auditorium on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. for beginners and 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. for intermediate/advanced level. To sign up, call Pamela Noyes at (630) 840-5779 or e-mail her.

Scottish Country Dancing Tuesday
Scottish Country Dancing will meet in Ramsey Auditorium Tuesday, July 15. 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 e-mail.

 
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