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Tuesday, Aug. 12
NOTE: The following seminar has been added on 8/11/08
11:00 a.m.
Special Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: G. Myneni, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory
Title: RF Superconductivity - Know the Past to Understand the Present and Direct the Future
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY
SEMINAR TODAY
Wednesday, Aug. 13
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m.
Fermilab Colloquium - Curia II (NOTE LOCATION)
Speaker: C. Walter, Duke University
Title: Experimental Neutrino Physics
Click here for NALCAL,
a weekly calendar with links to additional information. |
Tuesday, August 12
- Tomato bisque
- Lemon pepper club
- Beef fajitas
- Asparagus chicken w/black bean sauce
- Grilled chicken Caesar wrap
- Assorted slice pizza
- Rio Grande taco salad
Wilson Hall Cafe Menu |
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Wednesday, Aug. 13
Lunch
- Stuffed summer vegetables
- Peach & strawberry shortcakes
Thursday, Aug. 14
Dinner
- Closed
Chez Leon Menu
Call x4598 to make your reservation. |
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Bat workshop at Fermilab entices local teachers
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| Joe Kath, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, strings a net in front of the path near the Lederman Science Center on July 16 as part of a teacher workshop on bats. |
In the dark, at the foot of a giant net strung between two trees near the Lederman Science Center, Vera Bunting waited. She and other educators had set out to catch bats to learn more about the bat population in Illinois.
"The grounds are perfect for this," said Angela Smith, director of the Sugar Grove Nature Center. "We try to give teachers topics that kids love to talk about, like how to find and track bats."
The bats never showed, but the educators learned plenty about bats anyway.
Bunting was one of 19 Illinois K-6th-grade teachers and educators who attended the "Illinois Bats" workshop at the Lederman Science Center on July 16.
"The workshops are a great resource for teachers," said Sue Sheehan, Fermilab's Education Program Leader. "It's important to spread awareness about bats, especially if helping the bats survive is as simple as keeping an abandoned shack or tree."
Fermilab is one of seven National Environmental Research Parks that give scientists the opportunity to conduct environmental research in protected areas. Through the workshop, teachers learn about biologists' efforts to conserve endangered bat populations. It also gives educators relevant activities that they can take back to the classroom, such as setting up a "bat buffet" for students comprising food that bats help to grow, including guava, cashews and avocado.
The workshop is one of many that compose the Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education. Sheehan coordinates two to three ENTICE workshops per year. The Lederman Science Center hosts the ENTICE workshops as part of Fermilab's goal to educate teachers about science and the environment. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources sponsors the events, and teachers can accumulate continuing professional development units.
"I've always loved bats. They are such a fragile population," said Bunting, a librarian at Florence Nightingale Elementary School in Chicago. "I just hope to share my enthusiasm with my students."
-- Jennifer L. Johnson
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Protons in the Large Hadron Collider.
CERN announced on Monday, Aug. 11, announcing that they successfully completed the first beam injection test over the weekend. Read the update here.
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How the Higgs may help
From Kane County Chronicle,
Aug. 9, 2008
BATAVIA - The search for a tiny particle at Fermilab could lead to big things.
As physicists at the Batavia laboratory continue to hunt for the Higgs boson particle - something that they theorize exists - they say the general public may not see immediate results, or any results at all, but will benefit from the journey.
The Higgs boson is a particle that Scottish physicist Peter Higgs named. Physicists include it in theories, and say that it will explain why objects have mass, but have yet to find it.
Fermilab physicist Joseph Lykken said finding the Higgs will introduce "a new force of nature," like gravity was to Isaac Newton - the kind of physical science discovery that hasn't been made in a century.
Lykken and his colleagues, such as physicist Robert Roser, continue to search with large billion-dollar devices called accelerators.
"The Higgs is an important component if it's there," Roser said. "It's not going to create world peace or solve the energy crisis, but it will help us understand the world we live in."
Read more
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Where there's a will..
Professor Giorgio Bellettini and Director Oddone at picnic for Italian students.
One of Fermilab's greatest impacts is on the training of future generations of scientists. Well over 100 students each year receive Ph.D.s for research they have done at Fermilab. Domestic and international funding agencies support the work of these students as part of our research programs. Besides training graduate students, we make a remarkable contribution to earlier stages of education with our volunteer programs in local schools and our Fermilab programs for teachers, undergraduate interns and K-12 students. These programs receive funding principally from DOE, but also from NSF and from the Fermilab Friends for Science Education.
But there are also many other ways in which we contribute to the formation of future scientists. Some, such as our visiting scholars program, are driven by Fermilab but others by the enterprise and energy of our collaborators.
Yesterday I welcomed Professor Giorgio Einaudi, the scientific attaché of the Italian Embassy in the U.S., who was here to talk to 19 summer students from Italian universities, selected to come to Fermilab after a rigorous competition. He spoke to them about "Ricerca, Sviluppo e Innovazione in USA: che cosa possiamo imparare?" (Research, Development and Innovation in the US: what can we learn?).
Over the years this program, driven by the passion of Professor Giorgio Bellettini and his collaborators in CDF, has brought many Italian students to Fermilab. The program started with three students in 1983. One of those first three students is today a collaborator in CDF. For many years, the support of this program was a triumph of creative financing by the Italian groups participating at Fermilab. Professor Bellettini's motivation from the beginning was to bring great students to Fermilab, in competition with the well-funded summer programs at CERN. Some six years ago, help from DOE and NSF allowed us to formalize this program. These agencies now fund Italian students spending summers in the U.S., while the Italian funding agency INFN funds American students in Italy, building strong collaborations from the ground up. The arrival of formal support has not stopped Professor Belletini's creativity: he leverages this support to bring even more students to Fermilab. Yesterday, his work was not done until he had served the students and guests a great picnic, Italian style.
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Have a safe day!
Hadron Collider Physics Summer School begins at Fermilab Aug. 12
The third CERN-Fermilab Hadron Collider Physics Summer School (HCPSS08) starts today, Aug. 12, at Fermilab. The school will last nine days and include daily lectures and discussion sessions by experts from across the globe. These experts will teach advanced graduate students and early postdocs about the theoretical and experimental foundations of hadron collider physics. Due to space limitations, those not registered can only view the lectures via live streaming video.
Read more information about the daily schedule and academic program.
Day Camp extension
If there is sufficient interest, Fermilab's Day Camp may extend its program through Aug. 20, for families whose children don't start school until then. The camp must have five camper reservations in order to offer the program, and can accept up to 10 campers. Camp hours will be from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. The extended session will cost $20 per camper. Anyone interested can sign up for one, two or three days. Contact Kathy at x5427.
Aug. 21 deadline for University of Chicago Tuition Remission Program
The deadline to apply for the tuition remission program at the University of Chicago for the Fall 2008 quarter is Aug. 21. For more information and enrollment forms, contact Nicole Gee at x3697 or visit the Web site.
Blood Drive Aug. 26, 27
Fermilab's next blood drive will take place from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Aug. 26 and 27. Heartland Blood Centers will take donations in the Wilson Hall Ground Floor NE Training Room. To ensure enough BBQ sets and aprons are aviailable for all who donate, appointments are encouraged, although walk-ins are welcome. Schedule appointments online or call Diana at x3771 or Margie at x5680.
Scottish Country Dancing Tuesday
Scottish Country Dancing will meet in Ramsey Auditorium Tuesday, Aug. 12. 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.
Additional Activities
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Partly cloudy
