New personnel strengthen U.S. CMS operations

Aron Soha

Each Wednesday at 8 a.m. Aron Soha meets with members of the shift crew at the U.S. CMS Remote Operations Center who help to monitor the CMS experiment.

At the same moment 5,000 miles away at CERN, Juan Lopez starts a midweek global test run to take data for the same experiment.

The two will connect an hour later at their regular meeting updating each other on that day's plans. Although separated by a seven-hour time difference, Lopez and Soha work together to monitor CMS data. Kaori Maeshima, U.S. CMS operations coordinator, said they have worked together seamlessly since they started in February.

The success of the remote operation hinges on the close communication and up-to-date information transfer between the CMS experiment site and the ROC.

Juan Lopez

"Juan and I have been in constant communication since we started on these projects," Soha said.

Soha and Lopez are also working with a team to develop a suite of Web based monitoring tools which aim to improve the CMS experiment's data-taking efficiency. To test a new down-time logging tool, Lopez provides Soha with raw down time information from the CMS experiment site and Soha uses it to further develop the tool.

Previously Lopez worked in CERN's Computing Division, and Soha worked as a CDF collaborator for more than five years. Now Lopez is the U.S. CMS remote operations liaison for U.S. CMS at CERN. Soha is an engineering physicist at the Remote Operations Center at Fermilab.

"They are both fantastic," Maeshima said. "They are learning so fast and already doing useful things for CMS and we are working together as a team closely."

Lopez's presence at CERN improves effectiveness of the monitoring tools and remote operations. The group communicates with video conferences, e-mails and phone calls.

"The ultimate goal is to have physics discoveries at the LHC," Soha said. "By using the ROC, we enable people to be a part of that."

-- Tia Jones

Fermilab introduces more comprehensive Web site

Fermilab unveiled its new Web site on April 27. A Web team, including personnel from the Office of Communication and a Web contractor, transformed the site into a communications channel for both the public and the physics community, with easier navigation and a cleaner, fresher look.

The home page now includes a scrolling multiple feature format that highlights four items.

The new Web site now features Science at Fermilab, an up-to-date section that contains information on the laboratory's mission and research areas. The Science at Fermilab section also explains the Tevatron, the laboratory's experiments and projects and the benefits of particle physics to society.

To make it even easier to learn more about what is happening at Fermilab, the Office of Communication has also launched a Twitter feed and a YouTube Channel. Just visit the links on the Follow Fermilab section of the home page.

Obama: 3 percent of GDP for R&D

From AIP FYI, April 27, 2009

President Barack Obama addressed an overflow audience at the 146th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Sciences on April 27. In his expansive speech, the President called for greater investments in research and development, and science education.

The following are select quotes from the President's speech:

"Federal funding in the physical sciences as a portion of our gross domestic product has fallen by nearly half over the past quarter century. Time and again we've allowed the research and experimentation tax credit, which helps business grow and innovate, to lapse.

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Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) Awards

From Department of Energy's Office of Science, April 27, 2009

The White House today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science will invest $777 million in Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) over the next five years. In a major effort to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build a new 21st-century energy economy, 46 new multi-million-dollar EFRCs will be established at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms across the nation (White House Fact Sheet).

Supported in part by funds made available under President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), the EFRCs will bring together groups of leading scientists to address fundamental issues in fields ranging from solar energy and electricity storage to materials sciences, biofuels, advanced nuclear systems, and carbon capture and sequestration (synopses of the 46 EFRC awards).

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