Dan Bauer chosen as deputy head of Center for Particle Astrophysics

Five months ago, Dan Bauer’s life became a lot busier—and, he said, a good deal more exciting. In February, the Fermilab scientist and Cryogenic Dark Matter Search project manager stepped into a new role. He became the first deputy head of the Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics, an intellectual gathering place for the laboratory’s approximately 40 astrophysicists.

“The position was created because it became clear that the center was growing and taking on many new efforts,” Bauer said. “There are a huge number of ideas for new research.”

In his first months on the job, Bauer has helped to manage the center’s established projects, including the Dark Energy Survey, Pierre Auger Observatory, COUPP and CDMS, which he has led since 2002. But he has focused the bulk of his energy on cultivating future experiments.

“We want to make sure we water those seeds,” he said, explaining that center scientists are currently devising plans for about 14 proposed projects.

One proposal would use gravity wave technology to learn whether the visible universe might be a hologram that encodes two-dimensional information from the three dimensions we perceive. Another would investigate precise characteristics of the Cosmic Microwave Background, potentially revealing clues about the universe’s earliest seconds. And there are several ideas for direct observation of dark matter, including detectors filled with liquid argon and solid xenon.

Craig Hogan, head of the Center, said that Bauer is ideally qualified to support such projects.

“Dan’s very experienced at project management and development,” Hogan said. “He is also an experienced experimentalist. Since I am a theorist, we complement each other well.”

For his own part, Bauer is glad to contribute to the management of the center.

“It’s an exciting place to be,” Bauer said. “It’s fun to hear people come up with ideas, to sift through the possibilities and then figure out how to make a project happen.”

-- Rachel Carr

Wilson Hall closed Saturday, Aug. 15

Wilson Hall will be closed on Saturday, August 15, due to a shutdown-related power outage. The power feeding Wilson Hall will be shut off between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. The cafeteria will also be closed. Wilson Hall will reopen about 6 p.m., after power is restored.

New employees - July 27

From bottom left: Vamis Xhagjika, AD; Caterina Vernieri, TD; Priscilla Pani, PPD; Gerardo De Pasquale, CD; Francesco Bonatesta, AD; and Sara Ezgi Akgul, WDRS. Row two, from left: Patrick Alexander, TD; Diego Dal Canto, TD; Davide Sgalaberna, PPD; Ernesto Tripodi, TD; Stefano Mintchev, TD; Francesco Rubbo, PPD; Valerio Vagelli, PPD; Simone Moio, TD; and Wilbert Samuel Rossi, AD. Row three from left:- Nicola Poles, PPD; Nicola Ferroni, CD; Gianluigi Sem, TD; Luca Ceccanti, AD; Matteo Bertoneri, TD; and Riccardo Bartalucci, TD.

Large Hadron Collider will restart at half-power

From Times Online, Aug. 7, 2009

The Large Hadron Collider will run at only half its maximum energy when it restarts in November after a serious fault forced it to be shut down for more than a year.

Officials from the CERN particle physics laboratory in Geneva announced last night that it will be 2011 before the world's most powerful atom-smasher reaches its full capacity.

While the £4 billion "big bang machine" should eventually be capable of running at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts (TeV), it will operate initially at just 3.5 TeV when it starts smashing protons together in mid-November. The first science results are expected a few weeks later.

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