New community board to advise Fermilab

Members of Fermilab's two previous citizens' task forces met on Sept. 24 to discuss nominations for a new community board.

Preparations are under way for Fermilab's newest advisory group.

Members of Fermilab's two previous citizens' task forces met with laboratory staff on Sept. 24. The previous board members made recommendations on the formation of a new Fermilab community advisory board.

The new group will advise the laboratory on community-related issues concerning the future of Fermilab's research, infrastructure and community involvement by building on the success of the two previous task forces.

"We seek our community's advice and counsel on every public-related issue, from the effects of blasting underground on local residents to the future of U.S. particle physics," Fermilab Director Pier Oddone told members of the past two boards at the meeting.

Fermilab asked the board members to make suggestions for the composition of the new board and to recommend a selection process for membership. Five board members also volunteered to serve as members of a selection committee.

Board members suggested that at least half of the next task force membership come from outside the ranks of previous boards to provide new points of view. Some task force members would serve on the new board to provide institutional knowledge and experience with the public participation process. The board recommended an open nomination process for identifying new members.

Previous task forces comprised elected officials, residents of neighboring towns, students, laboratory scientists, a representative of the Department of Energy and members of the local education, construction, business, labor and environmental communities. Task force members recommended adding more young professionals to the board and suggested consulting experts in transportation or utility issues as needed. Representatives from Batavia subdivisions near Kirk Road are needed because tunnel construction for a future neutrino beam experiment would have the most impact on them. Fermilab officials also seek critics of the laboratory to participate. Previous task forces have included members of a former resident group that opposed the Superconducting Super Collider.

The selection committee will soon seek nominations for the new board. Members of previous task forces will select among the nominees. More information on the nomination process and its deadline will appear in a future Fermilab Today story.

— Tona Kunz

Submit your DOE cost-saving suggestions by Oct. 14

Steven Chu

Do you have a smart idea for how the Department of Energy can trim costs and save taxpayer dollars? Submit your cost-saving initiative for potential inclusion in the President's Budget and become the first-ever SAVE Award winner.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, October 14, 2009. The winner will meet with President Obama at the White House and have his or her savings initiative incorporated into the FY 2011 Budget. In addition, the agency with the most participation in the contest will receive an award.

In a radio address on April 25, 2009, the President called for "a process through which every Government worker can submit their ideas for how their agency can save money and perform better."

The President's SAVE Award will fulfill this commitment by enabling any Federal employee to submit ideas for efficiencies and savings as part of the annual budget process. This contest is part of a larger effort to make sure that we invest taxpayer dollars in programs and initiatives that have proven records of success and fix or end programs that do not.

All submissions are confidential and can be made at www.SaveAward.gov

The winner will be announced in November. I urge you to participate not only so the Department of Energy can win the award for the best participation, but also because this effort is an important way to give the American people a government that does more for less.

Thank you for your support of this effort and for participating in the President's SAVE Award contest.

Sincerely,
Steve Chu

Visit the Save Award Web site to watch a video from Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag.

New director for the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science

From Interactions.org, Oct. 2, 2009

It has been announced today that Professor Andrei Seryi will be the next director of the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science (JAI).

Professor Seryi is currently leading the work on the Facilities for Accelerator Science and Experimental Test Beams (or FACET) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, as well as being the leader of the Beam Delivery System for the International Linear Collider. Professor Seryi is also deputy spokesperson for the Accelerator Test Facility collaboration, based in Japan.

"I consider it a great honour to become the Director of John Adams Institute and I look forward to leading the excellent team at the JAI, further strengthening its role in national, European, and international projects,' said Professor Seryi. " We live in an exciting time for Accelerator Science, which continues to be the major thrust behind fundamental discoveries while making an increasingly important contribution to everyday life through the applications of accelerators in industry and medicine."

Read more here.