Director chooses Vicky White to head computing

Vicky White

Fermilab Director Pier Oddone has named Vicky White associate director for computing science and technology and chief information officer.

She will guide the laboratory in the area of scientific computing and will lead efforts in operating and setting standards for network, core IT services, management information systems and Web infrastructure.

"I have great expectations and complete trust that Vicky will be able to deliver us into the 21st century of computing," Oddone said.

White has held the two titles on a temporary basis for about a year while the laboratory conducted a national search to fill the position. A recruiter and hiring committee together considered 357 candidates.

"I'm pleased and excited to take on such a formidable challenge," White said. As associate director for computing science and technology, she will maintain and modernize the advanced computing the laboratory's scientific program needs. As chief information officer, she is responsible for the IT that keeps the rest of the laboratory ticking.

"It's a balance between the research component and making sure everyone gets paid," said Patty McBride, deputy director of the Computing Division.

McBride has known White since 1994. "She's excellent at adapting to changing environments and setting direction," she said.

White first arrived at the laboratory, then known as National Accelerator Laboratory, in 1973 as a programmer after teaching three years of high school mathematics in Cambridge, England. After stints at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and CERN, she returned to Fermilab in 1981. She took part in both experiments at the Tevatron and led a small team of DZero members that built a distributed computing system that was an early version of today's Grid.

From 1999 until 2002, White served as detailee to the Department of Energy's Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics. She returned to Fermilab as director of the Computing Division in 2002. Since then, she has helped create FermiGrid and supported Fermilab's efforts to take leadership roles in computing for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the CMS experiment, U.S. Lattice QCD and Open Science Grid, among other programs.

-- Kathryn Grim

Take time out for art today - twice - at lecture, reception

One of the intimate dual portraits on display this month at the Art Gallery. Meet the artist, Virginia Broersma, today.

Feed both your mind and your body at Fermilab's Art Gallery today, with two events highlighting the current exhibit, "I Live in a Duplex," presented in association with the laboratory's Women's History Month celebrations.

From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., artist Virginia Broersma will discuss her large-scale acrylic portraits, on display in the Fermilab Art Gallery through May 3. Each canvas depicts two faces in stark detail, expressions frozen in a range of emotion from frustration to joy-but the subjects' relationship to one another remains a mystery, left to the viewer to determine. Broersma will explain her artistic process, discuss her experience as a woman in a male-dominated profession, and will take questions from attendees.

Then, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Artist's Reception, nibble on a selection of cheeses, sip some wine, and leisurely examine the portraits at your own pace. See if you can create your own narrative and uncover the secrets of the cast of characters shaped by Broersma's brush.

Build and fly a delta dart tonight at Kuhn Barn

A child flies a delta dart during the 2007 Delta Dart Night in Kuhn Barn.

Delta darts are small, rubber band-powered airplanes that children can build in less than an hour. Tonight, Fermilab's model airplane club, the Barnstormers, invites everyone to the Kuhn Barn for a delta dart-making party and flying contest. The club will provide all required materials, and the Users' Center will have available refreshments.

Competition for the longest time of flight starts at 7 p.m. sharp; if you plan to compete, please arrive no later than 6 p.m. to start construction on your airplane. Prizes will be given in two categories: adults and children, l2 and under.

Learn more about the Barnstormers here.