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	Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011

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Have a safe day!

Wednesday, Aug. 17
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m.
Fermilab Colloquium - One West
Speaker: Ewa Rondio, CERN
Title: Non-LHC Physics Program at CERN

Thursday, Aug. 18
2:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Yuhsin Tsai, Cornell University/Fermilab
Title: Penguin Diagrams in Randall-Sundrum Models
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m.
Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - One West
Speaker: Jingyu Tang, IHEP
Title: Introduction to the China ADS Program

Click here for NALCAL,
a weekly calendar with links to additional information.

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Weather

Chance of thunderstorms 83°/61°

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Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

Wilson Hall Cafe

Wednesday, Aug. 17

- Breakfast: English muffin sandwich
- Smart cuisine: Chicken noodle soup
- Steak sandwich
- Smart cuisine: Maple-Dijon salmon
- Smart cuisine: Mongolian beef
- California club
- Assorted sliced pizza
- Chicken pesto pasta

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Aug. 17
Lunch
- Spicy sausage & cheese stuffed portobello mushrooms
- Spinach salad
- Strawberry mousse w/ cookies

Friday, Aug. 19
Dinner
Guest Chef: Gustavo Cancelo
Argentinian Night
- Empanadas
- Locro
- Matambre relleno al horno w/ vegetables
- Flan

Chez Leon Menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

FCC celebrates cooling and computing center upgrade

On Aug. 16, representatives from the DOE Fermi Site Office, Computing Division, FESS and general contractor Pandecon Inc. celebrated the completion of the FCC cooling upgrade and the high-availability computing center with the dedication of two plaques. These projects were completed with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Photo: Cindy Arnold

Feature

Fermilab Arts Series releases 2011-2012 season schedule

Fermilab's Arts Series recently announced its 2011-2012 schedule.

The Fermilab Arts Series, which seeks to enrich life in the western suburbs with live performing arts and lectures, has announced the lineup for its 2011-2012 season. Highlights include:

Blackthorn – 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011; Tickets are $18, $16 for ages 18 and under.

Traditional songs of emigration, sea shanties, lively jigs and reels and ancient airs combine with some of Ireland’s best contemporary songs for a musical experience that captures the history and legend of Ireland and its people. Learn more

Inca Son – 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011; Tickets are $25, $13 for ages 18 and under.

Inca Son means “Sound of the Incas.” This world-acclaimed band, founded 20 years ago in Boston by the multi-talented César Villalobos, plays the centuries-old music of the Andes of Peru, home of their Inca ancestors. Learn more

Shangri La Chinese Acrobats – 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011: Tickets cost $28, $14 for ages 18 and under.

This group's multifaceted and multicultural production features dazzling acrobatic displays, formidable feats of daring and balance, explosive energy, brilliant costumes, with a touch of Chinese comedy. Please note the special start time. Learn more

Paula Cole – 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011: Tickets cost $27, $14 for ages 18 and under.

Fans of "Dawson's Creek" may remember Paula Cole most for her hit single, "I Don't Want to Wait," featured on the show, but she has much more to offer. Learn more

View the rest of the 2011-2012 schedule

Purchase tickets for three or four performances and receive a 10 percent discount; five or more performances and receive a 20 percent discount. Learn more

In the News

Weird! Our universe may be a 'multiverse,' scientists say

From Space.com, Aug. 12, 2011

Is our universe just one of many? While the concept is bizarre, it's a real possibility, according to scientists who have devised the first test to investigate the idea.

The potential that we live in a multiverse arises from a theory called eternal inflation, which posits that shortly after the Big Bang that formed the universe, space-time expanded at different rates in different places, giving rise to bubble universes that may function with their own separate laws of physics.

The idea has seemed purely hypothetical, until now. In a new study, researchers suggest that if our universe has siblings, we may have bumped into them. Such collisions would have left lasting marks in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation.

In the News

Q&A with Brian Cox, part 1: Recent hints of the Higgs

From Universe Today, Aug. 16, 2011

At two separate conferences in July, particle physicists announced some provoking news about the Higgs boson, and while the Higgs has not yet been found, physicists are continuing to zero in on the elusive particle. Universe Today had the chance to talk with Professor Brian Cox about these latest findings, and he says that within six to twelve months, physicists should be able to make a definite statement about the existence of the Higgs particle. Cox is the Chair in Particle Physics at the University of Manchester, and works on the ATLAS experiment (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. But he’s also active in the popularization of science, specifically with his new television series and companion book, "Wonders of the Universe."

From FESS

The trickle-down effect and a changing ecosystem

Kent Collins, deputy head of the Facilities Engineering Services Section, wrote this column.

Kent Collins

The Main Ring ponds were built back in the 1970s to provide cooling for the Main Ring and the Tevatron systems. By design, these were 24 distinct 7-foot-deep, 65-foot-wide ponds that used a pumping system to move water from one pond to the next and to indirectly cool equipment at the same time.

After 35 years, these ponds have filled in with silt from shore erosion and dying vegetation. The pumping and cooling systems have deteriorated considerably and require frequent service and attention. They’ve clearly led a full and productive life, and now they deserve to retire.

When we turn off the Tevatron, we should also turn off the circulating pumping system to reduce costs and maintenance efforts. But it’s not that simple.

The pond cooling loads will go away when the Tevatron shuts off this fall, except for a small area in the F Sector, the west section of the Main Ring. The initial plan uses the closest pond for this cooling, and we will use the Industrial Cooling Water system to make up for that pond’s evaporative losses.

The sump pump system must also remain in service until the Main Ring tunnel system is decontaminated, decommissioned and emptied. The current sump pumps are also integrated with the pond system, which has its own ecosystem.

The ponds provide a habitat for fish and other wildlife. The ecosystem in the area has adapted to a very shallow underground water table, which we must consider. The pond system also carries rain and snow melt water from the area, but only when the ponds are full and able to overflow toward the eastern outlet near DZero.

Without the continuous flow of heated water, the shallow ponds will quickly change character, and they will be dominated by reeds, cattails and other vegetation.

Fermilab is now working to develop a plan for an orderly transition to shut down the Tevatron surface water cooling system. While we aren’t sure how the landscape will change, we do know that it will. But it won’t happen overnight.

Safety Update

ES&H weekly report, Aug. 16

This week's safety report, compiled by the Fermilab ES&H section, includes three incidents. An employee was stung by an insect, but did not require first-aid treatment. Another employee required first-aid treatment after handling a fiberglass rod and finding a foreign object in his hand. Another employee required first-aid treatment after he was swarmed by wasps while on a ladder. He was stung and injured his knee while jumping down.

Find the full report here.

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