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	Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011

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Have a safe day!

Wednesday, Oct. 19
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
4 p.m.
Fermilab Colloquium -
One West
Speaker: Brad Sherrill, Michigan State University
Title: Science with the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

Thursday, Oct. 20
2:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Nicholas Dunn, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Title: Improving Collider Searches with Effective Field Theory
3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over
THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR TODAY
4 p.m.
Joint Experimental-Theoretical Physics Seminar - One West
Speaker: Mark Williams, University of Lancaster
Title: Studies of CP Violation in the Bs System

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

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Chance of showers
49°/42°

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Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

Wilson Hall Cafe

Wednesday, Oct. 19

- Breakfast: English muffin sandwich
- Portabello harvest grain
- Santa Fe chicken quesadilla
- Hoisin chicken
- Smart cuisine: Parmesan fish
- Cuban panini
- Assorted sliced pizza
- Shrimp pesto

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Oct. 19
Lunch
- Garlic soup
- Muffuletta
- Bread pudding w/ bourbon sauce

Friday, Oct. 21
Dinner
Closed

Chez Leon Menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

Mike Petkus - Oct. 8

Mike Petkus

Fermilab employee Mike Petkus, 50, died on Saturday, Oct. 8, after an illness. He was technical specialist in the Accelerator Division. A service was held on Oct. 11.

Rob Reilly, a mechanical engineer, started at Fermilab on the same day as Petkus, on Dec. 18, 1980. For more than 30 years, the two of them worked on many magnet installation projects, including the APO Target Hall, Switchyard, Main Ring, Main Injector, the NuMI shield door and, most recently, in the NuMI Extraction beam line.

“Mike was particularly skillful at moving large and heavy objects,” said Reilly. “For example, Mike could get delicate 15 ton magnets in or out of cramped places.”

Not only could Petkus navigate the massive magnets in and out of place, he did it safely.

“Mike was very conscientious of safety,” said Christine Ader, a mechanical engineer. “If he had any questions or doubts about a particular project, he’d ask for help to make sure it was done as safely as possible.”

Ader and Petkus worked together for about five years on the Switchyard beamline. During that time, Petkus oversaw the budget of the project and he managed all of the tasks.

—Ashley WennersHerron

Feature

Exceptional Performance Recognition Awards – Sept. 28

Fermilab recognized a group dedicated employees for their outstanding contributions with Exceptional Performance Recognition Awards. The employees were nominated by their divisions and sections for the awards. Fermilab Director Pier Oddone handed out the awards at a reception on the 15th floor of Wilson Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

To see the full list of award recipients, please click here.

In the News

A further step in the design of the LAGUNA large neutrino observatory is launched

From the InterActions.org, Oct. 18, 2011

The kick-off meeting for the second phase of the LAGUNA's design study starts today at CERN. The principal goal of LAGUNA (Large Apparatus for Grand Unification and Neutrino Astrophysics) is to assess the feasibility of a new pan-European research infrastructure able to host the next generation, very large volume, deep underground neutrino observatory. The scientific goals of such an observatory combine exciting neutrino astrophysics with research addressing several fundamental questions such as proton decay and the existence of a new source of matter-antimatter asymmetry in Nature, in order to explain why our Universe contains only matter and not equal amounts of matter and antimatter.

In the News

Dark matter: Now more mysterious than ever

From the Wired News, Oct. 17, 2011

Astronomers have one more reason to scratch their heads over the unseen material known as dark matter. Observations of two dwarf galaxies, Fornax and Sculptor, show the dark matter within them is spread out smoothly rather than heaped into a central bulge, contradicting cosmological models.

Researchers know dark matter comprises a far greater percentage of the universe than the ordinary matter making up things like people and stars. Because of this, the distribution of dark matter determines the structure of the cosmos. Galaxies form when they are attracted to and anchored by large clumps of dark matter.

From the ES&H Section

ES&H – A world wide lab perspective

Nancy Grossman

Nancy Grossman, head of the ES&H section, wrote this week’s column.

Similar to physics, ES&H staff have international safety conferences. I attended my first International Technical Safety Forum (ITSF) last month at SLAC. It was an excellent forum for sharing ideas and concerns. I was amazed at how similar our issues are: egress/fire issues with deep tunnels, resource needs with tight budgets, using IT to improve efficiency and the constant issue of how to communicate effectively. Many topics were covered at this forum. I’ve highlighted three of them below.

The accuracy of drawings

We are not alone in our concerns about the accuracy of drawings. All the laboratories have discovered inaccurate drawings when either upgrading or decommissioning areas. Even recent drawings are not always accurate. This is especially a concern for electrical hazards. With our imminent decommissioning activities and upgrades/modifications to the Main Injector and Recycler, this is a concern for us too.

In Memoriam

Death: Marilyn Smith

Marilyn Smith, a former Fermilab employee, died last week. Smith worked at Fermilab for more than 30 years, most recently as administrative support staff for deputy director Young-Kee Kim. Visitation will take place from 4-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, at the Dieterle Memorial Home, 1120 South Broadway in Montgomery, IL; and from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22. A funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, at New England Congregational Church, 406 West Galena Boulevard in Aurora, IL.

You can read Marilyn Smith’s obituary here. An In Memoriam article honoring Smith will appear in Fermilab Today next week.

Safety Update

ES&H weekly report, Oct. 18

This week's safety report, compiled by the Fermilab ES&H section, includes two incidents, neither of which were recordable. An employee stepped through a rotted wooden floor and fell. He received first-aid treatment. Another employee received first-aid treatment after getting a sliver in his thumb while tightening a brass bolt.

Find the full report here.

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