Monday, Nov. 26, 2012
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Have a safe day!

Monday, Nov. 26

2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar (NOTE LOCATION) - Curia II
Speaker: David Bennett, Notre Dame University
Title: Most Planets are Cold and Lonely: The Latest Results from Gravitational Microlensing

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

THERE WILL BE NO ALL EXPERIMENTERS' MEETING THIS WEEK

Tuesday, Nov. 27

2 p.m.
LHC Physics Center Topic of the Week Seminar - WH11
Speaker: Sara Bolognesi, Johns Hopkins University
Title: To be announced

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR TODAY

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Wilson Hall Cafe

Monday, Nov. 26

- Breakfast: Apple cinnamon multigrain pancakes
- Spicy Thai beef noodle soup
- Bayou tuna steak sandwich
- Garam masala salmon
- Smart cuisine: sweet and sour apricot chicken
- Asian chicken wrap
- Assorted pizza by the slice
- Stir fry sensations

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Nov. 28
Lunch
- Oven-roasted trout with lemon dill stuffing
- Steamed green beans
- Blueberry crisp

Friday, Nov. 30
Dinner
- Clam chowder
- Grilled lamb chops with balsamic glaze
- Stuffed tomatoes with pesto
- Julienne of zucchini
- Amaretto cheesecake

Chez Leon Menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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Feature

Laboratory releases Physics Advisory Committee report

The Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee met at Fermilab from Oct. 15 to 17 for its fall session to review proposals and other aspects of the Fermilab science program.

The meeting's main emphasis was on two proposals, one Letter of Intent (LOI) and two Expressions of Interest (EOI) submitted to the laboratory before the meeting. The two proposals were:

  • Polarized Drell-Yan Measurements with the Fermilab Main Injector (P-1027), spokespeople: Wolfgang Lorenzon and Paul Reimer
  • Light-Mass WIMP Searches with a Neutrino Experiment: A Request for Further MiniBooNE Running (P-1032), spokesperson: Richard Van de Water

Although an LOI is not required, quite often proponents find this a useful stepping-stone toward a full proposal. The LOI presented to the PAC was:

  • Future Running on MiniBooNE with Scintillator (P-1033), spokesperson: Rex Tayloe

Finally, an EOI is less detailed than an LOI and may or may not be presented at a PAC meeting. The two EOIs, both of which were seeking support for R&D to enable them to advance to full proposals in a few years' time, were:

  • Proton EDM, spokesperson: Yannis Semertzidis
  • NNbarX, spokesperson: Yuri Kamyshkov

The charge to the committee and its comments and recommendations are now available.

The PAC is a major source of advice to the director about the future direction of Fermilab's experiments and programs. Ever since Fermilab's early days, the PAC's recommendations and comments have offered insight into opportunities and issues important to members of the laboratory community.

The PAC is composed of senior scientists from universities and high-energy physics laboratories in the United States and abroad.

"One thing our community is not short of is ideas," said PAC Secretary Steve Geer. "This makes our PAC meetings interesting, and promises an exciting future."

Photo of the Day

Whirlwind night sky

Steve Krave, TD, submitted this composite of 100 images he shot of the Fermilab Gazebo while trying to photograph some meteors from the Leonids shower. Although he didn't have luck with the meteors, he did capture a large number of planes on their way to O'Hare. The dashes are an artifact of the shutter being closed for those segments between images.
In the News

Physics: Let US physics commit to collaboration

From Nature, Nov. 21, 2012

Giant colliders, vast telescope arrays and challenging space missions are now essential for addressing problems at the forefront of physics and astrophysics. But the extent to which the United States is hosting or taking a leadership role in such large facilities is in decline.

This year, one of the most exciting physics discoveries of modern times—the evidence for a Higgs-like boson—was made at CERN, a European particle-physics laboratory. That discovery had been one of the main goals of a US supercollider that was never completed after its funding was cancelled almost two decades ago.

If the United States is to retain its lead in fundamental physics and astronomy, the government needs to devise new mechanisms for supporting international partnerships. This will not necessarily entail more investment or a shift in the size of the projects funded, but it does require a coordinated process that will allow US scientists to make more stable commitments to collaborations.

Read more
In the News

Dark matter: the underground lab searching for wimps

From The Guardian, Nov. 17, 2012

Drive west along Italy's Autostrada 24 and you will come to the Gran Sasso mountain range 80 miles before Rome. This is one of Italy's most spectacular national parks and includes the 9,554ft (2,912m) Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennines. Bears, wildcats, wolves and chamois make their homes here and every summer thousands of tourists gather to holiday in this glorious, rugged landscape.

Read more
Tip of the Week: Health

The right stuff in dealing with the white stuff

When shoveling snow, use tools that are friendly to your back.

Snow can be beautiful but we generally don't want it to linger on our sidewalks and driveways. At the same time, removing it presents challenges, including ones for our hearts and backs. Heavy snowfall appears to correlate with an increase in the incidence of heart attacks and back strains.

Medical science backs up, to a degree, the risk of a heart attack while shoveling snow.

People often try to clear snow shortly after waking, when their body chemicals are most prone to heart attacks. Heavy exertion from shoveling increases blood pressure, and the cold causes the body to divert blood flow from the limbs to the torso. These factors create a perfect storm of hazards for your heart.

Here's what you can do to help reduce the risk of endangering your heart:

  • Wait at least one hour after waking before shoveling snow.
  • Ease into the activity slowly.
  • Take breaks. While it's tempting to finish it all in one go, remember that you can't shovel from the hospital gurney.
  • Make sure you are well hydrated. This will help cut down on clotting risks.
  • Keep yourself warm with layers of clothing, which prevent blood from leaving the limbs.

The spine, particularly the very dynamic discs between the vertebrae, is also at risk when shoveling snow. Our discs' particular anatomy allows them to "take a set," or deform. Within the first four hours after waking, they realign themselves. So once again, morning is against us. The pressure on the discs is lowest when we maintain the curvature of an upright spine. Unfortunately our backs tend to go to a flattened or reverse curve when we lift with a snow shovel. Twisting the spine to toss the snow introduces additional stress to the outer fibers of our discs.

Observe the following to avoid disc problems while shoveling:

  • Stretch before you shovel.
  • Push, rather than pull, the snow as much as is practical.
  • Keep the load close to your body.
  • Scoop while pretending to look up to keep the spine's natural curve.
  • Consider using a curved-handle snow shovel that lets you load and unload snow with a reduced lift distance.
  • Face the spot where you want to throw the snow. Twisting is a bad idea when lifting.
  • Use anti-stick spray or automotive wax on the shovel to prevent heavy clumping of wet, sticky snow.

Hopefully, following these tips will keep you upright as we deal with the winter white.

Brian Svazas, M.D., M.P.H.

Milestone

New employees - November

The following regular employees started at Fermilab in November:

Thomas Alagna, BSS; Lindsey Gray, CMS Center; Kenneth Herner, SCD; Hung-Bing Lin, CCD; David Martinez Caicedo, PPD; Natalia Ratnikova, SCD; Joel Rissman, BSS.

Fermilab welcomes them to the laboratory.

Announcements

Today's New Announcements

Holiday stress relief massages - Dec. 20

Deadline for UChicago Tuition Remission Program - Nov. 26

Environment, Safety & Health Fair - Nov. 29

NALWO Holiday Tea - Dec. 4

C2ST screening of "A Beautiful Mind" - Dec. 6

Indoor soccer

Professional development courses

International Folk Dancing every Thursday through December

Fermilab employee discounts

Atrium work updates