Monday, May 12, 2014
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Have a safe day!

Monday, May 12

8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Americas Workshop on Linear Colliders 2014 - One West, Curia II
Register in person

2 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Leslie Rosenberg, University of Washington
Title: Searching for Axions

3:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar (NOTE DATE, TIME, LOCATION) - WH3NE
Speaker: Alex Wijangco, UC Irvine
Title: Hidden On-Shell Mediators for the Galactic Center Excess

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

4 p.m.
All Experimenters' Meeting (NOTE LOCATION) - One East

Tuesday, May 13

9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Americas Workshop on Linear Colliders 2014 - Wilson Hall
Register in person

10:30 a.m.
Research Techniques Seminar (NOTE LOCATION) - WH6NW
Speaker: Diego Tonelli, CERN
Title: A Specialized Processor for Track Reconstruction at the LHC Crossing Rate

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

4 p.m.
Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - One West
Speaker: Young-Im Kim, University of Oxford
Title: High-Resolution Cavity Beam Position Monitor Systems for the Accelerator Test Facility 2 and Future Linear Colliders

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

Ongoing and upcoming conferences at Fermilab

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Weather Chance of thunderstorms
85°/63°

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Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

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Flags at full staff

Wilson Hall Cafe

Monday, May 12

- Breakfast: pancake sandwich
- Breakfast: sausage, egg and cheese croissant
- Philly chicken sandwich
- Smart cuisine: rosemary chicken breast
- Corned beef and cabbage
- Spicy buffalo chicken wrap
- Szechuan-style green beans with chicken
- Minestrone
- Texas-style chili
- Assorted pizza by the slice

Wilson Hall Cafe menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, May 14
Lunch
- Danish open-face sandwiches
- Cucumber salad
- Caramel apple cake

Friday, May 16
Dinner
Closed

Chez Leon menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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Feature

Historical Fermilab-developed software still in use

Twenty years ago, Fermilab scientist Peter Kasper, pictured, and the Computing Sector's Ruth Pordes developed a Unix code management system free to the public. Members of the scientific community make use of it to this day. Photo: Reidar Hahn

Every once in a while, something prompts you to take a walk down memory lane. For Peter Kasper, Fermilab physicist, and Ruth Pordes, associate head of the Computing Sector, that something was an email they received last month about software made publicly available more than 20 years ago.

"It makes you wonder how much of an impact this has had," Kasper said of the software. "This guy didn't contact us because it was broken. He was just dotting his i's and crossing his t's."

Back in the 1990s, before experiments at Fermilab had names, and in the very early days of the Internet, Fermilab was transitioning from using VAX computers and operating systems to using machines that ran Unix. The new machines did not have a system for managing code as good as the VAX machines, so Kasper designed a system for Unix using the same concepts.

Pordes and Kasper realized that others must be having similar problems and released the Unix code management system, or UCM, through FermiTools, an umbrella website that provided software developed at the laboratory free to the public.

They heard nothing of UCM during the last couple of decades until they received John Boia's email inquiring about a newer version. Boia, who works for the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the organization that serves as Hubble Space Telescope's operations center, was updating the organization's systems and wanted to update their UCM.

"As new systems came in, it just kept on working because it was so vanilla," Kasper said of the generic code used to create UCM. "These guys picked it up and have been using it for more than a decade, completely unbeknownst to us."

STScI uses UCM as the basis for several systems that govern the routine observations, maneuvers and other housekeeping items for the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble's successor, scheduled for launch in 2018. They found that UCM was a suitable replacement for the VAX code management system when they moved on to other operating systems.

There was a newer version of UCM from what STScI was using, one that Pordes was able to provide. That newer version was also produced nearly 20 years ago.

"I really like that individuals at the laboratory are developing these useful tools and that there are users out there who continue to find them useful after all of these years," Pordes said. "This is a real testimony to the quality of our work and to the way Fermilab's outreach efforts continue to benefit the public."

Rhianna Wisniewski

In Brief

Joint speaker event on "Science and Serendipity" - May 21 in Chicago

The panel discussion "Science and Serendipity: Happenstance and Other Factors Underlying Accidental Discoveries" takes place the evening of Wednesday, May 21.

Those who plan to attend should RSVP by May 14.

This is the ninth in a series of Joint Speaker events for University of Chicago faculty and Argonne and Fermilab scientists, researchers and engineers.

Panelists include Fermilab scientist Robert Tschirhart.

The reception and panel discussion will take place Wednesday, May 21, from 6-9 p.m. at the Chicago Innovation Exchange Skydeck, 5235 South Harper Court, in Chicago. Dinner-quality appetizers and limited bar are provided.

For more information, visit the event Web page.

In the News

Simulation shows that dark energy and matter can reproduce the universe

From ars technica, May 7, 2014

To the best of our ability to tell, the Universe is being shaped by things we can't directly detect: dark matter and dark energy. That makes it somewhat challenging to determine if our understanding of these influences is roughly correct. It's simply hard to be confident that we haven't missed some other dark entity that's lurking beyond our abilities of detection.

One of the ways we can have some confidence that we're not missing anything major is to run models of the Universe. If we've got the basic physics right, then you should be able to set these models loose at an early point in the Universe's history and end up with something that looks like the Universe we're living in.

Read more

In the News

Swirly dusty universe is preview of big bang wave map

From New Scientist, May 6, 2014

This swirly map of our galaxy could be hiding a big secret. The wavy lines trace out the polarisation, or orientation, of light emitted from dust within the Milky Way — based on measurements taken by the European Space Agency's Planck spacecraft.

It is a sneak peek of a more detailed map due to be released in October, which could confirm the first sign of gravitational waves from the big bang. That detection was announced with great fanfare earlier this year by the BICEP2 collaboration, which runs a telescope at the South Pole.

Read more

Tip of the Week: Sustainability

SWaMP: Fermilab's Surface Water Management Program

Surface water in ponds, lakes, field tiles (pink), and ditches all contribute to the amount of water on the Fermilab site. Some of this water feeds directly into the industrial cooling water system (blue) that helps cool experiments, while more confined water can result in increased wetland areas (green). Field tile and wetland investigation are still in process. Image courtesy of FESS

The fulfillment of Fermilab's historic scientific mission is possible thanks to the cooling mechanisms put in place when the laboratory began. In particular, the industrial cooling water system, which relies heavily on surface water components such as lakes, ponds and ditches, ensures that accelerator components do not overheat while delivering high-power particle beams to the lab's various experiments.

Fermilab has a responsibility to create a holistic surface water management program for the laboratory site. The upcoming increases in beam intensity and in the number of projects demand a thorough review of the current state of surface water infrastructure and future operational surface water needs. Such a review, along with subsequent periodic reviews, will inform a robust surface water management program.

The purpose of the laboratory's new Surface Water Management Program, or SWaMP, is to provide the laboratory with a roadmap to integrate project cooling water demands, to inform project environmental coordination and designs, and to maintain and improve infrastructure. The main goal of SWaMP is to support the central laboratory mission of high-energy physics by ensuring environmental stewardship and sustainability well into the 21st century.

SWaMP is concerned with all surface water movement and flow on and through the Fermilab site. One goal is to achieve the necessary, delicate balance between getting water to locations where it is needed and away from places where it is a hindrance. Another objective is to retain as much stormwater as possible to limit pumping from the aquifer well and Fox River.

SWaMP, which is currently incorporated into FESS design reviews, provides guidance on all surface-water-related actions at Fermilab within the bounds of improving surface water supply (quantity and quality), conveyance and retention, while keeping a focus on future project water demands and sustainability goals.

Many of Fermilab's procedures are related to surface water and therefore fall under the purview of SWaMP. Different divisions or sections may own specific procedures, but the interaction and outcome of an individual procedure affects the overall program. If you have any questions about SWaMP or want to become involved, contact me at x4313. All of us, no matter our position at the laboratory, have an impact on our use of water, one of the Earth's most valuable resources.

Kate Sienkiewicz

Photos of the Day

Take a gander at these goslings

A gaggle of goslings has hatched at Fermilab. Elliott McCrory, AD, spotted them near the corner of Pine Street and A1 Road. Photo: Elliott McCrory, AD
Two goslings swim in the pond. Photo: Elliott McCrory, AD
Mother goose and young create ripples in Wilson Hall's reflection. Photo: Elliott McCrory, AD
Announcements

Today's New Announcements

Mac OS X security patch available for install - May 13

Martial Arts

Abri Credit Union new financial advisor

Water aerobics registration

Preschool and beginner swim lesson registration

Budker Seminar - today

Fermilab scientist gives Higgs talk - May 15

English country dancing with live music on May 18

Mac OSX end of life - May 21

Joint Speaker Series: Science and Serendipity - May 21

Change in tax practice may affect some visitors

Be a winner! Take the Take Five Challenge spring 2014

Women softball players needed for Fermi coed league

Thursday night golf at Arrowhead Golf Course